The sheriff has no need for citizens with Down syndrome and Autism, why they do not vote!
Written by Capt. (Ret) Robert B. Forrest, III
Project Lifesaver was a project that was the result of collaboration between personnel in the LCSO PIO Office who worked in smaller units under my command. To Include Crime Stoppers, Crime Prevention, and community relations. So, this was a team effort brought about by brainstorming (together) for a cost effective and efficient, speedy way to address a growing problem in Lee County. AS the county was growing, so was the elderly population. Some of whom still lived at home, or with their children or an assisted facility/nursing home. But the calls from citizens reporting an elderly relative or neighbor, etc., had wandered off and was nowhere to be found. ” Yes, I would like to report that my dad, or mom or grandparent has wondered off and we can’t locate him. I want to report a missing person of an at-risk adult”. This was the essence of the typical call the Sheriff’s Office would get, setting off a manhunt to find this missing individual.
Up until that time, the protocol was to muster as many Law Enforcement personnel as to possible, relatives, neighbors, volunteers, and send the helicopter up (in those days the fuel cost per hour to fly the chopper was in the range of $300 to $350. an hour. This, of course, was time consuming, costly and would sometimes take hours or maybe a day or two. Obviously, the longer it took to find the missing elderly person, the prospect for a happy ending to the story diminished. So, to the best of my recollection, this project was born around either late 2003 or early 2005. It used existing GPS technology that the Department of County Probation was already using on folks who were on Probation and were outfitted with either ankle bracelets or wristbands. We took the already existing technology and crafted a new way to use it for a new purpose in the effort to improve the chances of dramatically and certainly much quicker (and successful/happy results) of locating at-risk adults or the elderly in a much faster and cost-effective, efficient way.,
So, the program was launched and LCSO put the word out about this program and that those who were affected by this problem and were interested in using it, could simply register their loved one and obtain a bracelet or wristband. Only problem was that initially, folks had to pay for the bracelets but nonetheless, it was a popular program and it was not very long at all that we ran out of the bracelets and wristbands. So we began to take steps to find ways to fund additional bands and also at some point, subsidize part of the cost of the bracelets, etc.so the program grew over the years and was tweaked as needed but it worked. And it worked without having to call up the LCSO helicopter, muster an army of individuals for a search party and no need for bloodhounds…. Now, I do not know how many dogs LCSO currently have for this program but maintaining a bunch of dogs require feeding, lodging, medical needs, etc. This costs something (I don’t know how much) but obviously it is an ongoing expense.
The defunding/canceling of Project Lifesaver and replacing it (re-branding it under a new, different name) by Sheriff Marceno is nothing more than a public relation, feel good (everybody loves doggies) public relations stunt. The project Lifesaver was not broken… you know what they say. Don’t fix it if it isn’t broken. Now, it has a totally new name and he’s added bloodhounds and their handlers to the mix. I was interviewed on this subject back around September of last year by Fox Four News. I did an on-camera interview with them. A few days after that, WINK TV called me for the same thing and the reporter and I set up a meeting time. Then, suddenly, WINK was no longer interested in this story.
So, there it is. This is the background info on this program that Marceno has re-branded and now calls it his own idea. And its more expensive to maintain and operate than the original program. What a bunch of BS…
Capt. (Ret) Robert B. Forrest, III retired from LCSO June 11, 2011.
Fox News article https://www.fox4now.com/news/local-news/lee-county-ends-program-to-find-missing-people
Wink News article https://www.winknews.com/2019/05/31/lcso-cuts-ties-with-nonprofit-assisting-people-with-cognitive-disabilities/