HENDERSONVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Hendersonville Police Department (HPD) is noticing an increase in calls to
our dispatch center to help find people who are reported missing who maybe
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia or some other cognitive deficiency.
So, in an effort to resourcefully serve and protect Hendersonville area citizens, we
are offering a voluntary registry program where family members and/or care
providers can register their loved ones who are residents of the community and
are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of Dementia. This
voluntarily registry will hopefully improve officer safety; increase the speed and
efficiency in which officers are able to respond to these calls and give our
community members that are affected by having loved ones with cognitive
deficiencies more peace of mind.
This voluntary registry will provide pertinent and critical information regarding
loved ones to aid our officers, as well other first responders that may be assisting
us in identifying your family member, should they wander from their place of
residence or a business while in the city. Police Chief Herbert Blake: “Law
enforcement is absolutely receiving these types of calls. For example, some
months ago, HPD responded to an assisted living facility just outside of the city at
the request of our colleagues at Henderson County to help with locating a
resident at about 1:30 am. The 92 year old resident had walked away from the
facility. Fortunately, in this incident, Officer Jon Wing and our bloodhound
Snoopy, tracked the resident and found her at the bottom of a roughly 40-foot
ravine a short distance away from the facility. We believe this quick response
saved her life.”
According to the Western Carolina Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, more
than 170,000 people are living with Alzheimer’s disease and over 466,000
families and friends are providing care for them in our state. And forty seven
percent of people over the age of 85 suffer from some form of cognitive
deficiency. Having the information provided on this voluntary registry readily
available will allow us to provide this information to surrounding agencies in an
efficient manner in hopes of first responders quickly locating and safely returning
your loved one. The information provided will be kept at the police department
and will be used solely to aid the police and other joining emergency personnel in
locating missing or wandering people. A voluntary registry system can be equally
helpful in responding to individuals in other special needs populations; so, if you
think this program can help you, contact us.
HPD is committed to providing ease of registrations as a key consideration of this
registry program. Chief Blake: “We are prepared to assist citizens with this
registry by coming to their locations to help them fill out the registry and take a
recent photograph of the person they register.” This voluntary registry program
is free. It closely follows the guidelines recommended in the
International Association of Chiefs of Police Alzheimer’s Initiatives. We are
pleased to offer this initiative in our efforts to provide quality public safety
services to our citizens. For more information and for help with completing and
submitting the form, contact Monica Howard, HPD Communications Supervisor
at 828-697-3030 or
participation.
HPD Voluntary Registry
Name of loved one:
_______________________________________________ First Middle Last
Date of Birth: _____/_____/_________
Address:______________________________________________________
_____
Does your loved one have a nick name? If so, what:
________________________
Diagnosis of the registered person:
______________________________________
List all pertinent names and phone numbers that officers may need when
dealing with your loved one:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_________________________
Physical description of the registered person:
Height:__________________
Weight: _________________
Hair Color: ______________
Eye Color: _______________
Race: ___________________
Gender: _________________
Glasses: Yes______ No_____
Is there a special interest outside of the residence that your loved one is
drawn to?
(Trains, water, woods, parks, malls, traffic, ect.)
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Has your loved one ever ran away, wandered, or been reported as missing?
If so, where were they found?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
__________
Is the registered person verbal or non-verbal? Please explain in detail:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Does the registered person fear Police or EMS/Fire personnel or emergency
vehicles? If so, explain in detail:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Name of care givers, parents, grandparents, or other family members
involved in your loved ones life:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
If your loved one becomes confrontational, how could officers or rescue
personnel calm them without your presence?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Are you willing to allow the Hendersonville Police Department to place your
address and provided information about your loved ones needs into the
system to insure that officers are better prepared to handle the situation if
they go missing?
Yes________ No__________
Is your loved one prior military or law enforcement?
Yes________ No__________
Does your loved one have access to weapons of any kind? If yes, please
explain in detail. Yes________ No__________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Please explain in detail any other important information that we need to
know that might assist us in not triggering a violent response from your
loved one:
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________Does your loved one have any triggers? (lights, sirens,
loud noise, radios)
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
_______________
Please send us a recent photo of your loved one that will be attached to the
file in case they go missing. This will allow us to quickly get the picture to
responders and save valuable time in the search process.
