Police Registry For Adults And Kids With Special Needs Opens In West Caldwell

WEST CALDWELL, NJ — Children and adults with special needs have gotten hurt during tense situations in which their families called police for help, including a 13-year-old boy on the autism spectrum who was shot in Salt Lake City in 2020. As a result, North Jersey police departments have received special training and tools to know how to approach someone with a disability after being called.

In West Caldwell, the police are setting up a voluntary database in order to be proactive. They say it will be useful not only when police respond to calls, but also if someone with a special need (such as dementia) is missing.

This program was developed by Corporal Steven Huster, said West Caldwell Police Chief Dennis Capriglione. Huster will be the point of contact for parents.

The program is now accepting names and information.

"This information will provide our officers with essential information to effectively handle situations involving our most vulnerable population," Chief Capriglione said last week. "It will be another tool in our tool belt to prevent situations from unnecessarily escalating and more often will assist our officers in locating and identifying persons with special needs at times when they wander away from their homes or caregivers into potential danger."

He added, "This program is not limited to children either. We also would like anyone with special circumstances, Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, or other life-threatening conditions to voluntarily provide this helpful information to our agency."

On Facebook, the department said, "The information contained on the form assists our officers by giving them advanced medical and behavioral information allowing them to be prepared before they enter a residence and interact with an individual with special needs."

Completed forms can be submitted to the via email at communityservices@westcaldwellpd.com or dropped off at Police Headquarters, 21 Clinton Road. They also have a Google Form that can be completed using the following link: https://tinyurl.com/5bfxxcsv

If you have any questions or need to clarify any information, please contact Cpl. Steven Huster at 973-226-4114.