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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for missing persons
22 results foundAuthor: Grampian Police Title: Missing Persons: Understanding, Planning, Responding Summary: When presented with any missing person enquiry, it is important to first consider the various scenarios which may account for the person not being where the informant expects them to be. There may be clear evidence that explains the absence, or points the enquiry in a particular direction. Unfortunately, in many cases there are no clear indicators as to what the missing person might have done, or where they may have gone. There are various ‘Profiling Tools’ set out in this booklet to assist officers with focusing in on the most likely scenario, as well as formulating the most appropriate response. The purpose of this booklet is to provide officers with background information on the most common mental illnesses, and the associated behaviour traits a missing person suffering from one of these conditions is likely to display. The booklet contains chapters on the following mental conditions: Depression; Suicide; Dementia; Psychosis / Schizophrenia; Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depressives); Attention Deficiency Disorder (ADD) Chapters regarding ‘Missing Children’ and how to search for ‘People Missing in Water’ are also included. Once officers have established which, if any, mental condition a missing person is suffering from, they can consult the relevant chapter in the booklet. The missing person profile can then be further refined using the age and gender of the person as set out. Details: Aberdeen, UK: Grampian Police, 2007. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2011 at: http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/Assets/Files/169deac2-9629-45bb-9408-cabb9d9ded82.pdf Year: 2007 Country: International URL: http://www.missingpersons.gov.au/Assets/Files/169deac2-9629-45bb-9408-cabb9d9ded82.pdf Shelf Number: 120829 Keywords: Missing ChildrenMissing PersonsPolice Investigations |
Author: British Columbia. Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Title: Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Summary: The Commission Report consists of four volumes: Volume I: The Women, Their Lives and the Framework of Inquiry: Setting the Context for Understanding and Change. It provides the framework for the Inquiry's factual findings and conclusions and for its broader policy advisory responsibilities, which focus on recommendations for forward-looking change. Emphasis has been placed on developing a contextualized framework: context is the setting for a particular idea or event, a set of circumstances or facts that surround an event or situation that give it meaning. The missing and murdered women investigations were not isolated events; they must be situated and assessed relative to a bigger picture. This contextual framework comprises of four elements: The international, national and provincial dimensions of the crisis of missing and murdered women; - The women as individuals; - The women as a group and their lives in the DTES; and - The legal and policy framework for police investigations of missing women and suspected multiple homicides. Volume II: Nobodies: How and Why We Failed the Missing and Murdered Women. It contains my findings of facts and conclusions pertaining to the police investigations framed by four main parts: - The police investigation into the assault on Ms. Anderson and the decision to stay proceedings against Pickton in January 1998; - An overview of the missing and murdered women investigations designed to serve as a narrative account upon which further analysis is carried out, including a timeline of key events to assist the reader; - An analysis of the seven main critical police failures; and - An analysis of the underlying causes of these critical police failures. Due to its size, Volume II is printed in two volumes: Volume IIA and Volume IIB. A summary of my findings of facts and conclusions is included at the end of Volume IIB. Volume III: Gone, but not Forgotten: Building the Women's Legacy of Safety Together. This volume summarizes the information gathered through the study commission process and sets out my recommendations for reform. The framing of the recommendations is closely tied to the factual conclusions that I reached in Volume II. The discussion and recommendations are set out in relation to what I identify as the ten components of the missing women's legacy: - Laying the foundation for effective change: acknowledging the harm and fostering healing and reconciliation; - Renewing our commitment to equal protection of the law through practical measures; - Listening, learning and responding: strategies to prevent violence against marginalized women in the DTES and other urban areas; - Standing together and moving forward: strategies to prevent violence against Aboriginal and rural women; - Fostering innovation and standardization: a framework for best practices in missing person investigations; - Enhancing police investigations of missing persons and suspected multiple homicides; - Committing to a regional police force in Greater Vancouver; - Facilitating effective multi-jurisdictional responses to crime; - Ensuring police accountability to the communities they serve; and - Assuring the women's legacy: implementation, change management and evaluation. A summary of my recommendations is included at the end of Volume III and at the end of this Executive Summary. Volume IV: The Commission's Process. It contains materials related to the Commission's process and is meant to provide a public record of the work that led to the preparation of this report. The first section is a detailed overview of the Commission's approach to the hearings and study commission processes. The remaining sections provide information about the Commission's work including the Terms of Reference, a list of Commission personnel, a list of Participants and Counsel, practice and procedure guidelines and directives, a list of witnesses at the evidentiary hearings, a list of oral and written submissions to the study commission, and a list of Commission studies and reports. Details: Victoria, BC: Missing Women Commission on Inquiry, 2012. 180p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 21, 2014 at: http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/public_inquiries/docs/Forsaken-ES.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Canada URL: http://www.ag.gov.bc.ca/public_inquiries/docs/Forsaken-ES.pdf Shelf Number: 132100 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationsHomicideMissing PersonsMissing WomenMurderSerial MurderViolence Against Women |
Author: Parr, Hester Title: Families Living with Absence: Searching for Missing People Summary: The ESRC funded (Ref 062-232-492) Geographies of Missing People research project, of which this report is part, has been designed with the support of both charitable and police partnerships, the UK charity Missing People, Police Scotland and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). This report is structured as a response to the content of twenty-five in-depth interviews and a focus group with families of missing people, concentrating on their experience of searching for their missing relatives. This report introduces a new language around missing issues, see pg 19 for an explanation. For more information on the ethical and methodological aspects of this study, see technical appendix and for further information on the project, visit: www.geographiesofmissingpeople. org.uk. Twenty-five families took part in the research and are represented in this report through pseudonyms, so as to protect their identities. The families have a diverse range of missing experience. The interviewees are dominated by people who have had a family member missing for a relatively long time period and the majority of interviewees were parents of adult missing children, see Table one, pg 19, for further details. This report elaborates some aspects of the qualitative interviews undertaken with the twenty-five families, but adopts a deliberate emphasis on questions of search, communications and actions that take place around search and in partnership with police services. The report is also informed by the small literature that has emerged around about families of people who have been reported missing (Boss, 1999; Boss and Carnes, 2012; Edkins, 2011, 2013; Holmes, 2008; Wayland, 2007, 2013). The overall intention of the research is to create space for the development of new resources around missing issues, with direct reference to the people who experience its profound effects. The purpose of the report is thus to share words of experience and to prompt further conversations amongst multiple interest groups. Details: Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2013. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2014 at: http://www.geographiesofmissingpeople.org.uk/downloads/familiesreport.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.geographiesofmissingpeople.org.uk/downloads/familiesreport.pdf Shelf Number: 132581 Keywords: Missing Persons |
