Bristol Police Praise Emergency Lock Box Program

BRISTOL, RI — Following its initial success in the community, the Bristol Police Department is encouraging residents to sign up for the free lock box program. Designed for the elderly and disabled, the program offers police, fire or emergency crews a safe, easy way to access homes in the event of an emergency.

According to the department, emergency calls are most often for older or disabled residents. If a person is unable to unlock a door, responders are forced to look for an open or unlocked window, wait for someone with a key to arrive or break down the door to get inside. All of these waste time and could cause damage.

To solve this issue, the department has debuted a program where residents put a key to their house inside a real-estate style lockbox, which is affixed to a door or another convenient location. Only the police department is given the key to the box.

If an emergency happens, the dispatcher will find the lock box code and any other instructions listed with the address, allowing police to easily gain access.

"One unexpected benefit was discovered during the installation of the boxes was that we found that some of our senior citizens were sleeping with their doors unlocked in fear of not being able to receive the help needed in an emergency," the department said. "The Lock Box Program allows them to secure their doors and be assured that rescue will be able to respond if needed."

Since the program's launch in 2016, the department has installed 100 lock boxes. Several local businesses and nonprofits have stepped forward as sponsors.

Anyone interested in learning more about the program or signing up is encouraged to reach out to Sergeant Ricardo Mourato at 401-253-6900.