By Bonnie Culverhouse
It was fun to get stickers as a kid. It always meant you were being recognized for something good.
Minden Police Department is taking that idea one step further by issuing stickers to special needs persons who may require an extra hand from law enforcement.
Chief Jared McIver said this is a new idea that is proving to be beneficial to everyone involved.
“All the time, people ask us what we are doing to combat mental illness or special needs,” he said. “This is just a start in how we can let the public know we are trying our best to recognize it.”
McIver explained the difference between a doctor interviewing and running tests on a patient to reach a diagnosis and an officer answering a call.
“Police officers don’t have that luxury,” he said. “He pulls up on a scene and it’s a split second judgment call. If a person is registered, it at least gives us some intelligence going into it to handle it in the appropriate way.”
McIver said he understands some people will try to obtain a sticker without the proper needs.
“The person who meets the criteria has to get the signature of their physician,” he explained. “Then they come down to the police department and fill out a special form. We issue them a sticker that can be used on their house or car.”
The person receiving the sticker must meet one of the following requirements:
Deaf
Blind
Down’s Syndrome
Autism/Asperger’s
Dementia/Alzheimer’s
Cognitive Impairment
Non-Verbal Disorder
Psychological Disorder/PTSD
Other (must be listed)
The person’s information will be entered in the police department’s computer system, so if a sticker becomes lost, pertinent information will still be available to the police officer who is on the call.
“Let’s just say a person is deaf, our officer stops them, gets on the (public address) and orders them out of the vehicle,” the chief said. “If they can’t hear us, the officer may think the person is refusing to get out of the vehicle when that person can’t hear the command.”
McIver introduced the project to members of the Minden City Council Monday evening, who overwhelmingly agreed it was a good idea.