|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Applicable To: All employees |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Approval Authority: Chief George N. Turner |
|||||||||||||||||
|
Signature: Signed by GNT |
Date Signed: 12/9/10 |
||||||||||||||||
| Table of Contents | |||
|
4.1 Project Lifesaver Atlanta Search and Rescue Operation |
|
|
To establish policy for the management of the Project Lifesaver Atlanta / Project Lifesaver International and its equipment.
The Atlanta Police Department will initiate the tracking and rescue capabilities of Project Lifesaver Atlanta for all missing persons who are active and registered participants in the Project Lifesaver Program.
3.1 The Communications Section is responsible for maintaining the addresses of all persons registered with Project Lifesaver Atlanta in the computer aided dispatch system (CADS).
3.2 The Major Crimes Section commander is responsible for monitoring Project Lifesaver Atlanta and reviewing all after action reports.
3.3 The Homicide Unit commander is responsible for the maintenance and storage of all equipment and necessary paperwork associated with Project Lifesaver Atlanta. The Homicide Unit commander will also be the overall commander of all Project Lifesaver Atlanta rescue searches, and responsible for overseeing the training of personnel to be certified to use the equipment. The Homicide Unit commander will ensure that an adequate number of sworn employees have been trained and are available for rescue operations at all times.
3.4 The Homicide Unit watch commander is responsible for supervising all rescue searches related to Project Lifesaver Atlanta and ensuring all documents and forms are properly completed and maintained. The watch commander will appoint an Adult Missing Persons Investigator who has been certified in the use of Project Lifesaver equipment as the search incident commander for the rescue search.
3.5 The Adult Missing Persons Investigator is responsible for conducting prospective client interviews, overseeing the client’s monthly equipment check, responding to all missing person calls involving a Project Lifesaver Atlanta client, performing rescue searches for missing persons registered with Project Lifesaver Atlanta, and completing necessary paperwork.
3.6 The Project Lifesaver Atlanta search incident commander is responsible for coordinating and monitoring the rescue search operation and ensuring that the Homicide Unit supervisor is informed on the progress of the rescue search.
4.1 Project Lifesaver Atlanta Search and Rescue Operation
4.1.1 If the CADS indicates that a person registered with Project Lifesaver Atlanta resides at the address given for the missing person, the call-taker will determine if the missing person is registered with Project Lifesaver Atlanta. Upon being notified that the missing person is registered with Project Lifesaver Atlanta and is wearing a transmitter bracelet, Communications will immediately dispatch a uniformed officer and notify a Homicide Unit supervisor.
4.1.2 The first person to arrive on scene will obtain all information available about the missing person, provide that information to Communications to broadcast a lookout, and ensure that an Adult Missing Persons Investigator has been notified and is en route. Information to be obtained should include at a minimum: name, description of missing person, type of clothing being worn, time and place last seen, and the direction of travel, if known.
4.1.3 Upon being notified that a person outfitted with a Project Lifesaver Atlanta monitor is being reported missing, the Homicide Unit supervisor will appoint a search incident commander. The search incident commander should be a trained Project Lifesaver operator. The Helicopter Unit may be requested to the missing person’s last known location to participate in the search.
4.1.4 The search incident commander will obtain the missing client’s portfolio (see section 4.2) and photograph, complete a Missing Person Form with the client’s photographed attached to it, and distribute this Missing Person Form, to include at a minimum: the Zone in which the client was reported, all persons participating in the rescue search, and the Helicopter Unit.
4.1.5 The search incident commander will issue the Project Lifesaver Atlanta equipment to participants in the rescue search. Only sworn employees who have been trained and certified in the use of the Project Lifesaver Atlanta equipment will be allowed to operate the equipment.
1. The employee receiving the equipment will fill out an Equipment Usage Form, recording the date, what equipment they are using, and the date the equipment was returned.
2. A minimum of two CTR-1000 receivers and operators will be dispatched to the rescue search.
3. The responding helicopter should be equipped with Project Lifesaver Atlanta equipment and a trained operator, if one is available.
4.1.6 A search rescue operator equipped with a CTR-1000 receiver will respond to the missing person’s last known location to begin the search, relaying information to the search incident commander. All other search rescue operators will respond to the area as directed by the search incident commander.
4.1.7 If the missing person has not been located within one hour of searching with the Project Lifesaver Atlanta equipment, additional units will be called into the area to assist in the search and the search incident commander will issue a “Mattie’s Call” (for additional information see APD.SOP.5040 Homicide Unit, section 4.7.7).
4.1.8 Upon locating the missing person, the rescue search and the Mattie’s Call will be cancelled. The missing person will be placed in the custody of the caregiver.
4.1.9 The search incident commander will complete a Project Lifesaver Atlanta After Action Report within 24 hours of the conclusion of the search. A copy of this report will be placed in the client’s file, and copies forwarded up the chain of command. The search incident commander will also complete and submit a Project Lifesaver International after action report, located at www.projectlifesaver.org.
4.2 Enrollment in Project Lifesaver Atlanta program
4.2.1 All persons contacting the Atlanta Police Department about enrolling a person in Project Lifesaver Atlanta will be referred to the Homicide Unit. An interview with the caregiver and the prospective client should be scheduled for as soon as possible to determine if the prospective client meets the Program’s criteria. The caregiver should be a direct family member or someone appointed by the family to represent them in affairs regarding the client. If the client is a minor, the caregiver must be a parent or legal guardian. An Adult Missing Persons supervisor and investigator should attend the interview.
