The Special Needs Awareness Program (SNAP) is designed to improve police interactions with members of our community. SNAP provides First Responders with important information when responding to calls for service that involve individuals with special needs.

Candidates for the SNAP program include those with any of the following relevant medical conditions / behaviors:

• Speech impaired
• Visually impaired
• Hearing impaired
• Non-verbal
• Mood disorder
• Cognitive impairment
• Cerebral palsy
• Down syndrome
• Parkinson's disease
• Alzheimer's / dementia
• Autism
• Asperger's

How Does SNAP Work?

Participation in SNAP is voluntary, and information collected is stored in a confidential database. This database is accessed by Public Safety Dispatchers should an emergency or non-emergency call for service involve the registered individual, their associated vehicle license plate number or address. In this case, relevant information may be disclosed to responding First Responders alerting responding personnel of accommodations that may need to be considered upon arrival and/or during the incident.   

This is a free service offered to the community.

If you, a caregiver or a family member would benefit from sharing crucial special need information that may be relevant to a successful outcome, consider sharing this valuable information with First Responders.

Examples of SNAP in our community: 

#1 - Officers respond to a residence where it is known the occupants are deaf. Officers would expect non-compliance to verbal commands, and therefore would utilize other resources to communicate.

#2 - Responding officers are aware of an individual with a developmental disability who is triggered by lights and sounds. When appropriate, officers may deactivate emergency lights and sirens.

How to Enroll

1. Complete the application, including the individual’s personal identifying information, physical description, medical condition(s), special consideration(s), emergency contact information and additional information unique to the individual;
   
   
2. Read and sign the liability waiver;
   
   
3. Locate a recent, close-up photograph of the person being enrolled in SNAP;
   
   
4. Submit the completed application, signed liability waiver and recent photograph to police@santaclaraca.gov
   
   
5. A member of the Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team will reach out to the individual who submitted the application to review the information, obtain a current photograph, ask clarifying questions (if necessary) and/or respond to answer any questions you may have about the SNAP program; and,
   
   
6. Once the application has been reviewed and approved, relevant details will be added to the City of Santa Clara's computer aided dispatch system.

NOTE: It is incumbent upon the participant, caregiver or family member to keep the information in our system up to date for the most successful results.

What Happens Next?

When an emergency or non-emergency call for service is placed for an individual registered for SNAP, their associated vehicle license plate number or residence, an alert is displayed to the Public Safety Dispatcher receiving the call. The Dispatcher then has the ability to share the photograph and relevant information to the responding personnel.

The officer utilizes this information when responding to and interacting with that individual.

Questions?

If you have questions about the program, contact Sergeant Deger at 408-615-4745.