MONROE - The Green County Sheriff's Department is looking to start a tracking device program to help area residents locate family members with Alzheimer's or autism who have wandered off.
The person with Alzheimer's or autism wears a rugged wristwatch-like bracelet that sends out a location signal.
"If they wander away, then the caregiver can call here at 911," said Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. Deputies then help track down the wanderer. "Other counties have had great luck locating people."
His department hasn't had the budget for the tracking program, he said, so he's in the process of seeking donations from area service clubs.
"It's in the infancy stage," he said.
Skatrud started investigating his options after a local mother of an autistic child asked him about the possibility of bringing a tracking program to Green County.
The county would contract with Care Trak Systems or Project Lifesaver for the tracking devices and software. The typical startup cost is about $7,000. Each bracelet costs $500, but a resident-user would be responsible only for the cost of replacement batteries - about $6 every few months.
Skatrud also reported the following at the monthly meeting Wednesday of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee:
• Jail population was down in September, the lowest since December 2011. The daily average for the month was 46 inmates, with seven per day out on electronic monitoring. The jail served 455 fewer meals during the month than in August and 1,200 fewer than in July.
• The department's new K-9, Ike, hit the streets the third week of September and has already sniffed out a cumulative one-half pound of marijuana in 10 separate incidents.
- Katjusa Cisar
The person with Alzheimer's or autism wears a rugged wristwatch-like bracelet that sends out a location signal.
"If they wander away, then the caregiver can call here at 911," said Sheriff Jeff Skatrud. Deputies then help track down the wanderer. "Other counties have had great luck locating people."
His department hasn't had the budget for the tracking program, he said, so he's in the process of seeking donations from area service clubs.
"It's in the infancy stage," he said.
Skatrud started investigating his options after a local mother of an autistic child asked him about the possibility of bringing a tracking program to Green County.
The county would contract with Care Trak Systems or Project Lifesaver for the tracking devices and software. The typical startup cost is about $7,000. Each bracelet costs $500, but a resident-user would be responsible only for the cost of replacement batteries - about $6 every few months.
Skatrud also reported the following at the monthly meeting Wednesday of the Green County Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee:
• Jail population was down in September, the lowest since December 2011. The daily average for the month was 46 inmates, with seven per day out on electronic monitoring. The jail served 455 fewer meals during the month than in August and 1,200 fewer than in July.
• The department's new K-9, Ike, hit the streets the third week of September and has already sniffed out a cumulative one-half pound of marijuana in 10 separate incidents.
- Katjusa Cisar