Local residents can now sign a vulnerable loved one up for a service aimed at preventing serious injury or death.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), along with Sarnia police and Victim Services of Sarnia-Lambton highlighted the benefits of Project Lifesaver during a news conference on Tuesday.
Those who may wander due to declining cognitive ability or other ailments, with no destination, are equipped with a bracelet that officers can track using radio frequencies. It has a radius of about 2.5 kilometres.
OPP West Region Emergency Response Team Cst. Kyle Bildfell said with this technology, a potentially hours or days-long search can take about 30 minutes.
An OPP officer demonstrates Project Lifesaver (Blackburn Media Photo by Josh Boyce)
"The benefit with this equipment is that when we're using the omni antenna, which is the antenna that is attached to our patrol vehicles, we could be en route to the place the person was last seen and get a signal," said Cst. Bildfell. "At that point, we'll stop there and we will put resources in that area with the Yagi antennas to triangulate where that client may be."
Cst. Bildfell said the initiative is a money saver for police, as a large-scale search can cost tens of thousands of dollars along with extra manpower.
"We've been involved in large-scale searches with the OPP," he said. "Essentially, you're calling out specialty services. On top of that, you're utilizing marine services, aviation services, and K9 services. You have search managers, we're utilizing our drone technology as well."
He said Project Lifesaver has been in place in Essex County since 2006. He doesn't have specific numbers but said they've had a 100 per cent success rate.
Victim Services of Sarnia-Lambton is responsible for administering the program, maintaining people's accounts, and setting them up with the software.
Executive Director Selena Joseph said those interested in Project Lifesaver are asked to fill out a comprehensive form for their loved one.
"Part of the application process includes their known associates, their closest family members, and whether or not they have a history of wandering before registering for the program," said Joseph. "We also want to know where they might go, who they might go to and a bit of history on their condition. We want to be able to inform the officers, when we give them the information, on how to best search if nobody saw them go somewhere. I think it's about a 13 to 16 page document. We want to know as much information as possible to bring a loved one home."
Equipment used for Project Lifesaver (Blackburn Media Photo by Josh Boyce)
Joseph said Project Lifesaver adds to their mandate of supporting victims of crime and tragic circumstances.
"This allows us to expand on the support that we offer to the community," she said. "We're very much looking forward to this project being here. We know that it's been very successful in other communities."
The cost is $475 for a device and an additional $10 every two months for battery replacement.
Those interested can visit Victim Services of Sarnia-Lambton at 555 Christina St. N or at www.victimservices.on.ca.