Author: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Title: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada Summary: 1. This report addresses the situation of missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia, Canada. It analyzes the context in which indigenous women have gone missing and been murdered over the past several years and the response to this human rights issue by the Canadian State. The report offers recommendations geared towards assisting the State in strengthening its efforts to protect and guarantee indigenous women's rights. 2. Indigenous women and girls in Canada have been murdered or have gone missing at a rate four times higher than the rate of representation of indigenous women in the Canadian population which is 4.3%. The most comprehensive numbers available were collected by the non-profit organization Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) through an initiative financed by the governmental entity Status of Women Canada. As of March 31, 2010, NWAC has gathered information regarding 582 cases of missing or murdered indigenous women and girls across the country from the past 30 years. Civil society organizations have long claimed that the number could be much higher, and new research indicates that over 1000 indigenous women could be missing or dead across Canada. Although high numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada have been identified at both the national and international levels, there are no trustworthy statistics that could assist in reaching a fuller understanding of this problem. The Government itself recognizes that Canada's official statistics do not provide accurate information regarding the true numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women. In addition, there is no reliable source of disaggregated data on violence against indigenous women and girls because police across Canada do not consistently report or record whether or not the victims of violent crime are indigenous. 3. As the report explains, the numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women are particularly concerning when considered in light of the fact that indigenous people represent a small percentage of the total population of Canada. Although the information received by the Commission indicates that this could be a nationwide phenomenon, this report is focused on the situation in British Columbia, because the number of missing and murdered indigenous women is higher there in absolute terms than any other province or territory in Canada. 4. British Columbia accounts for 160 cases, 28% of NWAC's total database of 582 and is followed by Alberta with 93 cases, 16% of the total. The high numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women in British Columbia are concentrated in two different areas of the province: Prince George, in the northern part of the province; and the Downtown East Side, an area of downtown Vancouver, the largest city and metropolitan area in the province. 5. The disappearances and murders of indigenous women in Canada are part of a broader pattern of violence and discrimination against indigenous women in the country. Various official and civil society reports demonstrate that indigenous women are victims of higher rates of violence committed by strangers and acquaintances than non-indigenous women. During the IACHR visit the Canadian government indicated that indigenous women are significantly over-represented as victims of homicide and are also three times more likely to be victims of violence than non-indigenous women. Also, indigenous women suffer more frequently from more severe forms of domestic violence than non-indigenous women. 6. According to the information received, the police have failed to adequately prevent and protect indigenous women and girls from killings and disappearances, extreme forms of violence, and have failed to diligently and promptly investigate these acts. Family members of missing and murdered indigenous women have described dismissive attitudes from police officers working on their cases, a lack of adequate resources allocated to those cases, and a lengthy failure to investigate and recognize a pattern of violence. Also, the existence of multiple policing jurisdictions in British Columbia resulted in confusion between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Vancouver Police Department regarding responsibility for investigation. This situation in turn has perpetuated the violence; as the failure to ensure that there are consequences for these crimes has given rise to both real and perceived impunity. The kinds of irregularities and deficiencies that have been denounced and documented include: poor report taking and follow up on reports of missing women; inadequate proactive strategies to prevent further harm to women in the Downtown Eastside; failure to consider and properly pursue all investigative strategies; failure to address cross-jurisdictional issues; ineffective coordination between police; and insensitive treatment of families. 7. Canadian authorities and civil society organizations largely agree on the root causes of these high levels of violence against indigenous women and the existing vulnerabilities that make indigenous women more susceptible to violence. These root causes are related to a history of discrimination beginning with colonization and continuing through inadequate and unjust laws and policies such as the Indian Act and forced enrolment in residential schools that continue to affect them. In this regard, the collection of laws determining Aboriginal status established in the Indian Act restricted the freedom of women who identified themselves as indigenous to be recognized as such. Additionally, the residential schools program separated indigenous children from their families, communities, and cultural heritage. 8. As a consequence of this historical discrimination, the IACHR understands that indigenous women and girls constitute one of the most disadvantaged groups in Canada. Poverty, inadequate housing, economic and social relegation, among other factors, contribute to their increased vulnerability to violence. In addition, prevalent attitudes of discrimination - mainly relating to gender and race - and the longstanding stereotypes to which they have been subjected, exacerbate their vulnerability. 9. The OAS Charter and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man constitute sources of legal obligation for OAS Member states including Canada. The organs of the international and regional human rights systems for the protection of human rights have developed jurisprudence that recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples as well as the obligation to guarantee women's rights, both of which encompass rights to equality, nondiscrimination and non- violence. In this regard, international and regional human rights systems have developed a set of principles when applying the due diligence standards in cases of violence against women, as well as particular standards in relation to missing women. 10. International and regional systems have also emphasized that a State's failure to act with due diligence with respect to cases of violence against women is a form of discrimination. The lack of due diligence in cases of violence against indigenous women is especially grave as it affects not only the victims, but also their families and the communities to which they belong. In addition, given the strong connection between the greater risks for violence that indigenous women confront and the social and economic inequalities they face, when applying the due diligence standard, States must implement specific measures to address the social and economic disparities that affect them. 11. The IACHR stresses that addressing violence against indigenous women is not sufficient unless the underlying factors of racial and gender discrimination that originate and exacerbate the violence are also comprehensively addressed. A comprehensive holistic approach applied to violence against indigenous women means addressing the past and present institutional and structural inequalities confronted by these women. Elements that must be addressed include the dispossession of their land, as well as historical laws and policies that have negatively affected indigenous women, put them in an unequal situation, and prevented their full enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Details: Washington, DC: Organization of American States, 2014. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 21, 2015 at: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Indigenous-Women-BC-Canada-en.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Indigenous-Women-BC-Canada-en.pdf Shelf Number: 134433 Keywords: Gender-Based ViolenceHomicidesIndigenous Peoples (Canada)Missing PersonsViolence Against WomenViolent Crime |
