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Interpol: Its Role in International Parental Kidnappings

NCJ Number
158149
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 62 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1995) Pages: 69-73
Author(s)
J R Prietsch
Date Published
1995
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The United States National Central Bureau (USNCB) is the agency that handles requests from law enforcement or judicial authorities for Interpol assistance in parental kidnappings that cross international borders.
Abstract
Parental kidnapping is both a civil issue and a criminal offense. In cases within the United Sates, the abductor parent is usually charged under State law and entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer as a wanted person. The child is often entered into NCIC as a missing person. Law enforcement or judicial officials who believe that the abductor parent and child have fled the United States must notify the USNCB to coordinate the dissemination of information to the international community. The USNCB cannot accept requests for assistance from victims, their representatives, or their attorneys. USNCB searches databases for records to aid the investigation and transmits case information to the relevant countries via an X4000 radio message. If no clues exist regarding the intended destination of the abductor and child, the USNCB can send a diffusion message to any one of nine regions in the world. Local laws and policies decide what receiving countries' National Central Bureaus can and will do in each case. When the USNCB receives a request from a foreign Bureau, it opens the case in a manner similar to that for a domestic case. As investigative leads corroborate the child's whereabouts the USNCB serves as the link between United States and foreign criminal justice officials to coordinate a favorable outcome to the investigation.