Chatham-Kent police are making it easier to find missing vulnerable residents.
A Vulnerable Persons Registry will be rolled out with the police service's new online reporting system. It will allow caregivers and guardians to provide basic information about those with developmental disabilities or dementia, in the event they go missing.
"Having all their particulars: their height, their weight, pictures on file, only assists us in expediting their location," says Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn.
The info will be given on a voluntary basis, and also goes beyond a person's appearance. Conn adds the reporting resident can also give details about the vulnerable person's tendencies.
"They could have issues where they wander, inabilities to communicate," says Conn. "We find certain people will have fascinations with gravitating towards bodies of water."
Conn says analyzing the data and developing trends of behaviour will be a bonus of the system. The main benefit of the registry comes in saving time and resources when looking for missing persons.
"Depending on the time of the year we've had incidents where people have gone missing, for example, in a cornfield," adds Conn. "So time is of the essence when trying to locate these individuals."
The service is expected to roll out in the next couple weeks, along with CK police's online "Cop Logic" system.