Author: Christie, Christine Title: The Child Sexual Exploitation Service and Missing children service for young people in Stoke-on-Trent: A Review Summary: This report presents the findings from a high level independent review of two separate service areas which currently operate across Stoke-on-Trent. The service areas are: - Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE); and - Missing Children The report is organised as follows. It opens with a description of the policy background and methodology for the review. It presents key issues from published material providing a framework for a good practice response to CSE and missing children; and examines Stoke-on-Trent documentation in order to form a baseline in terms of the current local strategy, systems, policy and practice. The report then considers current services for sexually exploited and missing children and young people in Stoke-on-Trent. It does this in the light of the requirements for good CSE and missing children responses as described in the national CSE guidance - Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation, Supplementary guidance to Working Together to Safeguard Children (the DCSF, 2009 CSE guidance); and the Statutory guidance on Children who Run away or Go missing from Home or Care (the DfE, 2014 Missing children guidance). It looks at current training for Stoke-on-Trent staff. The report draws conclusions from the review as a whole, and finally, makes a series recommendations for action over the short and longer term. Details: Bedfordshire, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2014. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2015 at: http://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/449948/CSE-Missing-Service-Review-Stoke-on-Trent.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/449948/CSE-Missing-Service-Review-Stoke-on-Trent.pdf Shelf Number: 134633 Keywords: child ProstitutionChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual Exploitation (U.K.)Missing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: Mexico's Disappeared: The Enduring Cost of a Crisis Ignored Summary: When Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December 2012, he inherited a country reeling from an epidemic of drug violence. The "war on drugs" launched by his predecessor, Felipe Calderon, had not only failed to reduce violence, but also led to a dramatic increase in human rights violations. Throughout most of his presidency, Calderon denied abuses had occurred and failed to take adequate steps to ensure they were prosecuted. That responsibility now falls to President Enrique Pena Nieto. And nowhere is it more urgent than in the crime of disappearances: where people have been unlawfully taken against their will and their fate is still unknown. Mexico's Disappeared documents nearly 250 "disappearances." In 149 of these cases, evidence suggests that these were enforced disappearances, carried out with the participation of state agents. In virtually all of the cases documented by Human Rights Watch, authorities failed to promptly and thoroughly search for the disappeared person, instead blaming the victim and passing the responsibility to investigate onto families. The limited investigative steps prosecutors took were undermined by delays, errors, and omissions. These lapses only exacerbate the suffering of victims' families, for whom not knowing what happened to their loved ones is a source of perpetual anguish. Another path is possible. In the state of Nuevo Leon, responding to pressure from victims' families and human rights defenders, prosecutors have broken with a pattern of inaction and begun to seriously investigate a select group of disappearances. While progress thus far has been limited, it is an encouraging first step. Ultimately, enforced disappearances are a national problem, and the success of state-level efforts will depend in large measure on whether the federal government is willing and able to do its part. If, like its predecessor, the Pena Nieto administration fails to implement a comprehensive strategy to find the missing and bring perpetrators to justice, it will only worsen the most severe crisis of enforced disappearance in Latin America in decades. Details: New York: HRW, 2013. 176p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mexico0213_ForUpload_0_0_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/mexico0213_ForUpload_0_0_0.pdf Shelf Number: 127733 Keywords: DisappearancesDrug TraffickingDrug-Related ViolenceHomicidesMissing PersonsMurdersWar on Drugs |
Author: Bayliss, Anda Title: Risk, bureaucracy and missing persons: An evaluation of a new approach to the initial police response Summary: Key findings Three forces piloted a new approach to missing persons for a three month period. While officers were previously required to attend all incidents as the default initial response, the pilot introduced a new risk assessment process and 'absence' category. During the pilot, this category of incidents (involving a person who was not where they were expected to be but not thought to be at risk of harm) were to be monitored by police call handlers without officers being deployed immediately. The evaluation found promising qualitative evidence of the pilot having achieved its primary aim - to make the initial police response to missing persons reports more proportionate to risk. It was thought - as a side benefit - that a more proportionate approach might also help free up police capacity. The evaluation found consistent evidence of the pilot having achieved this secondary aim. Did the pilot result in a more proportionate and risk-based response? - The qualitative research found a widespread perception among officers that the pilot had helped to better identify those at risk, and ensured that higher risk incidents received the attention they required. - This result was not reflected in some of the survey findings. Based on officer descriptions, a high proportion of incidents in the pilot sites were assessed to be low risk. Did a more proportionate response help free up police capacity? - Despite an increase in the number of recorded incidents in the pilot sites, around a third were classified as absences and, thus, did not require officers to attend. - By being more proportionate, the pilot forces were able to target resources better and free up capacity. A saving of 200 shifts over the three month period was estimated as a result of officers not attending absences. The amount of time spent on the initial response to missing persons was also reduced in the pilot sites (-23%) relative to the comparison sites (-3%). In theory, these resources could be redirected towards higher risk incidents. Did the pilot improve officer attitudes and job satisfaction? - Most response officers and supervisors who were interviewed welcomed the pilot, and said their attitudes about attending missing persons incidents had improved. - A survey of officers, however, did not reveal a consistent pattern of attitude change. How did partners view the pilot? - There was widespread view among partners that the police should move away from a 'one size fits all' approach to missing persons. - About two-thirds of respondents were positive or neutral about the pilot. A third were more critical, mainly raising concerns about the application of the new category. - The quality of the engagement partners reportedly received from the police before implementation seemed to affect their level of support for the pilot. - The reduction in missing person coordinators in the pilot forces - an organisational change that was unconnected to the pilot - was potentially regarded as a greater problem. How was the pilot perceived to have affected police safeguarding work? - There was no evidence to suggest the pilot had undermined forces' ability to carry out proactive safeguarding work (though it was a perceived concern for some partners). - The reduction in missing person coordinators in the pilot forces reportedly would have placed pressure on monitoring and partnership work after the pilot (though it continued). Details: London: College of Policing, 2013. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 2, 2015 at: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Missing_persons_PUBLICATION_PQ.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/Missing_persons_PUBLICATION_PQ.pdf Shelf Number: 128750 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationMissing PersonsPolice EffectivenessRisk Assessment |
