Palos Park police announce FrontlinePass portal, urge autism disclosure and warn of romance scams

Palos Park public safety leaders on Feb. 9 described new tools and practices aimed at improving responses to resident calls and protecting vulnerable residents. The department plans to implement Frontline, a cloud-based platform that will allow residents to submit vacation watches, house checks and overnight parking requests online and provide additional emergency contact information that can populate dispatch screens during 9-1-1 calls.

The presenter encouraged families and caregivers of residents with autism to include the diagnosis on the Frontline portal or tell dispatchers when calling, so responding officers can use appropriate calming techniques and avoid escalating situations. The presenter gave examples of behaviors that can be mistaken for intoxication or a different mental health crisis (for example, lack of eye contact, delayed responses and unusual body movements) and said early disclosure helps tailor responses. For questions, officials provided the email addresses dpolk@palospark.org and jmiller@palospark.org and a contact number provided during the meeting.

Public safety officials also warned residents about heightened romance or “sweetheart” scams around February, advising caution about rapid expressions of love, requests for money or gift cards and insistence on secrecy.

Next steps: the Frontline portal will be promoted on the Palos Park police Facebook page and in the village newsletter; residents interested in the portal were directed to a FrontlinePass link and the police contact addresses provided in the meeting record.