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The police department in the town of Pelham, New Hampshire, has started a voluntary registry to help people with mental or developmental disabilities. The Eagle Tribune reports family members and caregivers can create a confidential file with information about those with disabilities, such as schizophrenia, dementia and autism. The department has a three-page questionnaire that requests information about the best way to approach the individual with the disability. Questions include whether the person fears public safety personnel, what hospital they use and if there are triggers that would incite reactions. Police are inviting the public to the station Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., to fill out a questionnaire and receive an identification card with a photo, emergency contact and name.
Shows how far we have come (down) as a nation that something that I think would strike most people 50 years ago as GOOD and helpful is now looked upon with (perhaps justifiable) suspicion.
Shows how far we have come (down) as a nation that something that I think would strike most people 50 years ago as GOOD and helpful is now looked upon with (perhaps justifiable) suspicion.
The registry is called S.O.A.R., Special Outreach and Resource.
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Shows how far we have come (down) as a nation that something that I think would strike most people 50 years ago as GOOD and helpful is now looked upon with (perhaps justifiable) suspicion.
Could be worse, at least S.O.A.R. is voluntary. I suppose it is better than assuming town cops just know these things from their years in the community, or the off-the-books dossiers kept by many city police forces.
Well there have been several tragic situations recently in the news where the police killed someone who was mentally ill who couldn't understand their requests to calm down and talk to them. Presumably, if the police knew that someone had a mental handicap, that person would be treated with more patience and understanding. But whatever, keep that sort of information a big secret.
While there is no official data on police shootings in the U.S., last year more than a dozen encounters between police and mentally ill civilians ended with the civilian being fatally shot — and those are just the deaths that made the news.
So what? What's to hide anyway? Why would you try to pass off someone with a serious mental disability as a normal full functioning human being? And in most small towns, all the locals know the real story. Obviously, the days of friendly Mayberry RFD are long gone, and it's really a shame.
If someone in my household had serious issues with Alzheimers, autism or schizophrenia,... or if they were completely deaf I'd have no problems with my local police department knowing. But if it were a mild case of mental ailment, then I wouldn't bother.
When we first moved into our NH house, one night we saw a police cruiser coming up our driveway to look around the back of our barn. It didn't bother us since we knew that our house had been empty for 14 years and we felt they used to patrol our property for vagrant activity. Now they never drive into our property at night because everyone knows that the house is occupied. Also last year, when my boyfriend was having some target practice, a cruiser did visit again. A neighbor had called to report hearing gunshots. The officer was cool with the setup and even did a little target practice himself with his revolver.
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The registry is called S.O.A.R., Special Outreach and Resource.
