The City of Wilmington Police Department is committed to the safety of all city residents. The more information officers have when they respond to calls for service, the better they can meet the needs of our residents.
The mission of the Autism/Special Needs Awareness Program is to alert emergency responders that there may be a person with autism or special needs in a home or vehicle. The program will help prepare responding units to draw on their training and understand that a person in the home or vehicle may not speak, respond to, or comply with verbal commands; may hide, or wander off, or may have no awareness of danger. This program may be helpful for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, auditory processing disorder, intellectual/developmental disability, down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other disabilities that prevent the individual from reacting appropriately in emergency situations.
The program enrollment process consists of completing an application and a waiver form. After the registration for the program, we will request that WESCOM, our dispatch center, note the address in their system with a brief description of the special needs of the individual. The information in the address notations will be relayed to the first responders if there is a call for service at the residence.
The Wilmington Police Department will provide decals free of charge to the City of Wilmington residents who enroll in the program. The decals should be placed near the front door of their home and/or rear window of their vehicle so that police officers/first responders can easily see them. If the decals are displayed the decals should be removed if the individual with special needs no longer resides in the home or rides in the vehicle. Residents who register for the program are not required to display the decal.
If you have any questions regarding the Wilmington Police Department’s Autism/Special Needs Awareness Program, you may email Deputy Chief Justin Dole at jdole@wilmington-il.gov
This form can be mailed, dropped off at the Wilmington Police Station, or scanned and emailed to jdole@wilmington-il.gov