Author: Amnesty International Title: "Treated with Indolence": The State's Response to Disappearances in Mexico Summary: In Mexico, it makes no difference whether disappearances have a high profile internationally and nationally or remain in relative obscurity, nor whether those responsible are state agents or private individuals. Whatever the nature of the disappearance, the authorities seem equally unable to provide a coherent response at the institutional level aimed at uncovering the truth and ensuring justice and reparations for the more than 26,000 people who have disappeared. Amnesty International has documented shortcomings in the authorities efforts to search for the disappeared and their failure to carry out effective investigations that result in victims being identified and those responsible punished. In this report, Amnesty International examines the enforced disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa and the crisis of disappearances in Ciudad Cuauhtemoc in the State of Chihuahua. These two cases are emblematic, reflecting the seriousness of the situation facing the country. This crisis has led to the creation of a large number of groups, including relatives of the disappeared, who are demanding truth, justice and reparation. In the face of state inaction, they have taken up the struggle and made enormous efforts to find their loved ones. Amnesty International urges the Mexican authorities to take concrete steps to address this issue. In particular, it calls on them to ensure that the General Law on Disappearances, which is due to be introduced shortly, incorporates the highest international standards. The new legislation must take into account the experience and the needs of the thousands of victims seeking their loved ones. The law should also establish appropriate mechanisms to investigate and punish disappearances and develop a public policy aimed at preventing and ending enforced disappearances and disappearances carried out by non-state actors. Details: London: AI, 2016. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 28, 2016 at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/mexico_disappearances_report_eng_pdf.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Mexico URL: http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/mexico_disappearances_report_eng_pdf.pdf Shelf Number: 137699 Keywords: DisappearancesMissing Persons |
Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office Title: Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains: Opportunities May Exist to Share Information More Efficiently Summary: Every year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing, and hundreds of human remains go unidentified. Two primary federal databases supported by DOJ - NCIC and NamUs - contain data related to missing and unidentified persons to help solve these cases. NCIC contains criminal justice information accessed by authorized agencies to assist with daily investigations. NamUs information can be used by law enforcement, medical examiners, coroners, and the general public to help with long-term missing and unidentified persons cases. Senate Report 113-181 (accompanying the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015) includes a provision for GAO to review NCIC and NamUs. This report describes the access to and use of missing and unidentified persons information contained in NCIC and NamUs, and the extent to which there are opportunities to improve the use of this information. GAO reviewed NCIC and NamUs data, and relevant state and federal statutes. GAO also conducted nongeneralizeable interviews with stakeholders in three states, selected in part on state laws. What GAO Recommends To allow for more efficient use of missing and unidentified persons information, GAO recommends that DOJ evaluate options to share information between NCIC and NamUs. DOJ disagreed because it believes it lacks the necessary legal authority. GAO believes DOJ can study options for sharing information within the confines of its legal framework, and therefore believes the recommendation remains valid. Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: GAO-16-515: Accessed June 7, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677717.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/677717.pdf Shelf Number: 139304 Keywords: Criminal InvestigationsInformation SharingMissing Persons |
Author: Brian, Tara Title: Fatal Journeys. Volume 2: Identification and tracing of dead and missing migrants Summary: IOM reports in the latest edition of its publication Fatal Journeys Volume 2: Identification and Tracing of Dead and Missing Migrants that over 60,000 migrants are estimated to have died or gone missing on sea and land routes worldwide since 1996. According to the report released today (14 June), an estimated 5,400 migrants died or were recorded as missing in 2015. In 2016, already more than 3,400 migrants have lost their lives worldwide, this year over 80 percent of those attempting to reach Europe by sea. The true number of migrant deaths is surely greater, said Frank Laczko, Director of IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC). Laczko explained countless deaths remain unknown as a result of migrants dying at sea or in remote areas where fatalities seldom are witnessed or recorded. "But what happens to those who die? Who are their families and will they ever know what happened?" asked Laczko. "A further tragedy to the loss of life, is the fact that many of the dead remain nameless." IOM's second global report on migrant fatalities addresses these crucial questions. The report asks what measures can and should be taken by authorities to ensure tracing and identification of those who die or go missing. Furthermore, what steps should be taken to assist the forgotten victims of these tragedies - the families left behind. Despite their urgency, these issues have been largely absent from policy discussions. Existing research into missing persons indicates the extreme psychological distress, as well as economic and social hardship a missing person has on families. IOM's report shows that this painful situation is all too common. A majority of migrant bodies are never found, and of those that are, many are never identified. In the Mediterranean Sea in 2015, bodies were recovered for fewer than half of those thought to have died. Families in Myanmar and Bangladesh tell stories of family members who have simply disappeared. Along the United States-Mexico border, the Colibri Center for Human Rights - a non-profit organization based in Arizona - has recorded some 2,700 missing persons. while national and international systems exist to trace missing persons, they have not been adapted to address missing migrants and remain largely inaccessible to migrant families. Often, local and national death registration and identification systems are neither designed nor adequate for the particular challenges arising in the context of international migration. However, it is not only the substantial challenges involved in the task that make identification rates poor. Unlike in other humanitarian or transport disasters, identification of migrants is often given low priority by States involved, and too often migrant and refugee deaths are seen as an exception to normal humanitarian practices. Compiled by IOM's Berlin-based Global Migration Data Analysis Centre and experts from around the world, Fatal Journeys aims to bring attention to this humanitarian imperative. It recommends five points for action, beginning with the recognition that investigation and identification of migrant deaths is an obligation under international law. Fatal Journeys argues for families to have access to accessible search mechanisms and to be granted the right to visit the burial place of their loved ones. All efforts should be made to identify the dead, including through the establishment of international and regional databases. Finally, Fatal Journeys recommends a global programme of research to better understand how to support families and improve identification mechanisms. In addition to issues of identification and tracing, the report presents most recent data on dead and missing migrants around the world, collected through IOM's Missing Migrants Project, which maintains the only existing global database on migrant deaths. Details: Geneva, SWIT: International Organization for Migration, 2016. 108p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2016 at: https://publications.iom.int/books/fatal-journeys-volume-2-identification-and-tracing-dead-and-missing-migrants Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://publications.iom.int/books/fatal-journeys-volume-2-identification-and-tracing-dead-and-missing-migrants Shelf Number: 139617 Keywords: ImmigrantsImmigrationMigrant DeathsMissing Persons |
