By Andrew de Souza

Police to start new missing persons procedures

Jan 8, 2011 | 6:25 AM

The Prince Albert Police Service is starting a new program to deal with the skyrocketing number of missing persons files received each year.

Expected to start in February, the new program will redefine who is a missing person. Dispatchers will take more of the missing person’s information and history in order to better understand the situation before dispatching officers.

The reason behind the program is that there are too many frivolous reports, said Sgt. Brent Kalinowski ,with the service’s Family Safety Unit.

“A lot of white noise was happening,” he said.

In 2010, the police service received 841 calls for missing persons—a 200 per cent increase from 2004 when 281 calls for missing people were received.

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“Those numbers include everything,” said Kalinowski. “It’s the quintessential kid on the back of milk carton, it’s the missing mom, it’s the suspicious circumstances and it’s the run-away kid.”

The fact that was surprising to the service was that about 63 per cent of calls were from youth in care homes, most of who simply returned soon after the call was made.

Regardless of how soon the child was located, for each call received, dispatchers and officers had to begin a tedious process of data-entry and paper work.

“Our biggest concern is that when those (real) calls come in, they’re going to be clouded by all these other ones and not get the right attention that they deserve,” said Kalinowski.

New system, new approach

Under the new system, responders will ask for more information about the person’s history before declaring them a missing person.

Not only will it allow police to prioritize cases that need immediate assistance, but it would help those youth who are constantly going missing. That’s because the new program is a partnership with the care homes and social service agencies in the city.

Reoccurring cases would forward to groups who could help find the youth, but more importantly help resolve the issues on the spot without having to get uniformed police directly involved.

Kalinowski said he believes it’s the right direction to go because while police have a role to play, it shouldn’t be that of responsible parents.

“A lot can be attributed to more kids in care,” he said. “Group homes aren’t a bad thing but obviously there’s a further break down of families, more and more of them over the years, and we seem to be the last agency that’s catches these things.”

Kalinowski said he hopes the result will be far fewer cases and more kids receiving the help they need.

adesouza@panow.com