When you think about the police, you probably visualize them driving around in their cars looking for someone who is speeding. While this is one of their duties, they are also involved with many other activities. One of those activities includes performing welfare checks.
What Is A Police Welfare Check?
If you have a friend or loved one who lives alone, you may call them periodically to talk and make sure that they are doing well. This is especially true if the person you are calling is elderly or disabled.
If you do this on a regular basis and form a routine, you might not know what to do if that person stops answering your calls. In this type of situation, you can contact the police and have them perform a welfare check. This type of visit to your acquaintance will help determine if that person is doing okay.
As an example, if you have an elderly uncle who doesn’t answer your calls or knocks on his door, you may become worried. In this case, it would be prudent of you to call the police and have them perform a welfare check.
Asking For A Welfare Check
If you have been trying to contact someone who fails to answer, you may want to have the police conduct a welfare check for you. To do this, you’ll need to contact your local police department. If you think it’s an emergency, dial 911 and speak with an operator.
For non-emergencies, the police will have a contact number that you can call. It should be listed under the “contact” section of their website.
Paying A Visit To Your Acquaintance
If you reside in the area where the welfare check will take place, you can ask your local authorities if you can accompany them during their visit to your acquaintance.
If you don’t live in the area where you want a welfare check performed, you can still call the local authorities who have jurisdiction in that area and request that they check up on your friend, relative or neighbor.
Proceed With Caution
It is important that you make sure that your acquaintance’s behavior is out of character. It’s a good idea for you or someone else to visit their home first before calling the police. However, that may be difficult if you live far away from the person that you are concerned about.
When police perform a welfare check, they will usually knock and wait for your acquaintance to respond before attempting to enter their home. If they don’t receive a response, it is legal for them to enter. This is especially useful in cases where a person may be unable to respond. The police can offer aid to your acquaintance if it is required.
Jim Treebold is a North Carolina based writer. He lives by the mantra of “Learn 1 new thing each day”! Jim loves to write, read, pedal around on his electric bike and dream of big things. Drop him a line if you like his writing, he loves hearing from his readers!