Approach with Care

The Lincoln Parish Sheriff’s Office has launched a program it hopes gives first responders a new tool to help special needs residents who may be in distress.

“The Special Needs Program” provides up to three free window decals for vehicles or homes that alert responders there may be a person inside with Alzheimer’s, cerebral palsy, dementia, Down syndrome, autism, deafness, or other conditions that need additional attention.

The decals are available to anybody in Lincoln Parish.

As it is now, responders don’t usually know about special needs when they arrive at an accident scene or other incident, Sheriff Stephen Williams said. “Quite frequently, we run upon a situation, it could be a missing child or a dementia patient, and we have no information on them ahead of time,” he said.

The LPSO hopes the bright yellow decals help change that. People who pick up decals will be asked to fill out a form listing the type of special needs an individual has, sensory concerns first responders should be aware of, contact information, and the make, model and license plate number of the vehicle that may be transporting the individual.

All of that information will be entered into the central dispatch system database. The information will pop up instantly on the dispatch screen when the vehicle license number or residence address is keyed in.

That will help responders and others on scene better approach, assist and help those individuals in almost any situation, LPSO Sgt. Iris Winston said.

“You have a heads-up there’s somebody that needs some special attention,” she said.

The decals should be posted on the driver’s side back window, or if a residence, on an easily seen window or door.

Williams said the local program is patterned after one in DeSoto Parish.

“I didn’t see any negative to it. It’s win-win,” he said.

Winston said the program is another way the LPSO is seeking to serve the public.

“We’re trying to protect all of our citizens,” she said.