Safety or surveillance? Man, 94, found safe as Project Lifesaver sparks debate

Project Lifesaver helped find a missing man in his 90's, but some say the location tool also poses a security risk. Hannah Schmidt explains.

A 94-year-old man with cognitive impairment was safely located in Guelph last week, thanks to signal-locating technology that’s being hailed as a lifesaver.

The man, who had wandered from his home on the morning of Jan. 8, was found within just 34 minutes of the initial call to police.

The rapid find was made possible by Project Lifesaver, a system designed to locate missing individuals with cognitive conditions.

“Officers trained in the use of the Project Lifesaver technology brought that to the scene and, very quickly, were able to pick up a signal indicating where the gentleman was,” said Scott Tracey with the Guelph Police Service.

“If they have a Project Lifesaver bracelet on, the search time can be a lot faster and with families, it’s peace of mind,” said Liz Kent, executive director of Victim Services Wellington.

Police say the technology is transforming search and rescue operations.

“It doesn’t replace what they would normally do. It’s an additional tool, but a very effective one,” Tracey said.

How it works

Project Lifesaver involves a small, wearable transmitter that emits a unique radio signal. When a person goes missing, police use specialized equipment to track the signal, which they say dramatically cut search times. In this case, officers traced the man’s signal to a nearby home, where he was found safe and unharmed.

“So, they brought the equipment right away and were able to track. The transmitter has around a two-kilometre radius. So, if they don’t pick up a signal right away, they do a grid search,” Kent explained.

Kent emphasized the emotional relief the technology provides.

“From the time that they get to the last place known, to the time that they find the person, the average has been 26 minutes.”

The program was first introduced in Guelph in 2011.

“One of the officers in Guelph realized that the problem was just going to get worse as the population aged,” Kent explained. “So, he started researching, found Project Lifesaver in the U.S., where it’s been running ever since.”

According to Kent, the project has been used around 40 times in more than a decade. It has a 100 per cent success rate.

Kent also explained how family members can sign up.

“It’s a lease, so it’s $400 to lease it and then $10 every two months for the battery change - so $60 a year. However, I want to say that for those people who cannot afford it, we have been really fortunate in Guelph. The Rockwood Lions Club have recovered costs of transmitters in the past.”

‘It’s a technology leash’

While there are a number of success stories using Project Lifesaver, one expert is questioning the ethical implications of using tracking technology on vulnerable individuals.

“This is a surveillance technology that, in a way, it is a technology leash,” said Cosmin Munteanu, research chair at the Schlegel University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging. He said there’s an ethical balancing act between ensuring safety and respecting an individual’s autonomy and privacy.

“How much do we want to respect bodily autonomy as we age? Obviously, this is also prone to abuse and it’s easy to see how family members may abuse it. You can always ask yourself, ‘what happens when this technology is owned by companies?’ They want to connect it to other services, to health care data, to have it integrated.”

Kent said using this program is on a voluntary basis, and if families aren’t conformable with signing up their loved ones, there are other options.

“So the only time that the search equipment is used is if somebody is reported missing and to locate the transmitter,” she explained. “In Guelph, we have a vulnerable persons database. So say, for example, somebody doesn’t want to do Project Lifesaver because they don’t want their loved one to be able to be tracked. If they go missing, then there’s a vulnerable persons database that people can register on and a lot of the times, even our Project Lifesaver clients, are registered on that database.”

For now, first responders see Project Lifesaver as a critical tool bringing safety and innovation. Although, as its use expands, Munteanu says one questions remains.

“Do they consent to being tracked? One piece of advice I would have for families that are considering this or thinking about this is exploring discussions around this with the family members, ask them, if possible, what they would like to take part in.”