Oswego Police Reminding Residents of Safety Programs

OSWEGO, IL — The Oswego Police Department is reminding residents of two free local public safety programs for at-risk residents in the area.

The Oswego Police Department’s Citizen At Risk (C.A.R.) Program has been in place since 2011 and allows residents who may be at a risk of becoming confused, lost, disoriented or missing, to be registered with the Oswego Police Department.

This voluntary, proactive, assistance program is intended to help police reunite at-risk residents with their families and provide necessary medical assistance if needed. C.A.R was designed to assist officers in gathering firsthand information for quicker dissemination to other officers, as well as other police departments, on citizens with special needs or care. Family members, caregivers, legal guardians and individuals can register with the Oswego Police Department, creating a confidential record for an individual in the event that person is lost, missing or could be in danger due to special needs. The record contains contact information as well as other information such as physical descriptions, photographs, identified disabilities, places children like to hide, medical needs, triggers and communication strategies.

Registrants are given a bracelet with a unique identification number. If a registered at-risk resident has contact with police and they have difficulty communicating, police will be able to use the identification number to locate family members, use provided strategies for communication and obtain necessary medical assistance. Once registered, the information remains on file at the Oswego Police Department until removal from the program is requested. Participants, or their responsible party, are expected to update the information with the police department as necessary.

Another safety program, the Illinois Premise Alert Program, supports individuals living with disabilities, while aiding public safety personnel to better respond to their needs. The program allows people with special needs, their caregivers and family members, to provide information to be kept in a secured public safety database for first responders.

Locally, this database is maintained by Kendall County’s Emergency Dispatch Public Safety Answering Point, KenCom. Whenever police are dispatched or respond to a registered address or encounter a registered individual, KenCom will be able to relay the provided information and offer guidance to the responding police officers. The information is maintained for two years and is provided to emergency service agencies as needed to deliver appropriate, effective services to the individual.

The program does require a renewal to be requested every two years in order to be kept in the KenCom database.

Citizen At Risk (C.A.R.) Program can be found at oswegopoliceil.org/car-program.html and the Illinois Premise Alert Program can be found at co.kendall.il.us/kencom/ipap/.

photo via Shutterstock