By Rachel Bell [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Belleville police in partnership with the local Alzheimer’s Society is launching an electronic tracking program that will give police the ability to locate people prone to wandering.
“Project Lifesaver [2]” will help those affected by illnesses such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Autism Spectrum Disorder [3], and Down’s Syndrome.
Those who register will wear a radio-wave-tracking device on their wrist, much like a watch. Police will then be able to track the signal, in an average of 30 minutes.
The project was developed in the United States a decade ago, and is currently active in six provinces. There have been over 1,600 successful search records recorded.
The Belleville Police Service [4] has 10 officers trained to work with the tracking program, as well as two qualified instructors.
On Tuesday Dec. 12th at 3:30 p.m. local media are invited to the launch of the lifesaving project at the Belleville Police Service headquarters, where an overview and demonstration of the tracking system will take part.