Operation Safe Child ID Cards are offered by the Sheriff’s Office free of charge at community events, libraries, and firehouses across Suffolk County. Due to COVID-19, these community events were all canceled, leaving parents looking for a new way to obtain these lifesaving ID cards.

Appointments are available Monday through Friday at the Sheriff’s Office, located at 100 Center Drive in Riverhead. They are 15 minutes long and can be made by calling the Community Relations Unit at (631) 852-3763. Parents and children will be met curbside to take the child’s photo and fingerprint right in the car. The card will be created and delivered immediately.

Operation Safe Child was created in July of 2005 to raise awareness about child safety. Statistics show that 34% of parents in the United States do not know their child’s exact height, weight, and eye color. When a child is reported missing, time can be the biggest factor in finding the child. Possessing up-to-date photographs with detailed information about the child can greatly assist law enforcement when responding to a disappearance. These cards contain the child’s full name, date of birth, gender, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and more. The card is made in less than ten minutes and can be carried in the parent’s wallet or pocketbook. With the parents’ consent, the information gathered is also digitally recorded and stored in a database at the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) in Albany to be used when issuing a NYS AMBER Alert.

For more information on Operation Safe Child and other Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office community and school programs, visit www.suffolkcountysheriffsoffice.com and click on “Community & School Programs.”