NCJ Number
108768
Date Published
1987
Length
43 pages
Annotation
This guide describes the investigative process required for four types of missing child cases, provides instruction on entering information about missing children into the National Crime Information Center's (NCIC) computerized system, and offers suggestions for forming police-social worker teams to work on missing and exploited children cases.
Abstract
The guide first addresses a law enforcement agency's initial response to a missing child report, emphasizing that a patrol officer should be dispatched promptly to take the report and conduct the preliminary investigation. Investigative strategies are described for the following case types: voluntary missing or runaways, parental kidnappings, abductions by unknown individuals or nonfamily members, and unknown missing where facts are insufficient to determine if the child was abducted, in an accident, or voluntarily left home. Four phases of case investigation are covered: initial response, intensive investigation, sustained investigation, and follow-up and close-out. A section on the NCIC provides instructions on using its Missing Persons and Unidentified Persons Files, entering missing child cases and making inquiries, how to delete cases, and other useful NCIC files. A model police-social worker team is described, based on the Exploited and Missing Child Unit of Jefferson County and Louisville, Kentucky. Sample poster formats and report forms.