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Media Resources
Fact Sheet
Every year over 70,000 children go missing in the UK.
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.
The Missing Kids Website was originally created in the USA by the
National Center of Missing & Exploited Children.
The website is an extremely secure one fully protected by a complex
security system. It is controlled by the police service and only trained
police officers' and staff can place information on the site.
The Website 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 Missingkids Website has already been introduced to 16 countries
with the help of Computer Associates (CA).
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.
These national sites are linked to a global network with easy worldwide
access. Over 3,000 children's cases are posted.
The technology includes age-progression techniques that have been
successful in identifying and retrieving children years after their
disappearance.
The Website also allows the downloading of posters of missing and
abducted children.
In the United Kingdom, it is managed by the Police National Missing
Persons Bureau, and it is promoted by the charity PACT.
The UK Missingkids 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
Posters of missing children featured on the website, are displayed
in Tescos' stores throughout the country.
"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 website helps the police work
across those borders more effectively."
Assistant Commissioner, Richard Bryan, ACPO lead on Missing Persons.
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