Investigating Missing Children Cases: A Guide for First Responders and Investigators - Softcover

Sprague, Donald F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1439860637 ISBN 13: 9781439860632

Publisher: Routledge, 2012

Synopsis

Time is an abducted child’s worst enemy. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are murdered are killed within three hours of their abduction. It takes, on the average, two hours for a parent to report a child missing. This gives responders only one hour to get an investigation up and running in an attempt to locate and recover the child alive. Investigating Missing Children Cases: A Guide for First Responders and Investigators provides a solid training guide on missing children investigative techniques, enabling law enforcement professionals to respond confidently with a plan of action that offers the best possible chance for a positive outcome.

The book provides law enforcement agencies with the most current information available to guide them through a missing or runaway child dispatch. It is designed to help investigators respond quickly, expeditiously evaluate the situation, conduct an Endangerment Risk Assessment (ERA) of the child, and commence a thorough, organized investigation―starting from the moment the police are contacted. By following the guidelines in this book, those tasked with these cases can make the best possible decisions in the shortest amount of time.

The protocols and methodologies presented are based on personal police experience and statistical evidence from research and studies gathered from thousands of runaway and missing children cases. Details on those studies and their findings are provided in the appendix.

Time is of the essence in missing children cases. Make every second count.

About this title

About the Author:

Donald F. Sprague is a 24-year veteran of law enforcement. He retired in June 1996 as a lieutenant from the Saginaw, Michigan Police Department. He has been a Michigan state certified police instructor in many disciplines including police patrol techniques, police emergency vehicle operation, and domestic violence. He served on the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) task force that produced the Law Enforcement Driver Training Reference Guide 2000 and the Michigan State Domestic Violence task force that produced Domestic Violence Police Response. A Project ALERT member for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), he volunteers his time reviewing cold cases of missing children and has lectured for NCMEC on child safety. He and his wife, Mary, formed the Servants & Watchmen Ministry, to educate places of worship on church security, and Michigan Child Safety Advocates, to educate parents and children on child safety and missing and exploited children.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1439860637
• ISBN 13: 9781439860632
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 314