Coffee With a Cop...and for a Purpose
Robbinsville has been home to Autism New Jersey’s offices for more than a decade. Our friends at the Robbinsville Township Police Department hosted their 2nd Annual “Coffee With a Cop” event on World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 at the Robbinsville Starbucks, demonstrating how neighborhood and community connections can enhance safety.
The event was conceived to promote and bring awareness to the Rville S.A.F.E. Program. At the event, officers were able to meet and interact with members of the community in a relaxed environment.
S.A.F.E. stands for “Secure Awareness for First Encounters.” It is a secure registry and awareness sticker program created for Robbinsville community members with autism or who have a communication disorder. In an emergency, this registry gives police officers quick access to critical information about a person who is registered.
Mom Knows Best
Lt. Thomas Egan passionately spearheads the efforts for the department and explains how the program came to be.
“This program was started in January 2021 after some careful planning with the mom of an autistic boy named Nicholas and Police Department Administration.”
Lt. Egan continued, “They say, “Moms know best,” and this was clearly true after I had the opportunity to speak with Nicholas’s mother, Jennifer.”
Jennifer reached out to the Police Department in August 2020 hoping to set up an appointment for them to come meet some police officers prior to the closing of their new home in Robbinsville. “She wanted to ease the stress of the transition,” he explained.
In talking with Jennifer, he learned about Nicholas’s autism and about a traumatic incident during a minor traffic stop. Jennifer explained when she was pulled over with Nicholas in the car, the sirens, emergency lights, and patrol car’s loudspeaker were overwhelming and triggered a behavioral episode with Nicholas.
“Jennifer and I spoke in detail for about an hour that day and scheduled a meet and greet with our officers that included a tour of police department, a tour of our patrol cars, and a special one-on-one session for Nicholas and our School Resource Officer.”
Jennifer reached out to the Police Department hoping to set up an appointment for her and Nicholas to come meet some police officers.
Read more about the steps parents should take to build relationships with local first responders.
After this meeting, Lt. Egan researched what other police departments were doing to address these issues. He sought out guidance from Jennifer and other families, including the local Special Education Parents Advisory Group, and father and son duo, Ryan and Andy Sinkerlis, who had recently spoken at an agency training about autism awareness.
From there, the Rville S.A.F.E. program was born. It officially launched in 2021 and promotion is ongoing via the Department’s social media and at other community events.
Robbinsville’s Finest
Lt. Egan’s motivation is strong.
“Raising autism awareness is very important to me and the law enforcement community. For me, it is multi-faceted. Awareness, acceptance, and education are all necessary. We need to train and bring awareness to our officers so they are aware how a community member with autism may struggle to communicate with us or might resist help. Our officers need to be aware that community members with autism may try to run away, be unaware of danger, and triggered by bright lights and loud noises.”
“We need to train and bring awareness to our officers so they are aware how a community member with autism may struggle to communicate with us or might resist help.”
The Rville S.A.F.E. Program accomplishes awareness, acceptance, and education. The S.A.F.E. Program stickers have become quickly recognized by officers, Fire Department, and EMS, and even adopted by neighboring towns.
Lt. Egan says the goal is to make the S.A.F.E. sticker a universal awareness tool easily identified by police officers in a time of emergency and to serve as a de-escalation tool. They are well on their way.
“I had a professor at Stockton University tell me that, ‘Effort separates winners from losers.’ I have found that in life, this is very true! Please challenge yourself to be a better person every day. Please help spread the word about our Rville S.A.F.E. Program. Please check to see if your local police department offers an autism registry and if they do, the time to register is now. If they do not offer a registry, please let them know about the Rville S.A.F.E. Program and I will be more than happy to assist them by sharing information about our program.”
Nicholas and his family continue to support the program they inspired, donating stuffed animals and gift cards as incentives for those who register.
Learn More
Learn more about the Rville S.A.F.E. program or download a registration form:
www.RobbinsvilleTownshipPolice.org
The following neighboring Mercer County towns have followed Robbinsville’s lead and adopted similar registries.
West Windsor Police Department
Hopewell Township Police Department
Lawrenceville Township Police Department
More Awareness Opportunities
The “Coffee With A Cop” event was not the only way the department was recognizing Autism Awareness Month. Chief Michael Polaski authorized all patrol cars to be outfitted with special magnetic Robbinsville Police Awareness patches that go over traditional patches during the month of April to show support for the autism community.
Looking for a way to engage first responders or law enforcement in your community? Check out these ideas. Start now for 2023!
Looking for a way to engage first responders or law enforcement in your community?
Check out these ideas>>