Author: Queensland Family and Child Commission Title: When a Child is Missing: Remembering Tiahleigh: A report into Queensland's Children Missing from Out-of-Care Summary: In November 2015, the Premier requested for the Queensland Family and Child Commission (QFCC) to undertake a broad whole-of-government systems review into children missing from out-of-home care following the disappearance of Tiahleigh Palmer. The Premier asked two things when calling for this review. Could more have been done when concerns were first raised about Tiahleigh's disappearance and how can systems be improved to provide timely and appropriate information that is actioned responsively when critical incidents occur. The review examined current legislative frameworks, policies and guidelines for key government agencies in sharing information and responding when a child in out-of-home care is missing or absent from their placement. The QFCC worked closely with government agencies including, the Queensland Police Service, the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, the Department of Education and Training, Queensland Health, the Office of the Public Guardian and the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation. The QFCC also worked with non-government agencies throughout the review, specifically Bravehearts, CREATE Foundation, Foster Care Queensland, the Family Inclusion Network and the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak. The review contains 29 recommendations to achieve whole-of-government system improvements in responding to children missing from out-of-home care. The recommendations are designed to provide quality systems and improved responses through revised policies and procedures, a marked cultural shift across agencies, enhanced media campaigns and improved information sharing between agencies. Details: Brisbane: The Commission, 2016. 219p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 1, 2016 at: http://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/when-a-child-is-missing Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.qfcc.qld.gov.au/when-a-child-is-missing Shelf Number: 139907 Keywords: Child Abuse and NeglectChild ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing Persons |
Author: All-Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults Title: Inquiry into the safeguarding of 'absent' children. 'It is good when someone cares.' Final Report Summary: In recent years missing children have been moving up the local and national policy agenda. Increased awareness of the link between going missing and child sexual exploitation, prompted by horrific cases across the country, as well as by reports from this APPG and the Office of the Children's Commissioner (OCC) have led to more concerted efforts across all agencies to disrupt exploitation and lessen the risks to children who go missing. The changes that the government introduced to improve the safeguarding response to children in residential care and the publication of the revised statutory guidance in 2014 on missing children also created opportunities to review and strengthen local responses to missing children. The greater awareness of the risks missing children face has not necessarily resulted in improved responses to missing children across the country however. Cuts to children's social care and police funding, on-going reforms and an increase in the numbers of children who require help from children's social care services has meant that often only cases identified as high risk are getting prioritised for response. It has been acknowledged in written submissions and through the roundtables for this inquiry that there are many positive examples of agencies working well together to protect missing children, particularly those identified to be at risk of harm. There is a lot more clarity around what a good response looks like when the child is recognised to be at high risk of harm and categorised as 'missing', even though a lack of consistency in the implementation of good practice prevails. It has been acknowledged in a recent HMIC report that 'in most straightforward cases the police's response is timely, proportionate and appropriate'. At the same time the inquiry heard that absent children, for whom the police establish there to be 'no apparent risk', often end up not being on the radar of other services, like children's social care, until things in their lives get much more serious. As one roundtable participant said, 'It is perverse, because children need to go up tariff, and things must become more serious before they can get a service and yet we know that early support reduces the risk of repeated missing incidents'. At one of the roundtables the National Policing Lead, Chief Constable Mike Veale voiced concerns that 'risk assessments are not completed consistently throughout the service' and that for some police forces the 'absent' category may be 'not doing very much more than recording an event'. 14 These are important concerns to address, particularly given that those in social care appear to rely excessively on the police getting the risk assessment right on every occasion and therefore believe their lack of response to absent children is evidenced When children's social care do not to properly participate in the risk assessment, such a position is not justifiable and children can be left at terrible risk which could have been prevented. Further evidence submitted to the inquiry by organisations providing return interviews questioned decision making around the use of the 'absent' category. 'In areas where we work where the absent category is used we are worried that children 'fall through the net' as they are not being properly identified and supported. Where absent episodes are not correctly referred to agencies, families and children are prevented from accessing preventative and early intervention support'. 'Whatever happens to the category of 'absent' there is going to have to be changes to what call handlers base their decisions on because we all have got examples where young people are classified wrongly'. The inquiry identified a number of issues that contribute to making the absent category unsafe. Details: London: Children's Society, 2016. 54p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2016 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/appg-absent-inquiry-final-report-may-2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/appg-absent-inquiry-final-report-may-2016.pdf Shelf Number: 140445 Keywords: Child ProtectionChild Sexual ExploitationMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Pona, Iryna Title: Safeguarding children and young people who go missing in London Summary: Each year around 100,000 children and young people in the UK run away from home or care - Around 60% of all missing persons cases reported to the police involve children and young people with majority of them being adolescents aged 12 to 17. From our research and work with children and young people we know that running away is a signal that all is not well in a child's life. When things go wrong young people do not always know how, or feel able, to ask for help. Instead, many of them run away from home or care and become exposed to great risks in order to survive - staying with strangers or begging and stealing to survive. In some cases going missing signals that a child is under the influence of a predatory adult or even peers trying to exploit them, enticing them away from home with promises of fun and excitement. In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the risks of running away, particularly in relation to child sexual exploitation and, increasingly, involvement in criminal activity. Changes to national and local policies have been made aimed at improving responses to this vulnerable group of children and young people and ensuring that agencies are working together to keep young people safe. Despite the progress made, many young runaways still do not have an offer of help when they need it and continue slipping through the net of services until their cases are deemed 'high risk' or only get a tokenistic support that is not sufficient to help them resolve the issues they face. The Children's Society has over 30 years' experience of research , campaigning and direct work with children and young people who run away from home or care. In July 2015, The Children's Society launched a network of services across London to tackle the risks facing the city's vulnerable young people, specifically looking at providing responses to young people who run away or go missing in London. This report explores the scale of children running away or going missing in the capital and looks at how recent national policy changes have impacted on local responses to children who are reported as missing from home or care. The report is based on responses to our Freedom of Information requests to 33 London boroughs and the Metropolitan Police Service - Throughout the report we have also used anonymised cases studies and quotes from our direct work with young people who run away or go missing. Details: London: The Children's Society, 2016. