LA PLATA, Md. – The La Plata Police Department (LPPD) is acquiring life-saving technology through Project Lifesaver for cognitively impaired adults and children who are prone to wandering.
Project Lifesaver is the premier search and rescue program operated internationally by public safety agencies and is strategically designed for “vulnerable” individuals prone to the life-threatening behavior of wandering. The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide a timely response to save lives and reduce potential harm to adults and children prone to wandering.
Project Lifesaver’s Program has helped give thousands of families greater peace of mind knowing their loved ones have protection and safety if they wander. To date, Project Lifesaver has recorded over 4,200 rescues worldwide.
The La Plata Police Department offers free Project Lifesaver equipment to any resident with autism or other intellectual or developmental disabilities, or with Alzheimer’s, dementia or other cognitive disabilities. Like all technology, Project Lifesaver has limitations, but it has proven to make a difference for first responders trying to locate someone who has wandered.
Funding for LPPD’s Project Lifesaver was an initiative paid for by a Bureau of Justice Grant: The Kevin and Avonte Program: Reducing Harm and Death in Missing Persons with Dementia and Developmental Disabilities. This program provides funding to law enforcement and other public safety agencies to implement location technologies that track missing persons, and it provides funding to such agencies and partnering nonprofit organizations to develop or operate programs to prevent wandering, increase the safety of vulnerable individuals, and facilitate rescues. LPPD personnel will begin training in this life-saving technology on November 14th.
La Plata residents interested in having Project Lifesaver technology delivered free of charge to a friend or family member should contact Corporal Jordan Madison or Kimberly Hayden at 301-934-1500
Related