Earlier this month, Governor DeSantis signed into law SB 418 – a bill that would require law enforcement training that would improve interactions with people with cognitive conditions including Alzheimer’s and spectrum disorders.
Law enforcement agencies are increasingly finding themselves responding to missing persons alerts involving cognitively impaired Central Floridians – and a lack of training in identifying the markers of these conditions have created awkward and sometimes violent confrontations between police and people with cognitive issues.
The training is mandatory, and will be required for candidates to receive law enforcement certification in Florida. It will help officers identify people who may have Autism Spectrum Disorders or Alzheimer’s, teach law enforcement communications techniques to create smoother interactions and better de-escalation tools and provide what are called “blue envelopes” – to hold auto registration and insurance information, telling police the person they are interacting with has a cognitive condition.
Gene Saunders is the founder of and CEO of Project Lifesaver – the non-profit that has developed the training program that Florida police will use. The organization educates more than fifteen-hundred law enforcement agencies in all fifty states and much of Canada – they have been cultivating the program since 1999, evolving with the science behind our understanding of autism spectrum disorders.
He has been a sworn law enforcement officer for nearly 60 years – he joined Engage to discuss the need for this kind of training.
