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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Michael
J. Herzing |
State Rep. James E.
Casorio, Jr. |
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Casorio to reintroduce Senior Alert legislation
HARRISBURG, Feb. 27 -- State Rep. James E. Casorio Jr. today said that he is preparing to reintroduce legislation (H.B. 2406 from the 2005-06 legislative session) that would create a Senior Alert system in Pennsylvania, similar to the Amber Alert system, to quickly inform law enforcement and the public when senior citizens or other care-dependent adults are missing.
“Just as with children, when seniors and other adults with mental and physical disabilities go missing, it is important to locate them as quickly as possible,” Casorio said. “In many cases, Alzheimer’s patients or seniors with other mental disabilities who go missing may not even be aware of their circumstances or that they are in danger. Finding them and returning them to care immediately is vital to keeping them safe and protecting their health.”
Casorio, D-Westmoreland, said his bill would require the state police to create an alert system to notify local law enforcement, the media and public of missing, medically endangered adults, and to facilitate the quick launch of a coordinated search for those adults. Under the system, local police departments that receive a report of a missing senior citizen would begin an investigation immediately, and would also prepare and distribute an initial report describing the senior, the area where the senior was last seen and the senior’s home address.
The report would have to be prepared and distributed to other local law enforcement agencies and the news media within five hours, he said.
Casorio said the legislation would include penalties for people who make false reports of missing adults; those penalties would be enhanced for false reports that endanger innocent people or law enforcement officials. In addition, the bill would also include a “good Samaritan” provision to protect members of the public and the media from civil liability when activating and participating in a Senior Alert search in good faith.
“A quick, coordinated response is the key to locating missing people in those crucial first few hours,” Casorio said. "We’ve seen in countless cases how the Amber Alert system facilitates an effective and immediate response by law enforcement, the media and the public. It’s made a huge difference in the case of many missing children, and the same kind of system should be in place to protect our senior citizens and other care-dependent adults in cases where they are missing or lost.”
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