News

25 May 2010
HELP SAVE A CHILD'S LIFE: SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD ABDUCTION

For more information please go to:
http://www.npia.police.uk/en/10200.htm

A powerful tool in the fight against child abduction is being launched today (25 May 2010) as part of International Missing Children's Day.

Supported by the National Policing Improvement Agency's missing person's bureau, Child Rescue Alert (CRA) is a powerful alliance between the police, the press and the public which seeks to locate an abducted child and bring them to safety. By fast-tracking police appeals to broadcasters in the UK, the process aims to engage the public quickly through the media, to increase the number of eyes and ears on the streets. A typical appeal will include the description of the child, a description of the suspected abductor and any vehicle they are driving, together with location details.

Alerts will always carry the action line number 0300 2000 333, which people should call if they have information about the disappearance or sightings.

Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA, said:

"The decisions taken in the first few hours after a child's disappearance are often the most vital. Through Child Rescue Alert the community is able to form a strong alliance to help in the hunt for child abductors when an alert is activated.

"It is fitting that the NPIA should relaunch CRA on International Missing Children's Day, which forms a poignant reminder of the sense of devastation caused to the parents and families of children who go missing."

ACC George Hamilton (Strathclyde Police) who is the Secretary of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland crime business area added:

‘Child Rescue Alert is a partnership between the police, press and public, and builds on our existing procedures for responding to an incident where a child is abducted. In these circumstances, speed is clearly very important.  By joining with colleagues in the media, police forces are able to make large numbers of the public aware of the situation, requesting that they remain alert, following a description of a person or vehicle, and call 0300 2000 333 if they have information. 

‘The alert process is supported by a national network of police call handlers.  Information is taken, evaluated and passed to the investigation team quickly, assisting the police to find the child quickly.
‘Child abduction is very rare in Scotland but having these new processes in place enhances our ability to respond more effectively.’

Notes to Editors
For further information, please contact:
ACPOS Communications
0141 435 1241 / 07771 842 881
communications@acpos.pnn.police.uk

NPIA Press Office
020 7147 8424

A national event to commemorate International Missing Children’s Day and to relaunch Child Rescue Alert will take place today at 1130 at The Deck, National Theatre, South Bank, London. More information on the event can be obtained from the NPIA Press Office - 020 7147 8424

Statistics
Estimates suggest that 100,000 children go missing from the UK each year; most are quickly found and reunited with their families. Around 1,000 are suspected to have been abducted by a parent or other family member.

Child Rescue Alert
Not all cases will result in a CRA being activated. The decision to launch a CRA is an operational one made by the local force. The criteria for launching a CRA is:

• The child is under the age of 18
• There is reasonable belief that the child has been kidnapped, abducted or taken under the influence of a third party
• There is reasonable belief that the child is in imminent danger of serious harm or death
• There is sufficient information available to enable the public to assist the police in locating the child

Child Rescue Alert is a system that fast-tracks police appeals about a child abduction to broadcasters in the UK. The idea is to quickly engage the public through the media, to increase the number of eyes and ears on the streets. A typical appeal will include the description of the child, a description of the suspected abductor and any vehicle they are driving, together with location details.

Alerts will always carry the action line number 0300 2000 333, which people should call if they have information about the disappearance or sightings.

CRA has been available as an operational tool to all UK police forces since 2005. However, there was no national coordination of the scheme. In recognition of the serious of the issue, the NPIA's Missing Person's Bureau in 2009 was asked to review its operation and provide more coordinated support to forces. CRA is therefore being officially relaunched on 25 May 2010.

Sussex Police was the first UK force to adopt the scheme in 2002. Surrey and Hampshire quickly followed. It was then introduced throughout England and Wales in 2005. The British Transport Police also back the system and assist other forces where necessary.

Child Rescue Alert is based on the AMBER alert system which has been in use in the United States since 1997. AMBER stands for "America's Missing Broadcasting Emergency Response" and was named after nine year old Amber Hangerman who was abducted, raped and murdered in January 1996, although the national programme is dedicated to all children nationwide who've been abducted.  After Amber was found dead four days after she went missing it was discovered that local law enforcement had information that might have helped to locate her shortly after she was abducted, but had no means to distribute this information.

International Missing Childrens' Day 2010
On 25th May 1979, a six-year-old boy, Etan Patz went missing in New York.  He was never seen again, as a result of this NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) was established in the United States. In 1983 the President of the United States declared 25th May ‘Missing Children's Day’ and this has been followed ever since.

The NPIA Missing Persons Bureau as the UK member of the Global Missing Children's Network (GMCN) are participating in the International Missing Children's Day in co-ordination with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC Washington - USA) and other partners of the GMCN, Missing Children Europe and its associated Non Governmental Organisations are also involved.  Eight countries across four continents participate in IMCD every year - Australia, Canada, Brazil, Greece, Ireland, Romania, The Netherlands and the UK. These countries form GMCN.

IMCD 2010 will especially focus across all countries on the issue of parental abductions.

NPIA’s Missing Persons Bureau
The Missing Person’s Bureau became part of the National Policing Improvement Agency in April 2008. It provides a free cross-matching service to police officers to assist with matching up details of missing persons cases with unidentified persons or body cases in the UK.  It also:

• maintains a database of all persons reported as missing in the UK for 72 hours or more.
• all foreign nationals reported as missing in the UK.
• all UK residents reported as missing abroad.
• all unidentified bodies/persons found in the UK.

For more information please go to:
http://www.npia.police.uk/en/10200.htm

The Missing Person’s Bureau manages the UK element of the Missing Kids website.  The Missing Kids Website is a unique, state-of-the art tool designed to help the police recover missing and abducted children across the world. The UK website forms a chapter of ICMEC’s global network of 17 counties. For more information and case studies please go to: http://www.missingkids.co.uk/missingkids/
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