BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Erie County Sheriff's Office has launched a new initiative to help deputies better serve people with special needs.
The new program, the "Handle With Care" registry, encourages caregivers to share a brief description of a person's triggers and calming methods to better prepare deputies for responding to a call.
More information on the Handle With Care Registry can be found here.
"I think this is excellent," says Thomas Ess, Senior Vice President of Residential Behavior Services and Emergency Management for PeopleInc. , which serves more than 13,000 people with special needs in Western New York.
"Having that information to be able to relate to officers before they get on scene is really going to be critical to the success of an intervention," said Ess, "I love the fact that they're hitting this with broad strokes. They're not just looking at people with a developmental disability, but they're also looking at, you know, people with Alzheimer's or have a drug history, that could also affect the way that they interact with law enforcement,"
I also spoke with Erie County Sheriff John Garcia on Monday about the "Handle With Care" registry. Sheriff Garcia believes the program will go a long way in promoting a safe environment during police and citizen interaction.
"We want to make that we give the best service available to the public," said Sheriff John Garcia," When we arrive we will have all of the information on hand, Jeff, it just resolves the incident a lot better, peacefully and there are no mistakes."
