Malverne Police debut ‘wanderer’ technology

Project Lifesaver helps find individuals lost due to cognitive impairment.

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Last year, a Malverne resident approached village police Chief John Aresta with a request: Was there anything the Police Department could do to help him with his mother, who was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and was prone to wandering away?

Soon afterward, Aresta attended the International Chief’s Conference and learned how he could offer help — more quickly and efficiently — through a tracking technology from the nonprofit Project Lifesaver International, based in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The product, which goes by the same name, focuses on a small transmitter worn around the wrist or ankle that emits a tracking signal. If a person wearing the device goes missing, the caregiver notifies the local police department or other agency, and a trained emergency team will track the person using the signal.

Working with Project Lifesaver, the Malverne Police Department secured $5,000 in grant money for the technology, which is now available at police headquarters. As of now, Malverne’s department is the only agency in Nassau County or New York City to have the technology.

That should soon change, however. According to a press release issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office last week, the state has formed a partnership with Project Lifesaver International, which will provide its technology and training to 50 law enforcement agencies throughout the state. The state will provide agencies with nearly 600 tracking devices for use with children under 18 who may have autism, Down syndrome or another type of cognitive impairment that puts them at risk for wandering or getting lost, the release stated. The state purchased the technology using approximately $253,000 from its Missing and Exploited Children Special Revenue fund.

Aresta said that anyone in the village or neighboring areas is welcome to sign up for the technology, which costs $300 for the transmitter and $2 per month for batteries. The Malverne P.D. will change the batteries, to ensure that the device is working properly and is securely fastened.

The transmitter uses radio frequency tracking, which is reliable in wooded areas and in buildings, and is less susceptible to signal blockage. Malverne police currently have six transmitters available, but may purchase more if there is a need.

Last week, Aresta presented the technology at the May village board meeting. “A search for a missing person could go hours and days,” he said. “With this system, the average recovery time for missing people is 30 minutes — and the technology has a 100 percent recovery rate.” Nearly 3,000 missing people have been found through the use of the technology, Aresta said, which has been available since 1999.

How it works

The transmitter, which looks like a watch, can be worn on the wrist or put on a necklace. When the person wearing it wanders away, the pings transmitted by the wrist device are picked up by a tracking receiver, which is connected to the top of a police car.

Several weeks ago, the Malverne police piloted the program, with “test wanderers” starting in Westwood Park. “We gave three guys a half-hour start and were able to find them within minutes,” Aresta said. “We found one on the corner of Dogwood and Cornwell Avenue, and the other in Franklin Square.”

George Saunders, founder of Project Lifesaver, said his organization trains officers not only how to use and troubleshoot the equipment, but how to interact with wanderers once they’re found. It’s very important they understand what they’re dealing with, what the disorder is,” Saunders said. “We’re certainly not going to make them highly proficient, but we’re definitely going to give them enough information on people with dementia, Parkinson’s, autism, Down syndrome and more. There are so many of these disorders that have a large characteristic of wandering, it’s important that they understand that one size doesn’t fit all.”

As part of their training, officers, take a written and practical exam, and eventually they become in-house instructors.

If you are interested in learning more about the Project Lifesaver technology, contact the Malverne Police Department at chief@malvernepd.org, or (516) 599-3141.