Examining the efficacy of a self-administered report form in missing person investigations

PurposeThe success of missing person investigations often centres on the quality of information obtained in the early stages. Reliable information can not only inform the search but might also become vital evidence if the case broadens into a criminal investigation relating to a sexual offence, abduction, or even murder. In addition to eliciting high quality information, police officers must consider that those close to the missing person are likely going through a very difficult and stressful time. Across two studies, we developed and tested a self-administered form (SAI-MISSING) designed to obtain reliable information that would meaningfully inform a missing person investigation, as well as providing a means for family and friends to be actively involved.MethodsIn Experiment 1, 65 participants were tested individually and asked to provide a description of a person they knew well but had not seen for 24 hours. In the second study, 64 participants were tested in pairs, but immediately separated into different rooms and instructed to imagine that the person they came with has gone missing. In both studies participants completed either the SAI-MISSING tool, or a self-administered control form.ResultsIn Experiment 1 we found that the SAI-MISSING tool elicited significantly more information regarding physical descriptions and descriptions of clothing and personal effects, than the comparison control form. In Experiment 2 we replicated this finding, and further showed that the SAI-MISSING tool produced higher accuracy rates than the control form.ConclusionsGiven our positive findings, potential applications of the tool are discussed

‘We Don't do Measure and Quotes’: How Agency Responses Criminalise and Endanger the Safety of Children Missing in Care in New South Wales, Australia

This article presents qualitative data from interviews with 46 welfare and justiceprofessionals to examine the criminalisation of children who go missing within the Out-Of-Home-Care (OOHC) residential environment. Participants had specific experience with children living in residential facilities, either through the direct provision of care services, the development of OOHC policy initiatives or through their role as law enforcement, legal or justice personnel. The research found that agency practices, which were designed to protect children, actually serve to conflate going missing with criminality, accelerating children's involvement in the justice system and ultimately endangering children's safety

Child Trafficking: Characteristics, Complexities, and Challenges

Child trafficking is a complex and far-reaching problem that presents various challenges for analysis and intervention. In this chapter, we provide a broad, inclusive and nuanced introduction to the topic. We begin with an overview of key laws, policies and definitions. We then sketch out some key dimensions to child trafficking, including internal (domestic) versus international trafficking and the broad array of contexts in which trafficked children can be exploited. We critique the overall evidence base on trafficking, highlighting some important shortcomings. We briefly examine the international picture of child trafficking; since individual countries and regions vary in their child trafficking problems and responses, we then focus in on the United Kingdom as a case study. We discuss some specific forms of child trafficking commonly encountered there, considering the associated challenges and complexities: trafficking for child sexual exploitation, drug cultivation, ‘county lines’ criminal exploitation and domestic servitude. We finish by drawing out overall conclusions and implications for future research and responses to child trafficking