COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

February 21, 2008

New Police Vehicle

The Orleans Police Department recently placed a new four-wheel drive 2008 Ford Expedition police vehicle into service. The four-wheel drive Expedition will be a great asset to the department during winter snows and also during times of flooding by allowing officers the ability to reach citizens in need of assistance. By purchasing an Expedition the police department gained the advantages of a four-wheel drive vehicle plus extra space inside for the mounting of police equipment. The 2008 Ford Expedition was purchased from Bedford Ford. The vehicle lighting, camera and radio systems were installed by Electronic Communication Systems of Bloomington. Jim Greene signs of Orleans designed and applied the graphics to the Expedition. (to see a photograph of the 2008 Expedition click on the "Map of Orleans" link)

February 21, 2008

Notice to Town of Orleans residents regarding abandoned vehicles

The Orleans Police Department would like to remind area residents that it is a violation of Indiana state law to have a vehicle which is inoperable on private or public property. A vehicle which is inoperable is considered abandoned by definition according to Indiana law. The Orleans Police Department will be tagging all inoperable vehicle located on public and private property within the Town of Orleans. Once a vehicle is tagged the owner of the vehicle will have seventy-two(72) hours to remove the vehicle or the vehicle will be towed and the owner of the vehicle will be responsible for any and all towing and storage fees incurred. The Orleans Police Department would like to encourage anyone who has an inoperable vehicle to remove it from their property and avoid the cost of having the vehicle towed and stored. The Orleans Police Department would like to thank citizens for their cooperation in this matter.

February 21, 2008

Notice to Town of Orleans residents regarding dogs and cats running loose

The Orleans Police Department has received numerous complaints of dogs and cats running loose. The Orleans Police Department would like to remind dog and cat owners that allowing your dog or cat to run loose is a violation of state law and local ordinance and could result in the issuance of a criminal citation and a fine. The Orleans Police Department would like to encourage all dog and cat owners to be responsible owners and keep their dogs and cats confined to their property.

January 15, 2004

Project Child Safe Comes to Orleans: 200 Firearm Safety Kits To Be Distributed Locally

The Orleans Police Department will provide 200 free firearm safety kits to local residents through a partnership with Project ChildSafe, the nationwide firearms safety education program. The safety kits, which include a gun lock, will be distributed at the Orleans Police Department and can be picked up anytime an officer is on station.

Project ChildSafe, a program developed by National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), will distribute millions of firearm safety kits throughout the country over the next year. The Program is funded by a U.S. Department of Justice grant, with additional funding provided by the firearms industry.

By partnering with Project ChildSafe, the Orleans Police Department is participating in a growing national effort to promote firearms safety education to all gun owners. Project ChildSafe will distribute gun lock safety kits to all 50 states and the five U.S. territories.

April 29, 2003

Department offering ID plan for children

The Orleans Police Department is instituting a new program where officers of the department will take digital photographs of children. Parents may bring their children to the Orleans Police Department and officers will take digital photographs of the children and on a floppy disk and give them to parents to take home and put in a safe place. Officers will also put important information about the child on the disk label. By having digital photographs in place on floppy disks, officers will be able to easily print photographs and make missing posters and send the information of the internet in the event that the need would arise. The Orleans Police Department has the capabilities to make posters of missing children and distribute them over the internet through the LOCATER system which was given to the department by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The LOCATER system consists of a computer, color printer, scanner and internet connection. By having a photograph of a child that can be distributed in the community the chances of a safe return of the child will be greatly increased. The Orleans Police Department has digital cameras and all a parent needs to do is bring their child in to the Orleans Police Department and an officer will take a digital photograph and record the child’s information on the floppy disk and give it to the parent for safe keeping. Anyone wishing to have their child's picture taken is requested to call the department at 812-865-2222 to make sure and officer is available.

April 8, 2002

The Orleans Police Department Enhances its Response Rate to Child Abductions

When a child is reported missing, time is one of law enforcement's greatest enemies. Every hour a child is missing, the likelihood of a safe recovery decreases. In order to ensure a high level of preparedness for child abduction cases, the Orleans Police Department is pleased to announced the implementation of LOCATOR, the Lost Child Alert Technology Resource. There are many challenges facing law enforcement personnel in missing child cases. One of the greatest is collecting and disseminating the child's descriptive information quickly. With that goal in mind, LOCATER was created to provide the computer hardware and software needed to rapidly distribute critical missing child data on a local, statewide, or nationwide basis.

The Orleans Police Department obtained the computer from and is pleased to be working with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to implement LOCATER. United States Congressional funds allow NCMEC to provide the LOCATER system free-of-charge to law enforcement agencies that investigate missing child cases. NCMEC has found that when pictures of missing children or abductors are made available to the public, one in six children are recovered as a direct result.

Use of LOCATER system, comprised of a Dell Pentium IV computer, HP DeskJet 940C printer, high-resolution scanner, and customized software, is not limited to missing children cases. It includes templates for more than 100 different types of posters such as missing adults, wanted persons, and crime alerts.

For more information about the many free services the NCMEC has to offer, please visit www.missingkids.com . For more information about LOCATER, call 703-837-6389 or call toll free 1-877-446-2632 ext. 6389.