Friday, May 30, 2003
|
Friday, May 30, 2003 |
|
Computer technology helping find missing kids When a child is reported missing, time is one of law enforcement's greatest enemies. Every hour a child is missing, the likelihood of a safe recovery decreases. To ensure a high level of preparedness for child abduction cases, the Newnan Police Department has announced the implementation of LOCATER, the Lost Child Alert Technology Resource. Law enforcement personnel face many challenges in missing child cases. One of the greatest obstacles is collecting and disseminating the child's descriptive information quickly. With that goal a priority, LOCATER was created to provide the computer hardware and software needed to rapidly distribute critical missing child data on a local, statewide and nationwide basis. The Newnan Police Department is pleased to be working with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to implement LOCATER. Congressional funds allow NCMEC to provide the LOCATER system free of charge to law enforcement agencies that investigate missing child cases. NCMEC has found that when pictures of missing children or abductors are made available to the public, one in six children is recovered as a direct result. LOCATER is not limited to missing children cases. It includes templates for more than 100 different types of posters such as missing adults, wanted persons, and crime alerts. "With the ever-growing population within Newnan and Coweta County, the utilization of computer technology in law enforcement has become a must in the investigation of all types of cases seen today. Although the use of computer technology does not match the officer's abilities on the streets, it does, however, give them one more advantage. With the use of the LOCATER system, it is now possible to utilize all resources available to ensure that if a child from Newnan or Coweta County is missing this agency will do all it can to ensure a safe recovery," said Douglas "Buster" Meadows, Newnan Chief of Police. "This new system is of great importance to the Newnan Police Department, the citizens of Newnan and Coweta County, and the surrounding jurisdictions. It is my hope that we never have to use this system to locate one our own children, but the fact remains that a child may get lost, run away, or be abducted by a family member or stranger. With this in mind, Chief Meadows and I agree that without the help of the citizens of both Newnan and Coweta County, it is very difficult to find these missing children or elderly persons," continued Detective Sgt. Tate Washington. Furthermore, the Newnan Police Department is asking for any business owner willing to assist the Police Department in the event of a missing person to contact Sgt. Washington. The Police Department will place the business' contact information in their address book. Within minutes of a child or elderly person being reported missing, a poster, relative to the situation, will be created with the missing person's photo (if available) and descriptive information. The poster will then be sent out nationwide as well as to each business' e-mail address in hopes that the poster would be printed and circulated among the employees. If a store or business does not have email but still wants to help, a fax number may be provided. The posters may also be faxed to businesses. According to statistics, not only giving employees this information but also posting it for customers to see, drastically increases the possibility of a quick resolution. With many eyes looking out for our children, the chances of a safe return escalate dramatically.
|
||