Effingham, IL-(Effingham Radio)- From the Effingham Police Department Facebook Page:
Dear Residents,
The Effingham Police Department and the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office would like to better serve the Special Needs community. To further assist in our dedicated response to various situations, we are updating our Special Needs Registry, in conjunction with the Illinois Premise Alert Program. This program is completely voluntary and is for any individual, of any age, who has a medical condition or physical or mental disability which would require special assistance in any type of an emergency necessitating a response from Law Enforcement or other Emergency Personnel. If you have previously signed up, please take a moment to fill out an updated form – data is kept on file for two years and all registrations need to be resubmitted every two years to keep information current.
With today’s technology, provided information can be instantly accessible to First Responders. There are three primary ways this information will be used by responding personnel:
- The registered address will be notated in our system with a special alert. This alert will inform First Responders that a person with special needs resides at the address.
- Vital, specific information which is provided for special needs individuals will allow first responders to give appropriate care and treatment to special needs persons, even in locations within Effingham County other than the individual’s primary residence.
- Each person listed in our Special Needs Registry will include contact information for a caregiver or caregivers. There are many situations where a family member and/or a caregiver can be of great assistance to First Responders.
Between the Effingham Police Department and the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office we have 23 Law Enforcement Officers who are Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officers. CIT is a forty-hour advanced course where Officers learn specialized tactics and methods in dealing with people with special needs. The premise of this course is to better serve the special needs population in a less traumatic manner with an improved outcome from the Law Enforcement encounter. This registry will better help our CIT Officers as well as other Emergency Personnel on scene.
This information will be kept on file and remain confidential, to be accessed only in the event of an emergency. Parents and/or caregivers may enroll special needs persons for whom they provide care, and any adults with special needs may enroll themselves. Self-enrollment can be achieved by going to www.effinghamil.com under Police Department, Sign Up for Alerts and Notifications, and fill out the form under Premise Alert Program/Special Needs Registry. Send the completed form to bbales@effinghamil.com. If you have questions about this service or would prefer to register via phone please call 217-347-0774 for Effingham Police Department and 217-342-2102 for Effingham County Sheriff’s Office.
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