U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Law Enforcement Policies and Practices Regarding Missing Children and Homeless Youth: Research Summary

NCJ Number
145644
Author(s)
J J Collins; L L Powers; M E McCalla; C L Ringwalt; R M Lucas
Date Published
1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study describes the police response, the factors associated with that response, and parent and caretaker satisfaction with police handling of cases involving runaway, thrownaway, and missing children that were reported to them. Data were obtained through mail surveys of police agencies, site visits, and interviews with parents or caretakers.
Abstract
The report outlines characteristics of the children and youth who are involved in these cases, ways in which police respond as well as obstacles to an effective response and programs that address the problem of missing children, and the most frequent outcomes of missing children cases. The findings show that police will investigate cases involving a serious violation of the law, very young children, or a dangerous situation first. Most reported missing children cases involve runaways or family abductions. Some of the standard procedures followed by police officers include dispatching a patrol to the scene, taking a written statement from the reporting party, initiating follow-up investigations within a couple of days of the report, and suggesting ways parents could help locate the child. Primary obstacles to police investigations include their inability to detain status offenders, limited police and community resources, poor follow-up and prosecution of parental abductors, the low priority given to runaway cases, and lack of cooperation and communication with other law enforcement and social service agencies. 5 references