The Story of Getting Arrested During a Dementia Wandering Simulation Drill

Before I tell this story, I must describe what a dementia wandering simulation drill is.

To put it simply, it is
a drill where you practice finding, speaking to, and protecting elderly people with dementia, based on a scenario where a person with dementia has wandered off somewhere and gone missing.
.

The goal is to prevent accidents by having local residents, municipal governments, and other relevant organizations understand their respective roles and learn how to interact with elderly people with dementia through these drills.

During my time as a town hall employee, I was in charge of a welfare-related department, so I have actually participated in searching for missing persons.

If you aren't used to these kinds of incidents, you end up panicking when they actually happen. You end up panicking just like Hirai-san from the comedy duo Male Blanco in their 'carrying musical notes' skit.

So, I don't know who suggested it, but it was decided that we would hold a simulation drill in our town as well.

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It was decided that the simulation drill would be held jointly with the neighboring town. Let's call the two towns Town A (my town) and Town B. This drill required people to play the role of elderly people wandering through the town. Furthermore, it was decided that the person playing the elderly role from Town A would wander in Town B, and the person playing the elderly role from Town B would wander in Town A.

When the date for the simulation drill was set and we were confirming participants within the welfare department of Town A, I was approached by the person in charge of the drill.

"Aruron-san, could you run around in Town B for us?"

At first, I thought it was an offer for the show 'Run for Money,' but it wasn't. It was for the aforementioned role of the wandering elderly person. I felt a little relieved because I had absolutely no confidence in being able to escape from guys in sunglasses and suits chasing me at high speed. Also, that show is bad for the heart.

While I wondered if it was appropriate to cast such a fresh, beautiful young man as an elderly person, I gladly accepted since it's not an experience you get every day.

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The day of the simulation drill. I drove alone toward Town B. Before I left, my boss told me, 'Make sure you don't get found right away,' but no, no, this isn't 'Run for Money,' you know.

I arrived at the B Town Welfare Center in about 40 minutes. After finishing the greetings and the meeting, I was set to walk around a pre-determined district.

Although I was told to "try not to be found," there were only wide-open roads and a quiet residential area.
Wait, won't I be found right away?

For now, since I don't know the area well either, I'll try walking around the neighborhood.
In a rural town, there isn't a soul to be seen on a weekday afternoon.
Wait, won't I be found right away?

I walked so much that my feet got tired. I checked my watch. There was still about an hour left until the start time. Seriously?

I like walking, but wandering around a designated area without a purpose, even as an official duty, is honestly boring. Above all, I'm worried about being reported by local residents who don't know the situation.

Around the time my Pokémon GO eggs would have hatched if I had the app open, the start time finally arrived.

In an area with good visibility, I walked along a road with thick street trees to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
There were no passersby, and not even a single car drove by.
Wait, won't I be found right away?

As I was wandering around like that, a white sedan appeared from a corner a dozen meters ahead.
Just as I thought the sedan had parked on the street, two smiling middle-aged women and one large middle-aged man got out of the car.
Wait, have I been found?

The three of them started heading toward me.
I turned on my heel, feeling a sense of guilt for a crime I hadn't even committed.
Yep, I've been found.

One of the middle-aged women walked around to get in front of me and peered into my face, saying, "Hello there."
Yes, I was found.

Then, I joined up with the other two, and we were to return to the B Town Welfare Center together in the white sedan, but when we met up, the middle-aged man said this jokingly:

"Give up quietly."

I was successfully arrested.

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I returned to the B Town Welfare Center.

The middle-aged man from earlier was the section chief in charge of the simulation training in B Town.
As soon as he got back, he reported, "I've arrested the suspect," so he is quite a humorous person. No, wait, I didn't actually do anything wrong, though.

When I heard the results of the training, it turned out they had arrested (protected) me just five minutes after it started. That was fast.

Then, a post-training assessment was held. As the suspect (the person being protected), I naturally attended as well.

Regarding my impressions of walking around as an elderly person, I was indeed nervous when I was discovered. Although the approach was gentle and polite, I was scared of being approached in the first place, so I felt there was an issue there.
I mean, of course it would be scary if someone suddenly got out of a car and came toward you.

Anyway, I feel like I understood the perspective of a person with dementia just a little bit, so I think it was a meaningful training session.

When I got back to A Town, the first thing my boss said was, "You were found way too quickly."

No, like I said, it's not "Run for Money"!