Liberty police showcase facilities for Senior Watch

By Sean Barron

Participants also learned more about changes and additions to the police department.

LIBERTY — A few hundred mostly senior citizens got an up-close look at how the township police department functions during an open house Wednesday.

The two-hour Senior Watch open house at the township administration building provided tours of the department, where participants saw the new 911 dispatch center.

Several officers also showed attendees other areas such as the booking squad, records and weight rooms and holding cells, as well as the area containing seized firearms and those slated to be destroyed.

Participants also learned more about changes and additions to the department, such as a K-9 unit, upgrades to the 911 center and crisis response team.

The department also started providing lockboxes to seniors who live alone so that safety forces have access to their homes when they are in an emergency or haven’t been heard from for a while, Chief Richard Tisone noted.

Other offerings were several display booths with information about protecting older people from fraud, abuse, exploitation and neglect, as well as resources on home care and maintaining independent living. The fire department provided free blood-pressure screenings.

The event’s main purposes were to help people be more familiar with the police department’s services and programs, to showcase the dispatch center and to build more rapport between residents and the police, Tisone said.

“We wanted the residents of the community to meet the officers,” the chief continued, adding that his department recently applied for a grant he hopes will provide funds to link other departments to the 911 center.