SPD establishes protected change level for custody, enterprise change | native information

SHERIDAN – The Sheridan Police Department has established a secure exchange location consisting of two designated parking lots in front of the department’s headquarters.

The goal of the room, SPD captain Tom Ringley said, is to provide a safe place for people to ask for custody of children or goods bought and sold at sales by individuals, such as cigarettes. B. transactions that are carried out via classified ads or online.

Ringley said the location of the site in front of the police department, within sight of SPD surveillance cameras and traffic on the main street, should ensure the parties act appropriately during the transaction.

“We would expect people [who] meeting in the rooms would be aware of their location,” Ringley said.

LouAnn Larsen, visiting coordinator at the Compass Center for Families, said SPD’s safe exchange location could be a boon for local custody exchanges.

Larsen said Compass provides services to families dealing with the Wyoming Department of Family Services and “self-referrals,” or families who come to Compass of their own free will, at multiple levels of oversight. The lowest level of supervision at Compass is Custody Swaps, where Compass staff facilitate the transfer of a child between two custodial adults.

Although exchanges include the lowest level of Compass oversight, Larsen explained that they can still be volatile. Emotions run high, and families often request Compass’s services because they can’t or can’t safely orchestrate the exchange themselves, Larsen said.

The SPD’s new Safe-Exchange site could offer families another place to exchange custody. Although some families can arrange a custody exchange at home, school, or other public places like a gas station or grocery store, other families need extra reassurance and support during the exchange process because of a history of domestic violence, anger issues, or other challenges, Larsen said.

“I think a lot more families will use it,” Larsen said.

Because of the tense nature of these exchanges, Larsen said, for years she has sent families to the police department to conduct a custody exchange when Compass is closed or otherwise unable to monitor the exchange.

Larsen said the reassigned space also demonstrates the SPD’s commitment to ensuring those involved in exchanges are safe during this process. With the establishment of this space, according to Larsen, the SPD is making a clear and public commitment to remain aware of the people parked in these two spots and to ensure their safety.

“I’m just thrilled that they’re focusing on that,” Larsen said.