Bedminster residents, and those “who care about them near and far,” can now sign up for consideration for a safety check from a township police officer.
At the June 14 board of supervisors meeting, Police Chief Matt Phelan announced the addition, named the “How Are You?” Community Care Program, to his department’s comprehensive new community relations initiative that began last March.
At that time, supervisors authorized the creation of a new, grant-supported position of Civilian Community Relations Specialist, with Laurie Hepler, long-serving administrative assistant in the department, to serve in the new position.
In her new role, Hepler provides new support for the department, by taking over some of the duties that are not restricted to sworn staff, including certain aspects of victims services; crime prevention; communications; and policy improvement.
In a handout at the June 14 meeting, the routine safety checks now added, through partnering with local churches, are described as establishing a prearranged time for participants to receive a regular, how-are-you phone call, with any stated concerns, or non-response, possibly leading to a police officer dispatched to the location for a safety check.
In addition to supporting physical well-being, the service is also designed to help seniors and other residents not easily fall victim to scams and frauds that can be prevented if detected in advance by police department personnel. Any residents, their family members, police contacts, or church referrals can sign up by calling the department at 215-565-6888, to have an application sent or brought by, or get one online via https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/bedminstertwppd.
Meanwhile, during his regular monthly report, Phelan noted continued success with the township’s participation in the Upper Bucks Human Services Co-Responder Program that was established earlier this year, with seven cases in Bedminster involving mental health, alcoholism, and dementia referred to the co-responder during May. The program assists police departments by sending a social services co-responder to certain types of calls, including those relating to mental health, suicidal thoughts, runaways, domestic, etc., thereby providing special expertise, and decreasing the time law enforcement spends responding to situations involving social services.
Also at the June 14 meeting, supervisors approved a letter of support for the formation of a new Municipal Contribution Program, under the Bucks County Agricultural Land Preservation Program, that would allow municipalities to contribute funds towards the county’s annual allocation, and receive matching funds from the state Department of Agriculture.
In addition, they approved a resolution to join a new municipal consortium, toward proposing legislation and taking other actions, to counter any new efforts that would negatively impact water and sewer customers. Last year, local municipalities rose up to successfully oppose a proposed private takeover of the assets of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.
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