The Watertown Police recently added a new resource for neurodivergent people and their families that could help prevent misunderstandings and even tragedies.
The WPD has joined the Blue Envelope program. The program was started a few years ago by the Massachusetts State Police, and the kits are now available at the Watertown Police Station, said Watertown Police Officer Devon Shatkin.
“It’s essentially fostering safer relationships between individuals with autism who are drivers on the road and police officers,” Shatkin said. ” So, we’ve seen a much increased frequency of those type of interactions, and they can be difficult, dangerous, stressful. So, the State Police kind of determined a tactic to make them safer for everybody involved, police officers, individuals with autism, their families.”
The free kits come in a blue envelope, and are available to a driver with autism or any kind of neurological difference.
“It would hold your license, your registration, contact cards, if it was going to be helpful to call a parent or a guardian to kind of facilitate in the exchange, or any kind of tips that would be helpful for a police officer to know how to best communicate with you,” Shatkin said.
Shatkin worked on the Blue Envelope program along with fellow WPD Officer Catherine Welch. Both work in the Patrol Division. Shatkin said she and other officers have noticed they have more frequent interactions with people who are neurodivergent, and they may have different tendencies.
“Someone with autism just has different tendencies, so that may make communication comprehension just difficult. And if an officer doesn’t know that, that’s the presentation of autism, it could start raising some red flags of concern and officer safety, and the last thing we want to do is, you know, get into an altercation because we don’t understand how someone expresses themselves,” Shatkin said. “It’s really important to use this as a tool to kind of slow things down and learn how to best communicate with an individual who needs maybe a little bit more compassion or a little bit slower speech, or needs things broken down in a different manner.”
Watertown Police officers also recently received training that will help when they work with someone who is neurodivergent. They learned some of the ways to tell if someone is autistic, and strategies for de-escalating a situation. They were also taught that people with autism have a high risk of drowning.
Officer Joe Kelland said he is glad he got the training.
“I am a detective now, so I know I’m going to have follow ups with kids with autism, and being able to know how to tell, and talk to them, and know (how to interact). It’s good training for that,” Kelland said.
The two-day training in August is just part of ongoing efforts by the Watertown Police, said Lt. Kevin McManus, who oversees the WPD’s Training Division.
“The big thing about classes like this is it’s a two day class, it’s about 16 hours worth of training,” he said. “But trainings like these need to be compounded with other trainings.”
The Blue Envelopes are available at every State Police barracks, as well as the Watertown Police Station, 552 Main St., Watertown. Fore more information call 617-972-6500, or request an envelope at https://www.mass.gov/forms/request-a-blue-envelope
An absolutely terrific idea. Could be a lifesaver.