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2016 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/safeguarding-children-and-young-people-who-go-missing-in-london_reduced.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/safeguarding-children-and-young-people-who-go-missing-in-london_reduced.pdf Shelf Number: 146107 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Thanh, Vo Quoc Title: 6000 Cases of Missing and Absent Persons: Patterns of Crime Harm and Priorities for Resource Allocation Summary: The objectives of the study are to evaluate the existing approach to assessing the risk of harm to missing and absent people, which may affect how to police these incidents whilst taking into consideration the estimated costs involved. The study is based on 5,984 missing or absent cases during a six-month period in Thames Valley Police (TVP). Missing and absent person records were collected along with crime records and incident attendance records. The key findings are that the likelihood of death is rare, since only two out of the 3,706 individuals (0.05%) were known to have died during the period of time they were missing. Around 99% of individuals did not suffer any crime harm whilst missing. Even once non-crime harm was included, events such as: domestic non-recordable, mental health incident and child or adult protection incidents, 98% still did not suffer any type of harm. This is despite 820 (16%) cases graded as high-risk and 3,465 (68%) graded as medium-risk. Only 660 (13%) cases were graded as low-risk. Missing people were more likely to cause harm (suspect) than suffer harm (victim). The average word count for the Risk Assessment was low: with high-risk having two less words than medium for Risk Assessment One, and high-risk having one more word than medium risk for Risk Assessment Two. Consequently, officers and supervisors may be relying on their intuition to risk assess rather than the information available on the risk assessment. The minimum annual estimated police officer labour cost to TVP to police missing person enquiries is between $3.1 and $5.5 million. This is compared to $292,500 for absent person enquiries. The results of the study suggest that low-risk and the new absent category is under-utilised, reflecting a possible overly risk adverse attitude by officers. Details: Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge, Wolfson College, 2015. 150p. Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed October 13, 2016 at: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Quoc%20Thanh%20Vo.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/theses/Quoc%20Thanh%20Vo.pdf Shelf Number: 144938 Keywords: Missing PersonsRisk Assessment |
Author: Shalev Greene, Karen Title: Repeat reports to the police of missing people: locations and characteristics Summary: Hundreds of thousands of people are reported missing to the police each year. Out of the 313,000 reports to British police in 2011-2012 (SOCA, 2013) 64% involved children. Most research on missing persons tends to focus on the causes for going missing or the vulnerability of the people who go missing (for example, CEOP, 2011; NPIA, 2011; Rees, 2011). However, relatively little research attention has been given to the locations from which people go missing (Bartholomew, Duffy & Figgins, 2009; Parr & Stevenson, 2013; Stevenson, Parr, Woolnough & Fyfe, 2013). The current study focuses on the locations from which people are reported missing repeatedly in a one year period. Some of these locations are individual households but the majority are organisational facilities. Thus, our aim is to highlight issues surrounding the 'duty of care' and 'safeguarding' responsibilities of agencies in relation to people who go missing from organisational addresses (such as mental health establishments and children's care homes); specifically in relation to preventing them from going missing in the first place and the responsibility of the organisations helping to locate them. The data in this study was gathered from ONE Police force which uses the COMPACT database. This database holds the reports for all missing person reports where the person has been missing for over 2 hours. In 2011, 2,745 missing person cases opened and closed in this police force (or 40% of over 6,000 missing person cases overall). Given that the focus of this study is the location from which people went missing, only cases where the same address was linked to three cases or more in one year were included. Thus, the analysis in this report is based on 1,321 cases and 149 addresses. In the current study young people make up the great majority of those reported missing three times or more in a year. Missing people, in our sample, do not travel very far, usually travelling under 5 miles. In terms of missing persons vulnerability, only a minority of young people, in this sample, are categorised as 'high risk' and only a small minority report injury or harm while missing or are known to be involved in criminal activity. Proportionally, the highest risk group are older people, over the age of 50 years. However, the findings in this study raise some concerns about the risk assessment process and the extent to which the type of location from which a person is reported missing is used (or can be used) as an indicator of potential risk. The results show that people went missing from a variety of locations but that private care homes (57.1%) were the most common place. Almost all (99.5%) of those who went missing from private care homes were young people aged 18 years and under. Going missing from a home address (16.0%) was the next most common location; followed by mental health units (9.9%) and hospitals (7.7%). In 2011, 149 different addresses in the police force we examined reported people missing three times or more. The study highlights the impact that a few organisations have on police workload, with one private care home making 93 missing person reports in the year 2011. The cost to the police of responding to reports from the top 10 locations is estimated to be £482,250 to £879,060 (Shalev Greene & Pakes, 2013a). These repeat reports should raise the issue of the duty of care and responsibilities of health and social care organisations towards the vulnerable people for whom they are caring. The authors recognise that repeated incidents of going missing is often a reflection of the life situations of the people within these individual settings as they will often have personal difficulties, find it difficult being away from 'home' far from their family and friends, etc. However, the study raises the question of why organisations that report people missing so frequently do not always share with the police the responsibility of locating those who go missing. Details: Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth, Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, 2014. 21 p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2016 at: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/icjs/csmp/Repeat-reports-to-the-police-of-missing-people.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/contacts-and-departments/icjs/csmp/Repeat-reports-to-the-police-of-missing-people.pdf Shelf Number: 145318 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Bricknell, Samantha Title: Missing persons in Australia, 2008-2015 Summary: Between 2008 and 2015 over 305,000 people were reported missing in Australia, an average of 38,159 reports each year. Youths aged 13-17 years were most likely to go missing; half of all people reported missing between 2008 and 2015 were in this age group and less than 10 percent were children. More than sixty percent of those who go missing return or are found within 48 hours. Ninety-eight percent are ultimately located, most alive. Collecting data on the circumstances of those who go missing will assist in developing a national picture of vulnerable population groups and predicting outcomes for these groups. