Chapter 472
2008 -- H 7048
Enacted 07/05/08
A N A C T
RELATING
TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - STATE POLICE
Introduced
By: Representatives Corvese, Ajello, Schadone, Malik, and McNamara
Date
Introduced: January 03, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter
42-28 of the General Laws entitled "State Police" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following
sections:
42-28-3.3.
Senior citizen alert. -- (a) The general assembly hereby finds that,
in the case
of a missing senior citizen, the first few hours
are critical in finding such senior citizen, and that
the implementation of a Missing Senior Citizen
Alert program is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.
(b) The
division of state police, in consultation with other appropriate agencies,
including
without limitation, the Rhode Island department
of health, shall develop a voluntary partnership
among law enforcement agencies, media outlets and
other appropriate entities to send out
emergency alerts entitled the "Missing
Senior Citizen Alert Program."
(c) For
purposes of section 42-28-3.3 and section 42-28-3.4, a "Missing Senior
Citizen"
means a person:
(i) Whose
whereabouts are unknown;
(ii) Whose
domicile at the time he or she is reported missing is Rhode Island;
(iii) Whose age
at the time he or she is reported missing is sixty (60) years of age or
older;
(iv) Who has an
impaired mental condition; and
(v) Whose
disappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of such person,
as determined by the state police or other law
enforcement agency.
(d) The
impaired mental condition shall be demonstrated by the appropriate
documentation presented by the missing senior
citizen's family, legal guardian, long-term care
ombudsman, or long-term care facility where such
person resides.
(e) The missing
senior citizen alert program shall provide a pro-active emergency public
alert plan as part of the response to the
disappearance of a missing senior citizen that may be
expediently triggered by law enforcement
personnel in accordance with protocols and procedures
established by the division of state police in
consultation with appropriate law enforcement
authorities, the Rhode Island emergency
management agency, the Rhode Island department of
health, state and local officials and
cooperating members of the broadcast media ("Missing Senior
Citizen Alert").
(f) Once a law
enforcement agency has confirmed the disappearance of a missing senior
citizen, the law enforcement agency will obtain
descriptive information for the missing senior
citizen alert, contact the state police to
provide the descriptive information to the state police and
identify a point of contact within its agency.
42-28-3.4.
Missing Senior Citizen Alert procedures for protocol and implementation.
-- The division of state police shall establish
protocols and procedures to implement the missing
senior citizen alert. The protocols and
procedures shall be updated as may be necessary in
consultation with the entities and agencies
involved in the missing senior citizen alert process to
provide effective and efficient procedures to
assist law enforcement agencies, broadcast media
and other cooperating agencies or entities in
providing an emergency alert to the public in
response to a missing senior citizen
disappearance.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00110
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