4.2.2 If the client meets the Program’s criteria and is accepted into Program Lifesaver Atlanta, an Adult Missing Persons Investigator will review and explain the Project Lifesaver Atlanta Memorandum of Understanding with the caregiver. Once the caregiver signs the Memorandum, a Client Portfolio Form will be filled out. The Adult Missing Persons Investigator will complete the portfolio based on answers provided by the caregiver. A digital photograph of the client will be taken, and added to the portfolio.
4.2.3 After enrollment in the Project Lifesaver Atlanta program, the client will be given a Project Lifesaver Atlanta transmitter. The transmitter will be tested to ensure it is functioning properly, and then secured to the client’s wrist or ankle by a plastic bracelet. An Adult Missing Persons Investigator will document the equipment issued and must record the actual frequency of the transmitter emission on the client’s Portfolio Form. The caregiver will sign the Client Equipment Sheet to acknowledge receipt of, and responsibility for, the Project Lifesaver Atlanta equipment.
4.2.4 The caregiver will be given a Caregiver Instruction Sheet, a Daily Battery Check Form, a transmitter battery tester, and a copy of the signed Memorandum of Understanding and Client Equipment Sheet. The Adult Missing Persons Investigator will explain each of the instructions to the caregiver and what is required to complete the forms.
4.2.5 Upon completion of the enrollment process, a Homicide Unit supervisor will immediately contact a Communications Supervisor and provide the client’s name and address. The Communications supervisor will immediately enter the information in the CADS system. The Homicide Unit supervisor will document the time, date, and name of the Communications supervisor on the client’s Portfolio Sheet.
4.2.6 All paperwork associated with a client must be placed in that respective client’s file and entered into the Project Lifesaver Atlanta database by the Adult Missing Persons Investigator. All client files will be stored in the Project Lifesaver Atlanta file cabinet in the Homicide Unit.
4.3.1 Each client will be visited at their residence on a monthly basis to complete a Monthly Equipment Check Form and ensure that the client and caregiver are meeting the requirements of the program. The client’s demeanor and overall appearance will be recorded on the Monthly Equipment Check Form, along with any other pertinent information. The Daily Battery Check Form will be reviewed and any discrepancies noted on a Monthly Equipment Check Form. The caregiver will be reminded that they are responsible for inspecting and checking the transmitter case daily with the provided Project Lifesaver battery tester.
4.3.2 The caregiver will be notified immediately of violations and informed of the consequences for repeated violations. Each caregiver violation must be noted on the Monthly Equipment Check Form, or by a memorandum explicitly detailing the infraction, including information on whom and when the caregiver was notified about the infraction.
4.3.3 The Lifesaver Atlanta transmitter will removed from the client’s wrist or ankle to be visually inspected for damage and to have the battery replaced. If any part of the Project Lifesaver equipment is damaged or not functioning properly it will be noted on the Monthly Equipment Check Form and replaced before being returned to the client.
4.3.4 The transmitter will be re-fastened to the client’s wrist or ankle and a battery check will be performed to ensure that the new battery is functioning properly.
4.3.4 The completed Daily Battery Check Form and Monthly Equipment Check Form, the used battery, and the used bracelet will be returned to the Homicide Unit. The forms and other paperwork will be placed in the client’s file. All issued batteries and bracelets will be recorded on the Battery Inventory Form and the Bracelet Inventory Form respectively.
4.4.1 A client’s participation in Project Lifesaver Atlanta may be terminated by the caregiver or the Homicide Unit upon ten days written notice to the other party.
4.4.2 If a caregiver violates any of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, or fails to abide by any of the rules listed in the Caregiver Instruction Sheet three or more times, the caregiver and client can be removed from the program. After the third violation, a Homicide Unit supervisor will determine if the client will be allowed to remain with the program. If the client is to be removed from the program, the caregiver will be given written notification at least ten days prior to the termination date.
4.4.3 Upon removing a client from the program, a Homicide Unit supervisor must notify a Communications supervisor immediately so the information can be removed from the CADS system. The notification and closeout date will be documented on the Client’s Portfolio Form. The Adult Missing Persons Investigator completing the closeout will ensure that the transmitter case, transmitter, and battery tester are returned to the unit by the caregiver. The returned equipment will be documented on the Client Equipment Sheet.
4.5.1 In order to remain a certified operator through Project Lifesaver International each operator must use the equipment at least twice per year. This includes equipment usage for training or rescue searches. All equipment use should be recorded on the Equipment Usage Form.
4.5.2 Operators who lose their certification must be re-certified before using the Project Lifesaver equipment.
5.1 Project Lifesaver International: Project Lifesaver is a program of proactive involvement and specialized rescue operations that respond to incidents of victims of Alzheimer’s disease, and other disorders, that have been reported missing.
5.2 Alzheimer’s disease : A disease occurring in middle aged or older persons that is characterized by mental deterioration of the type associated with senility and memory loss.
5.3 CTR-1000 Receiver: A receiver used by Project Lifesaver, and designed to receive 215.000 to 215.999 megahertz signals. The receiver can be outfitted with an antenna to indicate the strength and direction of the signal.
APD.SOP.3086 “Project Lifesaver Atlanta” issued July 1, 2005
APD.SOP.3084 Mentally Ill and Disabled Persons APD.SOP.3085 Missing Persons APD.SOP.5040 Homicide |
|