Buffalo Grove touts missing person program
Buffalo Grove Police touted their new system to help locate special needs residents who have gone missing at this week's village board meeting.
"We believe that this program will be another valuable resource for our community members, and we are confident that one day this device will assist first responders in locating a person with special needs and keeping this individual out of harm's way," said Police Chief Steve Balinski.
And J.V. Springman, co-chair of the village's Buffalo Grove Days Committee, said the new system would have been a help at an incident that occurred during last year's Buffalo Grove Days festival.
"It was probably one of the worst hours I have had in any of the 15 years of Buffalo Grove Days," Springman said, adding that the individual was recovered safely. "I probably drove in a golf cart about three or four miles up and down the road. - Hopefully this will cut down (the response time) and we'll be able to find anybody a lot faster."
The system, called Care Trak, employs radio transmitters to help find individuals with Alzheimer's, autism, Down syndrome and similar disabilities who may have wandered away. It is available to residents who meet the guidelines, which include having a full-time caregiver.
Families meeting the pre-established criteria can purchase a water resistant transmitter the size of a wrist watch. The transmitter attaches to the wrist or ankle by a strong band and continually emits a pulsating radio signal, according to the village.
If someone goes missing and police are notified, trained Buffalo Grove police officers will deploy two portable telemetry tracking receivers. The tracking system includes hand-held directional antennas and digital receivers designed to locate the specific signal from the transmitter.
The signal can be located within one mile - five miles by air - and is sensitive enough to track inside homes, in dense brush, or within large buildings.
The equipment was funded by the village's Alcohol Awareness and Education Fund and donations from Buffalo Grove Friends of the Park Foundation, Belmont Village Senior Living, Sunrise Assisted Living and the Northwest Community Hospital,
Buffalo Grove police Sgt. Michael Szos said the system was highly recommended by other agencies. Sixteen departments in Northern Illinois use the system, including Schaumburg, Crystal Lake and Naperville. It has assisted in more than 2,000 rescues.
"The radio frequency that Care Trak provides is more precise than GPS," he said. "GPS relies on orbiting satellites, which is good for cars but it's bad for people."
?Buffalo Grove residents interested in receiving more information about the program or who would like to begin the screening process, may contact the Police Department's Crime Prevention unit at 847-459-2560 or via e-mail at police@vbg.org.