A new partnership has allowed the Belmont Police Department to streamline its process for collecting the information it might need if a person in town is reported missing.
According to its website, Frontline Public Safety Solutions is software used by police departments nationwide for a variety of purposes, including employee performance tracking; managing policies and memos, and tracking daily observation reports; and streamlining public record requests and other inter-agency assignments.
In Belmont, it’s being used both for its internal roll call process, but also as a platform for recording information that, until now, has been collected manually about “at-risk” members of the community. Individuals would fill out a ‘Special Needs Alert Form’ online about that person, and bring it to the station for an officer to input it into their system. Photos are then emailed separately.
“This now allows residents to just click on a link and enter it in themselves and upload,” said Lt. Kristin Daley, who handles the “at-risk” element of the new partnership with Frontline.
The department is calling on members of the public who have loved ones who may be considered “at risk” to enter information about their loved one — physical description, medical conditions and medications, health care contact information, and other pertinent information, such as places they often go. A photo is also directly uploaded through the portal.
Anyone who has already submitted a special needs alert form does not need to do so again, as those are actively being transferred into the new system, according to Daley.
“If your family member is missing, just call us right away,” she said. “We want to help. The sooner we can help them—the sooner we can find the family member—be it a child or an adult. That’s what our officers are there for.”
A link to the input form can be found on the department’s website or at frontlinepss.com/belmontmacpc.
