NCJ Number
219189
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 34 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2007 Pages: 92,94,99
Date Published
May 2007
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes the role of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in missing children cases.
Abstract
The NCMEC assists with a range of functions related to recovering missing and exploited children, including assistance with sexual exploitation cases, age progression and facial recognition services, family reunification, training and technical assistance for law enforcement, and the issuing of Amber Alerts. The NCMEC was developed in 1984 following the adoption of the Missing Children’s Assistance Act into law, which established a national clearinghouse of information regarding missing and exploited children and designated the nonprofit NCMEC to act as a resource. The NCMEC works in cooperation with local law enforcement on missing and exploited children’s cases. The assistance they are able to offer is varied, invaluable, and free of charge. The NCMEC has access to the National Crime Information Center and the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System and has gained the expertise of hundreds of volunteers who are nationally renowned experts in various fields necessary to recovering missing children. For example, there are currently 150 active Project ALERT volunteers who average 20 years of law enforcement and who are called in to work with local law enforcement on various stages of missing and exploited children’s cases. A case study from Lubbock, TX is used to illustrate the ways in which the NCMEC can assist local authorities in recovering missing children. The article contains contact information for NCMEC. Exhibits