Acting Senior Sergeant Gary Hughes (Officer in Charge – Emergency Operations Unit), Mayor Deb Hamblin and Inspector Steve Scott (WA Police Emergency Management and Specialist Support Division). PIC: City of Rockingham
The City of Rockingham is offering funds for residents of the Low Income Subsidy Scheme to register for Safe & Found WA – an important tool that can help police quickly locate a vulnerable missing person.
Safe & Found WA caters to people living with dementia, autism or a cognitive impairment and helps police bring them safely back to their loved ones when they go missing.
It provides the police with information about a missing person (arranged in advance), including their previous home or work addresses, habits, behavior and places where a person may have previously wandered.
The City’s Safety Subsidy, which is one of three subsidies offered to the community under the Low Income Subsidy Scheme, allows residents to have their initial $99 registration fee refunded when they enroll with Safe & Found WA.
Mayor Deb Hamblin said the city is committed to removing barriers for residents to access essential support services.
“Safe & Found WA is an important tool that can help police quickly locate missing persons, and the City is proud to partner with WA Police and Medic Alert to support this important initiative,” Mayor Hamblin said.
“Approximately 21,000 people over the age of 60 live in the city of Rockingham. This number will continue to rise in the years to come and it is important that they have a range of support services available to ensure they can live as safely and securely as possible.”
Inspector Steve Scott of the WA Police Emergency Management and Specialist Support Division thanked the city for its support of Safe & Found.
“Introduced by the Minister of Police in August 2021, Safe & Found has been used successfully seven times to quickly locate vulnerable missing persons and bring them home safely,” said Inspector Scott.
“A search was resolved by posting a recent photo of the missing person on the police Facebook page and within 30 minutes a member of the public had located him.
“Another member was identified via her Safe & Found bracelet before she was even reported missing.”
The City of Rockingham is the second local government to offer to subsidize Safe & Found membership.
For more information on the subsidies or how to apply, see rockingham.wa.gov.au/community/community-support/low-income-subsidy-scheme
Comments are closed.