New Police Tracking System for the Most Vulnerable

Project Lifesaver Simcoe Officially Launched Monday

Barrie police have added another tool to their toolbox – a tracking device that uses FM frequency to locate vulnerable residents. Sergeant Jason Frye with the Tactical Support Unit showed off the new device at City hall Monday morning. Frye says it works as a monitoring device and they can carry it with them or attach it to a drone. Frye says GPS signals are great but can get lost in concrete tunnels or heavy wooded areas – so that’s where this FM frequency comes in.

“Sometimes you have to go with the tried, tested and true technology.”

Barrie Chief of Police Kimberley Greenwood says they already have one person in the Lifesaver program. Participants wear a monitoring device as a bracelet. Frye says the bracelet transmits a signal they then pick-up. The program, in the works in Barrie for a year, began following the tragic death of a senior with dementia who wandered off in February of 2017. It follows programs already in place in other communities in Ontario.