Lisbon Police Department programs to help residents with developmental disabilities, dementia

LISBON — The Lisbon Police Department plans to launch two new programs to help people with developmental disabilities and dementia.

Police Chief Marc Hagan said the first program — Developmental Disability Registration — will allow people with developmental disabilities to fill out a registration form that “collects information about a person’s tendencies, triggers, and any other information that the caregiver thinks the police department should be aware of.”

First responders can sometimes inadvertently cause situations involving missing people with developmental disabilities to escalate because they are not familiar with “potential triggers that could further agitate or scare the person in crisis,” Hagan said.

He said the program should “alleviate these types of scenarios.”

The second program — Wanderer Registration — is designed to help first responders find and communicate with people prone to wandering because of autism, Alzheimer’s, dementia or other medical conditions.

Hagan said family members or caregivers who wish to sign someone up for either program can do so at the Lisbon Police Department or on the department’s website.

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