People with dementia can suddenly forget things, and once lost, it is difficult to find them.
The police launched the "Smart Tracking Project", distributing positioning devices connected to smart phones, such as Apple's AirTag, to family members of patients with dementia, and then giving the positioning devices to the patients to carry with them. When the patients get lost, they can track their location through the mobile phone positioning system .
The police have distributed a total of 200 devices in 2022, and have successfully recovered 13 patients in 38 missing cases so far, with an average recovery time of 1 hour.
Some family members said that the device was very helpful to them.
340 seniors with dementia are reported missing a year
According to police figures, from December 2021 to November 2022, about 340 elderly people in Hong Kong were reported missing due to dementia, and Kowloon East Region accounted for about 100 of them.
In 2021, there were 86 cases of missing persons in the region involving dementia, which has risen to 100 cases in 2022, an increase of 16.3%.
Broken down by community, Wong Tai Sin accounted for 30% and Sau Mau Ping accounted for 20%. In terms of gender, males accounted for about 60% of the total.
In 2021, positioning devices connected to smartphones will be launched on the market.
In April 2022, the Missing Persons Investigation Team of East Kowloon Region began to purchase positioning devices such as Apple’s AirTag, Samsung’s Samsung Galaxy Smart Tag, and Tile Pro for other smart phone models, and made them into keys after decoration deduction, and then distributed to the families of patients with dementia.
During the period from April to December 2022, a total of 200 positioning devices were distributed to family members.
Send 200 positioning devices involving three models with an average price of 250 yuan
The online official selling prices of the above three devices are 239 yuan, 238 yuan and 273 yuan respectively. Sponsored by the honorary presidents of the Senior Police Call in the four police districts, that is, no public money is spent.
Recipient uses location device to find missing husband
Some beneficiary family members said in interviews that the positioning device has helped them a lot.
Ms. Deng's 76-year-old husband has suffered from dementia for 3 years. In December 2022, his husband fell down on the mountain of Ma You Tong. Fortunately, the Tseung Kwan O Police District helped him find it.
Later, Ms. Deng received a positioning device from the police to her husband through the social welfare agency. Her husband was stranded in a restaurant without any money while drinking tea in Kwun Tong. Ms. Deng failed to call him, so she used the positioning device to find her husband. resolve the incident.
Ms. Qu's 92-year-old father has suffered from dementia for two years. His father disappeared after going to the bathroom on Ngau Tau Kok Street. It took an hour and a half to find his father in Shunli Village.
At that time, Ms. Qu had already called the police. After the Wong Tai Sin Police District handled her case, a positioning device was distributed to Ms. Qu in April 2022. Now every time her father goes to drink tea, she does not have to worry that her father will get lost.
Police: No location information will be obtained
Fu Chunye, Chief Inspector of the Operations Department of the East Kowloon Operation Command, said that from April to December 2022, the positioning device helped 13 beneficiaries in a total of 38 missing incidents, of which 27 were caregivers who used the positioning device to find their relatives , 11 times the police assisted caregivers to find them using positioning devices.
He pointed out that the police will not obtain location information, emphasizing the protection of user privacy.
Ma Zhongying, Senior Inspector of the Missing Persons Unit, pointed out that the positioning device relieves the pressure on the caregivers, and they don't have to worry about getting lost with their sick family members, and they can also find their own time for activities.
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