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2016. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Statistical Bulletin 01: Accessed February 13, 2017 at: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/sb/001/sb001.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/sb/001/sb001.pdf Shelf Number: 145018 Keywords: Missing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Great Britain. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary Title: Missing children: who cares? The police response to missing and absent children Summary: Each year thousands of children go missing from their homes. The majority of them will return, or be found soon after they have been reported missing. There are many reasons why children go missing. On very rare occasions they may be abducted. All children who go missing are potentially at risk of harm, and a significant number, because of their circumstances, will face the risk of sexual, criminal or economic exploitation. Although not every child who goes missing is at risk of sexual exploitation and not every child who is at risk of sexual exploitation goes missing, the two are inter-linked. It is often the most vulnerable children who are sexually exploited, and who are targeted by those who intend to commit crimes against them. These children may have been abused or neglected, lack affection or have already experienced trauma in their lives. A number will be in the care of the local authority because of serious concerns about their well-being or the risks they face. Responding to missing incidents places a high demand on police time. Managing this demand is a major challenge for police forces but the consequences of not investigating cases can be extremely serious, leaving some children at risk of exploitation and/or significant harm. Effective outcomes in police responses to children at risk of abuse require specific skills and knowledge and excellent partnership working, in particular with children's social services. But more than this, effective outcomes rely on recognition, by all in the police service, that children are inherently vulnerable by virtue of their age, and that those who come into contact with police for any reason are often the most vulnerable. As the Chief Inspector of Constabulary observed in his recent State of Policing report, the work of the police in child protection is probably the most onerous and demanding of all police work, and it is the most important simply because children have the most to lose. Recent revelations about the scale of child sexual abuse, whether online or involving high-profile individuals, institutions or local communities, have presented the police with a complex challenge. Many crimes go unreported and those who are vulnerable often have greater difficulty in bringing their concerns to the attention of those who are able to help them. In its protective and preventative role, the police service has the responsibility to root out crime and the circumstances in which it may be committed, particularly where the victim is vulnerable, afraid or actively prevented from seeking help. Our inspections in relation to missing and absent children have found some good approaches with prompt action to find missing children and joint work to protect them. However, our principal finding was of inconsistencies in properly assessing risks, managing investigations, and providing support and help to the child. Consequently, our conclusion must be that this is leaving some children at unacceptable risk of harm. This report focuses on the experiences and outcomes of police contact for children who go missing. For the first time, we publish findings from HMIC-commissioned research on children's experiences of police contact. While we found clear evidence of positive experiences and outcomes for some children, we found a weighting towards negative experiences in the majority of cases. In particular, we found evidence of some police officers' negative attitudes towards missing children, which determines their responses, and in turn undermines children's confidence in the police service as a source of protection and help. These findings signal an imperative for cultural change in the police service if children and young people who run away from home or care are to have trust that the police will help them, and if the police are to be better able to afford them that protection. Details: London: HMIC, 2016. 72p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/missing-children-who-cares.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/wp-content/uploads/missing-children-who-cares.pdf Shelf Number: 145394 Keywords: Child ProtectionMissing ChildrenMissing PersonsPolice InvestigationPolice ResponseRunaways |
Author: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Title: Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Operational Overview Summary: In late 2013, the Commissioner of the RCMP initiated an RCMP-led study of reported incidents of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across all police jurisdictions in Canada. This report summarizes that effort and will guide Canadian Police operational decision-making on a solid foundation. It will mean more targeted crime prevention, better community engagement and enhanced accountability for criminal investigations. It will also assist operational planning from the detachment to national level. In sum, it reveals the following: Police-recorded incidents of Aboriginal female homicides and unresolved missing Aboriginal females in this review total 1,181 - 164 missing and 1,017 homicide victims. There are 225 unsolved cases of either missing or murdered Aboriginal females: 105 missing for more than 30 days as of November 4, 2013, whose cause of disappearance was categorized at the time as "unknown" or "foul play suspected" and 120 unsolved homicides between 1980 and 2012. The total indicates that Aboriginal women are over-represented among Canada's murdered and missing women. There are similarities across all female homicides. Most homicides were committed by men and most of the perpetrators knew their victims - whether as an acquaintance or a spouse. The majority of all female homicides are solved (close to 90%) and there is little difference in solve rates between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal victims. This report concludes that the total number of murdered and missing Aboriginal females exceeds previous public estimates. This total significantly contributes to the RCMP's understanding of this challenge, but it represents only a first step. It is the RCMP's intent to work with the originating agencies responsible for the data herein to release as much of it as possible to stakeholders. Already, the data on missing Aboriginal women has been shared with the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR), which will be liaising with policing partners to publish additional cases on the Canada's Missing website. Ultimately, the goal is to make information more widely available after appropriate vetting. While this matter is without question a policing concern, it is also a much broader societal challenge. The collation of this data was completed by the RCMP and the assessments and conclusions herein are those of the RCMP alone. The report would not have been possible without the support and contribution of the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics at Statistics Canada. As with any effort of such magnitude, this report needs to be caveated with a certain amount of error and imprecision. This is for a number of reasons: the period of time over which data was collected was extensive; collection by investigators means data is susceptible to human error and interpretation; inconsistency of collection of variables over the review period and across multiple data sources; and, finally, definitional challenges. Details: Ottawa: RCMP, 2014. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 4, 2017 at: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wam/media/460/original/0cbd8968a049aa0b44d343e76b4a9478.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Canada URL: http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/wam/media/460/original/0cbd8968a049aa0b44d343e76b4a9478.pdf Shelf Number: 147550 Keywords: AboriginalsCrime StatisticsHomicidesMissing PersonsMurdersViolence Against Women |
