Police chief highlights AwareCare registry and recent missing-person search

Police Chief Travis Ruby updated the council on public-safety work and outreach, including a voluntary AwareCare registry to help dispatchers and first responders locate vulnerable residents who may wander.

"On the main page of the sheriff's office page, this is a voluntary program," Ruby said of AwareCare, explaining it collects diagnoses, tendencies, contact information and photos to aid emergency responders. Ruby credited Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue for coordinating volunteers and helping reunite a missing elderly man with family after a recent call; he said the outcome illustrated the registry's value. The chief also showed a new data-and-analytics line/bar chart that tracks population and crime rates year-over-year and said he will bring quarterly updates if the council finds them useful.

Ruby told the council that traffic stops and proactive policing metrics are down from recent highs, and noted several active investigations including pursuits and arrests for stolen cars, juvenile driving and drugs/weapons offenses.