New Florida law aims to improve relationship between law enforcement, people with disabilities

ORLANDO, Fla. — A new Florida law aimed at improving relations between law enforcement and people with special needs or mental illness will go into effect on Jan. 1.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The law is called the “Special Persons Registry” or the “Protect Our Loved Ones Act” and applies to people with developmental or psychological disabilities.

It authorizes local law enforcement agencies to develop a database of people who may have conditions like autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia disorder or Down syndrome.

“The officers will know what they’re going into,” Edith Gendron, the Chief of Operations at the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center said. “They won’t be left to guess why this person might seem to be hallucinating.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Gendron has seen how a situation can end badly if law enforcement doesn’t know the condition of the person they are dealing with.

“The person living with Alzheimer’s disease jumped out of the car,” Gendron said. “The spouse came around and was struggling with the person trying to get them back in the car. The spouse got arrested for domestic violence.”

Gendron hopes this registry will help prevent situations like that from happening.

Read: Controversial financial disclosure law goes into effect in Florida

A person’s information is given voluntarily or by a caretaker if they can’t do it themselves.

Documentation, like a birth certificate and proof of eligibility, will be required to enroll in the registry.

Those registered will be notified in writing by law enforcement. This is of concern to Gendron for people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Read: $32.4 million contract awarded to revitalize and protect Duval County beaches

“Sometimes people lose the ability to comprehend and read,” Gendron said. “Sometimes reading something like that can be distressful. We’ll have to take that one as it comes and see how it goes.

CLICK HERE to read the original article by WFTV.

Read: PGA Tour, Saudis fail to reach agreement for golf’s future by Dec. 31 deadline

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.