|
How many missing children are
there?
Where did the child abduction statistics
in the Personal Safety for Children: A Guide for Parents publication
come from?
What can I do to prevent parental
abduction?
Aren’t most missing kids a result
of custodial disagreements?
How many missing children are found
deceased? What hours
are most critical when trying to locate a missing child?
How many children are sexually
approached and/or solicited online?
Isn’t the best advice I should give
to my kids “never talk to strangers”?
Do the cards I get in the mail
really help recover missing children?
Do you put pictures of missing kids
on milk cartons?
Is NCMEC John Walsh’s organization?
How can I help find missing
children?
How do I get copies of NCMEC publications?
What is the CyberTipline?
How many leads does the CyberTipline receive?
Please contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children's (NCMEC) Office of Public Affairs by calling 1-877-44-NCMEC,
extension 6351, or 703.274.3900 if you have any questions about the following information. You will need the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader to view the documents on this page. Download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
How many missing children are
there?
Answer: The best national estimates for the
number of missing children are from incidence studies conducted by the
U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. Two such studies have been completed, the first National Incidence
Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children (NISMART
1) was released in 1990 and the second, known as NISMART 2, was released
in October of 2002.
According to NISMART 2, there are nearly 800,000 children reported missing
each year (more than 2,000 per day). 58,200 children are abducted by nonfamily
members. 115 children are the victims of the most serious, most long-term
abductions (stereotypical kidnappings), of which 56% are recovered alive,
40% are killed. 203,900 children are the victims of family abductions.
REFERENCE: For more information on missing children abduction estimates
and the NISMART studies, please read
NISMART-2,
October 2002. National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview
NISMART-2,
October 2002. Nonfamily Abducted Children: National Estimates and Characteristics
NISMART-2,
October 2002. Children Abducted by Family Members: National Estimates
and Characteristics
NISMART-2,
October 2002. Runaway/Thrownaway Children: National Estimates and Characteristics
NISMART-2,
October 2002. NISMART Questions and Answers
Top
Where did the child abduction
statistics in the Personal Safety for Children: A Guide For Parents
publication come from?
Answer: The child abduction statistics in the publication entitled
Personal Safety for Children:
A Guide For Parents, released in August of 2002 by President George
Bush, are an excerpt of the second National
Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children:
Highlights from the NISMART Bulletins, funded by the Department
of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Top
What can I do to prevent parental
abduction?
Answer: The most important thing you can
do to prevent abduction is to maintain healthy communication with your
children and spouse. NCMEC also recommends that you teach your child important
telephone numbers and where to go in case of an emergency.
REFERENCE: To learn about parental abductions
and how to prevent them please read
Early Identification
of Risk Factors for Parental Abduction
Just
in Case…Parental Guidelines in Case You Are Considering Family Separation
Top
Aren’t most missing kids a result
of custodial disagreements?
Answer: The largest number of missing children
are “runaways”; followed by “family abductions”; then “lost, injured,
or otherwise missing children”; and finally, the smallest category, but
the one in which the child is at greatest risk of injury or death, “nonfamily
abductions.” Many times this question is asked under the assumption that
family abductions are not a serious matter; however, this is not true.
In most cases children are told that the left-behind parent doesn’t want
or love them. These children may live the life of a fugitive, always on
the run with the noncustodial parent and stripped away from their home,
friends, school, and family.
REFERENCE: For definitions, kidnapping statistics,
and more parental abduction information please read
Kidnapping
of Juveniles: Patterns From National Incident Based Report System
(NIBRS)
"The
Kid Is With A Parent How Bad Can It Be?": The Crisis of Family Abductions
in America
Top
How many missing children are
found deceased? What hours are most critical when trying to locate a missing
child?
Answer: According to the State of Washington’s
Office of the Attorney General “the murder of a child who is abducted
... is a rare event. There are estimated to be about 100 such incidents
in the United States each year, less than one-half of one percent of the
murders committed”; however, “74 percent of abducted children who are
murdered are dead within three hours of the abduction.”
REFERENCE: For victim and predator profiles
and missing-children homicide statistics please read
Case
Management for Missing Children Homicide Investigation
Homicides
of Children and Youth
Top
How many children are sexually
approached and/or solicited online?
Answer: According to Highlights of the
Youth Internet Safety Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice
“one in five children (10 to 17 years old) receive unwanted sexual solicitations
online.”
REFERENCE: To learn about the seriousness of
online predators, online statistics, and profiles please read
Highlights
of the Youth Internet Safety Survey
Online Victimization:
A Report on the Nation's Youth
Top
Isn’t the best advice I should
give to my kids “never talk to strangers”?
Answer: Telling children to stay away from
strangers is neither effective nor the best advice for many reasons. “Stranger”
isn’t a concept children easily understand. Instead your child should
be taught to look out for threatening behaviors and situations.
REFERENCE: To find out more about how to protect
your children be sure to read
Child
Protection
Top
Do the cards I get in the mail
really help recover missing children?
Answer: Absolutely. One in six of the missing
kids featured on these cards and through the efforts of other NCMEC photo
partners are recovered as a direct result of the photograph. In fact,
because of the ADVO® mailing, NCMEC
reaches up to 79 million homes weekly with the photographs of missing
children.
Top
Do you put pictures of missing
kids on milk cartons?
Answer: Although NCMEC itself does not post
photographs of missing children on milk cartons, NCMEC photo partners
may do so. There are more than 360 active corporate photo partners nationwide.
Top
Is NCMEC John Walsh’s organization?
Answer: After the abduction and murder of
their son, Adam, in 1981, John and Revé Walsh became effective advocates
on behalf of missing children’s issues. Mrs. Walsh serves on the NCMEC
Board of Directors and Mr. Walsh serves on the Board’s Chief Executive
Officers Council and National Advisory Board, and acts as an NCMEC spokesperson
when his schedule allows. Their hard work and determination helped to
create NCMEC which now serves as the national clearinghouse for information
on missing children and the prevention of child victimization. Since 1984,
NCMEC has worked with law enforcement on more than 83,500 missing child
cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 66,800 children.
REFERENCE: To learn more about NCMEC and the
many services it provides please read
The
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: A Powerful Resource
for Law Enforcement
Annual
Report
Top
How can I help find missing
children?
Answer: The best way to help NCMEC is to
take the time to look at the photographs of missing children in the many
venues, including ADVO postcards, at Wal-Mart® stores, in federal
buildings, and report any information about those children to NCMEC’s
toll-free Hotline 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). You can also help by
keeping up-to-date photographs of your own children. After all, one out
of six of the children featured in this Picture Them Home®
campaign has been recovered.
REFERENCE: To become more aware of ways you
can help find missing children visit the "Get Involved" area
on this web site.
Top
How do I get copies of NCMEC
publications?
Answer: To obtain a list of or order NCMEC
books and brochures, please call the toll-free Hotline 1-800-THE-LOST
(1-800-843-5678) or visit the Publications
area on this web site.
Top
What is the CyberTipline?
How many leads does the CyberTipline Receive?
REFERENCE: For more information on NCMEC's
CyberTipline please read
CyberTipline
Fact Sheet
CyberTipline:
Total Reports By Incident Type
Top
|
Privacy Policy