Author: Bricknell, Samantha Title: Missing Persons: Who is at risk? Summary: In 2008 the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) released a comprehensive study on missing persons in Australia, which presented national data on at-risk groups and identified best practice related to prevention, early intervention, referral processes and support services (James, Anderson & Putt 2008). This report followed an earlier AIC study that examined the incidence and impact of missing person events (Henderson & Henderson 1998). The current study, commissioned by the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) of the Australian Federal Police, updates missing person statistics (first published in Bricknell and Renshaw 2016) and describes the extent to which known risk factors correlate with categories of missing persons. Details: Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2017. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Research report 08: Accessed November 20, 2017 at: https://aic.gov.au/publications/rr/rr8 Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://aic.gov.au/publications/rr/rr8 Shelf Number: 148281 Keywords: Missing PersonsRunaways |
Author: Haugaard, Lisa Title: Breaking the Silence: In Search of Colombia's Disappeared Summary: Colombia has one of the highest levels of forced disappearances in the world. Mention the word "disappearance" in the Latin American context and most people think only about Chile, where 3,000 people were killed or disappeared, or Argentina, where some 30,000 people were disappeared in the "dirty war." Yet new information is emerging that is unveiling the tragic dimensions of Colombia's missing. Little attention has been paid to disappearances in Colombia. This may be simply because the death toll from assassinations, massacres, criminal murders, and battlefield casualties- where there are bodies-is so high that disappearances have remained out of focus. The government's ability to project an image of success has also served to make disappearances, along with other human rights abuses, less visible. That the conflict is still raging makes it hard to bring attention to a crime where the proof is by definition invisible. The Colombian government and international community's response to the problem of disappearances has been delayed and inadequate, even in contrast to the limited programs and legal recourses available to other victims of the conflict. Since 2007, the Colombian government has begun to improve the ways in which disappearances are registered. As new and older cases are entered into a consolidated database, numbers are increasing dramatically by the month. As of November 2010, Colombia's official government statistics list over 51,000 disappearances, a figure that includes missing persons who may be alive, while the Attorney General's office speaks of over 32,000 "forced disappearances." More than 1130 new cases of forced disappearance have been officially registered in the last three years. However, the full total remains unknown. Many cases have yet to be entered in the database, and many disappearances are not registered at all. Earlier claims by associations of families of the disappeared of some 15,000 forced disappearances, far from being an overestimation, now look to have vastly undercounted the tragedy's enormous scope. Details: Washington, DC: Latin America Working Group Education Fund and U.S. Office on Colombia, 2010. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed march 20, 2018 at: http://lawg.org/storage/documents/Colombia/BreakingTheSilence.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Colombia URL: http://lawg.org/storage/documents/Colombia/BreakingTheSilence.pdf Shelf Number: 149527 Keywords: DisappearancesHomicidesHuman Rights AbusesMissing Persons |
Author: Sharp-Jeffs, Nicola Title: A lot going on: the links between going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation Summary: An extensive review of research and policy literature revealed that links are made between: going missing and forced marriage; going missing and child sexual exploitation; and forced marriage and child sexual exploitation. However, despite these overlaps, no links are made between all three issues. Given that some South Asian young women will run away from home in order to avoid being forced into marriage and that young people who run away or go missing from home are at risk of, or abused, through child sexual exploitation a research proposition was developed on the basis that a three way link was theoretically possible. A case study methodology was developed to test the research proposition. Eight cases were identified in which South Asian young people (under 18 years of age) had experienced some combination of all three issues. However, the pattern identified within the research proposition was not the 'final explanation'. Analysis of the research findings revealed that variation existed within the pattern proposed. Moreover, a second pattern was identified in which forced marriage emerged as a parental response to young people who were already being sexually exploited and going missing in this context. The patterns identified were confirmed through analysis of interviews undertaken with twelve subject experts (key informants) and resonated with a specifically selected group of nine young people who were presented with a composite case study during focus group discussion. I argue that awareness of patterns linking all three issues will help practitioners to identify and respond appropriately to cases where the issues of going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation overlap. That said the complexity of the cases highlighted risks associated with overlooking diversities: social divisions related to age, gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality and disability were explored to see how they shaped the young people's experiences. This process revealed that they were located within complex axes of power which then intersected with social systems, including family, community and public institutions. As a consequence, young people lacked relational support and had limited access to safe accommodation and economic resources. This resulted in some young people making attempts to try and self-manage the competing harms that they were facing. The practitioners who supported the young people highlighted the challenges involved in working with them. Analysis of practitioners' accounts further revealed how power dynamics within multi-agency working arrangements also impacted their efforts to respond to the needs of young people. Through testing the research proposition, I addressed a recognised need for more focused research into the issue of going missing as it relates to young people from different ethnic backgrounds (Berelowitz et al. 2012; Berelowitz et al., 2013; OCC, 2012; Patel, 1994; Safe on the Streets Research Team, 1999; Stein et al. 1994) as well as furthering knowledge about how child sexual exploitation is experienced by young people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities (Chase & Statham, 2004; CEOP, 2011b; Jago et al., 2011; Berelowitz et al., 2013; Thiara & Gill, 2010; Kelly, 2013; Ward & Patel, 2006). The development of a typology of patterns linking going missing, forced marriage and child sexual exploitation provides a unique contribution to the scholarly literature. Details: Luton, UK: University of Bedfordshire, 2016. 324p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed May 21, 2018 at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82971362.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82971362.pdf Shelf Number: 150315 Keywords: Child MarriageChild Sexual AbuseChild Sexual ExploitationForced MarriageMissing Persons |
Author: Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, United States Title: AMBER Alert Best Practices, 2nd Edition Summary: This report provides a 'what works' approach based on the input of those carrying out the day-to-day work of leading, administering, and executing AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alerts as part of larger missing persons and child protection programs at the state and regional levels. Valuable input has also been gathered through the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program's National AMBER Alert Coordinator and Missing Persons Clearinghouse symposium events. This publication and its online resource collection offer field personnel additional information about effective and promising practices. It is designed for interpretation at the state and regional levels in a manner that allows programs to consider their resource limitations and diverse demographic and geographic needs. Details: Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, 2019. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 2, 2019 at: https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/252759.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=824019 Shelf Number: 157096 Keywords: Amber Alert Child Abduction Child Kidnapping Child Protection Missing Children Missing Persons |