With help from the Bristol Police Department, Fall River Police implement free Senior Lock Box Program

The Bristol Police Department is assisting the Fall River Police in implementing a Senior Lock Box Program which will allow FRPD to better serve vulnerable residents when they respond to medical emergencies and welfare checks. Enrolling will allow them to quickly gain entry to a residence without causing damage.

“This past summer, I experienced three incidents where we had to respond to an elderly citizen’s home. They could not get to the door, and we couldn’t get into the house. If we are lucky, we can climb in through an open window. Worst case scenario, if we still can’t get to that person, we have to break the door down,” said Bristol Police Sgt. Ricardo Mourato in an email who spearheaded the program in Rhode Island and has aided Fall River Police. “The current practice can take time away from emergency personnel getting to a person in need and also cause damage to their property,” he said.

Mourato states that police don’t like to have to break down doors as it is time consuming and costly.

“It’s a 15- to 20-minute process. Police try and reach relatives of the homeowner and wait for a key holder to respond, before deciding in a last-ditch effort to break a door down and help a resident who is in need of assistance.”

The Bristol Fire Department offers $300 knox boxes to residents that are built into a person’s home. The box holds a key to the house and can only be opened with a master key by fire personnel in the case of an emergency.

Sgt. Mourato came up with a cheaper idea to save residents money that is now being implemented in Fall River. His idea is to use real estate lockboxes instead. A lockbox is sturdy and secure and typically fixed to a resident’s entry door and can be opened only by a code. The lockbox codes will be held at police and fire headquarters and only opened when an emergency arises.

“If an accident happens and they can’t get to their door, this is a way that we can get to them quicker, without causing damage to their home,” Sgt. Mourato said.

According to FRPD, eligible city residents who wish to participate in the program can call the station at 508-676-8511 and speak with Officer Rachel Silvia in the Special Operations Division – Housing Unit or email locks@frpd.org.

Getting a box and installing it is free thanks to donations from The Rotary Club of Fall River, MA the Fall River Deaconess Home and Mass Cartel / Custom Threads, who helped get the program off the ground.