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Untitled Document
SCOTTISH POLICE IN CHILD KIDNAP BREAKTHROUGH
Every year 9,000 children go missing in Scotland.
For the UK as a whole, over 77,000 children go missing every year.
Speed is critical in locating missing and abducted children. Modern technology
offers a unique way in which the public, Police, NGOs and the private sector
can work together better to protect our children. On 4 June 2004 the UK Missing
Kids Website was launched in Scotland at the Scottish Criminal Record Office, Glasgow..
The Missing Kids Website was originally created in the US. It displays photographs
and descriptions of missing children. By viewing the Website, the public can
help the Police bring these children home safely. The US Website receives 2.8
millions "hits" a day. To date one in every six children featured
on this site is recovered as a result of someone recognising that child's photograph
and calling authorities with information that has directly led to recovery.
The Missing Kids Website has already been introduced to 14 countries with the
help of Computer Associates (CA), who provided the software and technology support.
As one of the most effective tools for recovery, these national sites are linked
to a global network with easy worldwide access. Over 3,000 children's cases
are posted. The technology includes a language translator and age progression
techniques that have been successful in identifying and retrieving children
years after their disappearance.
It was introduced to England, Wales and Northern Ireland a few years ago, where
it is managed by the Police National Missing Persons Bureau, and by a number
of hub Police forces. The charity PACT promotes the project for the Police.
Now, for the first time, Scotland's Police will benefit from this state-of-the-art
technology, enabling them instantly to transmit photographs of a missing child,
not only to other forces around the UK, but also abroad.
"The trauma which families suffer when children go missing is something
which no parent wishes to experience. The police are acutely aware of the effects
this type of incident can have and therefore the search for and investigation
of missing children is given the highest priority. The scale of the problem
is perhaps greater than is widely appreciated with up to 9,000 missing children
in Scotland each year. While the majority of these children return safely and
of their own accord, the enquiries at the early stages involve spreading the
information as widely and as quickly as possible. Extending the Missing Kids
Website to Scotland will greatly assist the police service in locating some
of the most vulnerable young people in our communities and returning them home
safely". Richard Gray, Assistant Chief Constable, Strathclyde Police
and ACPOS Lead on Missing Persons.
"This work is important in creating an effective safety net for our
children. The problem of missing children does not recognise borders - in fact
borders can make the problem of finding and recovering missing children more
difficult. This project helps the police work across those borders more effectively.
PACT is congratulated for extending this initiative into Scotland."
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Richard Bryan, ACPO lead on Missing Persons.
"We would like to congratulate the Scottish police on this launch,
as the more police forces that sign up to the 'Missing Kids project, the more
effective it will become. We have employed complex technology such as a language
translator and age progression techniques that have been successful in identifying
and locating children, sometimes years after their disappearance."
David Murrell, Manager (Acting), UK & Ireland Public Relations, Computer
Associates.
The Website also allows the downloading of posters of missing and abducted
children. Thanks to Tesco Plc's generous help, posters are displayed in their
stores throughout the country. Each poster features two children and a Police
free phone number.
"Tesco are proud to be able to support such an important initiative.
It is a tragedy that so many children go missing every year and our staff and
customers have really got behind the Missing Kids Posters scheme that is featured
in our stores". Catherine Stewart, CSR Communities Manager for Tesco.
The UK Missing Kids Website is the only site of this kind which is approved
by the Home Office, ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) and ACPO(S)
(Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland)
This state-of-the-art, searchable database can be viewed throughout the
world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- Each participating country enters its own missing children's cases, tracks
leads, and reports progress in a centralised location for law enforcement,
families, media, and government agencies to carefully monitor. Only the Police
can input information on the UK site.
- Computer Associates (CA) provides the technical infrastructure, including
security, and support for the participating countries. In the UK, CA works
to the instructions of PACT and the police forces on ensuring the IT components
of the solution are always available.
- PACT is a non-profit organisation registered in the UK and the US. Its
mission is to fight parental child abduction across borders and help the Police
locate and retrieve missing children.
- PACT was founded by Lady (Catherine) Meyer, the wife of Sir Christopher
Meyer, the British Ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003 and now
Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.
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NEW IMAGE SHOWS MISSING BEN TWELVE YEARS ON
 
Although Ben Needham disappeared in 1991, police have
never given up hope of tracing the Sheffield youngster - and have issued an updated
digital image of how he may look today.
The new image was compiled by the Metropolitan Police facial imaging team,
on behalf of the Police National Missing Person's Bureau, and will be featured
on the UK Missing Children's Website (uk.missingkids.com)
Photographs of other family members, usually parents, grandparents and siblings,
are used during the age progression technique to determine how aged facial features
may look.
Ben moved to the Greek island of Kos in 1991 with his Mother and Grandparents.
He went missing, aged 21 months, later that year (on 24th July) from the vicinity
of a farm-house, which was being renovated by his grandparents.
Police are still appealing for information about Ben's disappearance and ask
that sightings of him be reported on freephone 0808 100 8777 or e-mail pnmpb.enquiries@met.police.uk.
He has a strawberry type birth mark
on the nape of his neck.
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