Operation Know Me

The Wilson Police Department with the support of the Arc of Wilson, will be hosting a month of awareness for local law enforcement on dealing with children and adults with developmental disabilities.

As part of the initiative, the police department seeks to identify addresses and persons with developmental disabilities in Wilson County. Our goal is to identify homes officers may respond to, so that officers will be prepared to deal with a situation involving an autistic (or other developmentally disabled) person. This will allow officers to adjust their response to suit the situation. For example, if an officer receives a call for a 911 hang up and the officer is notified that it is a home with an autistic child, they may choose to respond without lights and sirens, so as to reduce the stress and fear the child might have with regard to the noise and flashing lights. The pre-notification will also allow the officer to adjust his presence in the home. Many officers do not recognize signs of a person who is autistic because of subtlety or infrequent interactions. The early notification will give officers a “heads up” so that when they arrive at the home, they allow for more flexibility in dealing with the situation at hand.

The identification process also allows families to register their disabled family members with the police department. An up to date photo and demographics information will be maintained in our records system, to provide immediate access to officers. This will be vital in the case where a deaf child becomes missing. All officers will have immediate access to the child’s photo, height, weight, hair color, etc., on the computers in their cars.

The Wilson Police Department respects your right to privacy. The information retained for this project will be used solely for law enforcement purposes. We hope that you will join us in this effort to care for and protect our disabled community.

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Wilson Police Department Autism* Registration

*And other developmental disabilities

Name of child or adult with disability _______________________________________________________________

Nickname, if any _________________________________________ DOB/Age _____________________________

Height ________________________ Weight ___________________ Hair color _____________________________

Scars, marks or tattoos __________________________________________________________________________

Parent/ caregiver name __________________________________________________________________________

Parent/ caregiver address ________________________________________________________________________

Home phone ________________________________ Cell phone ________________________________________

Emergency contact name and phone _______________________________________________________________

Disability ____________________________________________________________________________________

ID Wear _____________________________________________________________________________________

Method of communication, if non-verbal ____________________________________________________________

Medications __________________________________________________________________________________

Sensory, medical, allergy issues ____________________________________________________________________

Atypical behavior or characteristics that may attract attention ____________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Favorite attractions and locations where person might be found ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Likes, dislikes, including approach and de-escalation techniques ___________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Bring this form and your family member to the police department August 18- 29, 2008, between 1pm and 4pm to have photos taken.

Family members are encouraged to update photos each August at the police department.