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The Riverside Police Department has instituted a 911 emergency registry for disabled and elderly residents.
As part of a state law, the registry, called the Premise Alert Program, will allow emergency dispatchers at the fire and police stations to view a person’s medical conditions and medications as well as grant access in an emergency situation without a warrant.
The free and voluntary registry will allow people with special needs, or those who are elderly or disabled that reside, work or attend school in Riverside to either place their name or have their name placed by a family member into the police department’s computer-aided dispatch data base.
“All municipalities with 911 emergency centers in the state of Illinois are required to have it,” Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said. “Advocates for disabled people and family members who live out of state from their elderly family members said that emergency responders should have the information. When a call comes into the dispatch center, a screen will pop up and give information on the person who lives at that address.”
Weitzel said another feature of the program was that police were allowed to enter a home without a warrant in case of emergency.
“Sometimes, a person has a bracelet or necklace that they can push for help if they fall in the house, and that usually goes to a separate answering center and then to the police,” Weitzel said.
“When the police get there, the door is locked, and there is no lawful reason to break down the door. We can look in the windows to see if the person is on the floor, but often, they are out of view.
“If they’re in the program, the 911 center can look at the person’s address and force their way into the home for rescue or medical reasons.”
Weitzel said the program is not meant to keep criminal activity records.
“It will not pop up and tell us that we’ve visited the home five times for a crime,” Weitzel said. “It is completely voluntary and it is a good program. It’s incorporated into our computer dispatch so emergency responders know a person’s condition right away.”
The Riverside Police Department has instituted a 911 emergency registry for disabled and elderly residents.
As part of a state law, the registry, called the Premise Alert Program, will allow emergency dispatchers at the fire and police stations to view a person’s medical conditions and medications as well as grant access in an emergency situation without a warrant.
The free and voluntary registry will allow people with special needs, or those who are elderly or disabled that reside, work or attend school in Riverside to either place their name or have their name placed by a family member into the police department’s computer-aided dispatch data base.
“All municipalities with 911 emergency centers in the state of Illinois are required to have it,” Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel said. “Advocates for disabled people and family members who live out of state from their elderly family members said that emergency responders should have the information. When a call comes into the dispatch center, a screen will pop up and give information on the person who lives at that address.”
Weitzel said another feature of the program was that police were allowed to enter a home without a warrant in case of emergency.
“Sometimes, a person has a bracelet or necklace that they can push for help if they fall in the house, and that usually goes to a separate answering center and then to the police,” Weitzel said.
“When the police get there, the door is locked, and there is no lawful reason to break down the door. We can look in the windows to see if the person is on the floor, but often, they are out of view.
“If they’re in the program, the 911 center can look at the person’s address and force their way into the home for rescue or medical reasons.”
Weitzel said the program is not meant to keep criminal activity records.
“It will not pop up and tell us that we’ve visited the home five times for a crime,” Weitzel said. “It is completely voluntary and it is a good program. It’s incorporated into our computer dispatch so emergency responders know a person’s condition right away.”
