Special Needs Registry (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Alberta

City/ Region:

Taber, Alberta

Description of Initiative:

By working with the local Special Needs Society, parents/guardians are able to voluntarily register an individual with the police as a person with special needs. A registry entry is made identifying that individual's particular profile and recommending interaction strategies. An entry is made to the records management system flagging the address and the individual's needs with regard to emergency responders, who then have the required information to formulate a plan.

Initiative Key Objectives:

The key objective is to enable decision making based on knowledge rather than assumptions. Police and other emergency responders can be made aware of an individual's communication issues, exhibited phobias and expected reactions to actions, noises or other triggers. For example, responders would know the name of a special needs individual and that the individual is non-communicative.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Patrols

Key Contact:

Juanita Fudge
jfudge@taber.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

• community groups
• other government departments/agencies

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

N/A

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

This program was rolled out in the fall of 2013 to coincide with the school year.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

The examples of tragedy across the country when dealing with special needs persons in emergency situations led to the development of the registry.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

Minimal costs involved: meetings, research, producing an informational pamphlet and setting up the workflow.

Method of Implementation:

The initiative was established as a community-based enhancement and based on gaps identified when dealing with special needs persons in emergency situations.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

At this point, the results are only intangibles such as the community trust that has been strengthened. Expected outcomes are increased public and personal safety and good news stories when the information results in positive interventions between first responders and people with special needs.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

See attached media story. See attached information pamphlet.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

• summative
• qualitative
• social return on investment

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

N/A

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

• Efficiencies within Police Services
• New Models of Community Safety

Further Details:

N/A

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

We hope to generate successful responses when dealing with people with special needs who are in crisis. Some of the records management data rules need to be interpreted liberally in order to accommodate entries and make them accessible. For privacy reasons, diary dates are to be strictly observed.

Record Entry Date:

2015-03-01