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A voluntary program offered by the Livermore Police Department since 2021 aims at promoting positive interactions between police and people with mental and neurological disabilities.
The Special Needs Registry is intended for Livermore residents and frequent visitors of all ages who may require special assistance in an emergency or during interactions with LPD officers due to disabilities or conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, bipolar disorder and Down syndrome.
Opting into the registry involves sharing information about the enrollee such as communication methods, sensory sensitivities and calming strategies as well as emergency contact information. Given these individualized details, Livermore police officers hope to be better prepared to interact with community members who may need specific considerations.
“When they come in contact with the individual, they already know calming strategies that work. They already know the likes and dislikes of the individual. They know things to start talking to them about to start building that rapport to help deescalate the situation,” founding officer Andrew Graycar said.
“The intent is to have the best possible outcome when our officers are coming in contact with people in the community that have special needs,” Graycar added.
Inspired by a loved one who has autism, Graycar launched the registry in January 2021.
In addition to operating the registry as a passion project, Graycar is a member of LPD’s Mobile Evaluation Team. The two-person unit responds to 911 calls involving a mental health or psychiatric component, provides field-based services to community members in acute mental health crises and provides training for department personnel, according to the LPD website.
“I want desperately for, when my loved one comes in contact with somebody, for that individual to understand a little bit about my loved one,” Graycar said. “That way it can be a good contact instead of something that is stressful.”
Similar registries also exist through the Pleasanton Police Department and Dublin Police Services, according to their websites.
These departments are among the officials serving the approximately 26,000 individuals in the East Bay with intellectual and development disabilities, a statistic shared by Susan Houghton, founder of Sunflower Hill. The nonprofit aims to create affordable housing as well as life skills and enrichment programs for people with I/DD in the Tri-Valley, Lafayette and the greater Bay Area, according to Sunflower Hill’s website.
In terms of its use, LPD’s Special Needs Registry can come into play when someone is lost or in need of help, Graycar explained.
Dispatch can relay a person’s record to responding officers to help prepare them, Graycar said. The dispatcher could provide file information like the individual’s preferred communication style, triggers, stimming behaviors and typical responses to relevant stimuli like sirens, emergency vehicles and people in uniforms.
“Let’s face it, most people get a little anxious when we hear sirens close by,” Tri-Valley REACH vice chair Sharon Almeida said. “Providing first responders with this information can help them be better prepared to serve those in the intellectual and developmental disabilities community.”
Tri-Valley REACH is a local nonprofit organization provides housing opportunities and other resources for adults with I/DD, according to its website.
“We think the registry is a great way for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to get the extra support they may need in an emergency situation,” Almeida said.
The registry is not a case of randomly gathering information, according to LPD spokesperson Azenith Smith.
“It’s rooted in somebody who actually lives and breathes this and wants to help the community and understand these community members better,” Smith said.
The program also helps LPD better understand the community, she added.
Since its founding, it has not been used to find a missing person but it may have helped with police-community interactions, LPD officials said.
Also, each part of the registry has been created with attention to detail, Graycar said. For instance, LPD issues an identification card to enrollees featuring emergency contact information, rather than the ID bracelets used by some departments.
“The last thing we’d want would be for some nefarious person to target somebody by something that we put together with good intentions,” Graycar said regarding the department’s selection of discrete ID cards.
As for information storage, LPD keeps the person records in-house.
In case of an emergency, LPD can share relevant information with law enforcement including the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department or Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. But as of early July, Graycar could not recall any times LPD has needed to share registry information with an outside agency.
At this time, LPD is trying to build awareness of the program, Smith explained.
The department has spread the message about its registry through partnerships with the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District and Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, which made a post on social media last month to promote the program.
“This is a very, very good thing,” Houghton said of the registry. “It is a benefit for not overreacting and certainly having compassion and understanding, just as we would with anyone who may not speak English or might be different from one another.”
To be included in LPD’s registry, one must submit a form to the department — in person or via email — detailing the enrollee’s information. Adults with special needs may enroll themselves in the program as well as parents and caregivers with legal authority.
Following submission of the form, processing may take up to two weeks, according to the department’s website. Once complete, an identification card is mailed to the enrollee.
For more information, visit the LPD website at police.livermoreca.gov.
Enrollment to registries in other cities would need to be completed separately. Registration to Pleasanton Police Department’s Exceptional Needs Registry — serving community members with I/DD and/or the elderly — can be completed over the phone while online registration is temporarily unavailable. Dublin Police Services’ Special Needs Registry is also open to inform Dublin Police and Alameda County Fire.
