The Kerala government has launched a programme named Operation Valsalya to trace, rescue and reunite the missed children with their family. The state government’s ambitious programme is envisaged to be implemented on the lines of the much acclaimed ‘Operation Smile’ project in Ghaziabad. According to police statistics, as many as 69 children have been kidnapped or abducted across the state till June this year. While 116 children had been kidnapped in the state in 2014, the number was 136 in 2013 and 147 in 2012.
The state Social Justice Department, which initiated the programme on a small scale recently, is planning to execute it with the support of various government departments. Cooperation and support of police, childline volunteers and non-governmental organizations have been sought in this regard.
Under the programme, officials, who received expert training in Juvenile Justice Act, Protection of Child Rights Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, would carry out searches in locations like bus stands, railway stations, pilgrim centers and so on. Searches would also be carried out in children homes and orphanages by vigilant squads. Identity of wandering children and inmates of orphanages would also be recorded.
The picture and other whereabouts of children, rescued from various parts of the state under the mission, would be uploaded in the website www.trackthemissingchild.nic.in.
The Red Cross Society has introduced tagging systems at every entry point at the ongoing Harare Agricultural show as it steps up efforts to prevent child losses.
Every child is getting a wrist tag on which the name of the parent or guardian and their contact details are written and will be used to track them in the event the child goes missing.In an interview, Red Cross disaster management officer Mr Hope Munyari said the child tracking initiative was the best alternative to ensure children's safety during the show days. "We have designed wrist tags, which have the name of the parent or guardian and their contacts, useful for contacting them in the event that the child is lost. The method is secure since the wrist tag cannot be easily removed. Children below 13 years are our target," he said.
Mr Munyari believes that the initiative would reduce cases of missing children during the show days especially after the tragic incident involving Gift Matapure, who went missing within the Show-grounds. "We urge the public and parents at large to ensure that any child below 13 years is tagged for easy identification in case of missing reports," he said.
Since the Agricultural Show began on Monday, Red Cross had tagged over 2 000 children. "The first two days of the show have a low turnout, but we have already tagged more than 2 000 children and we are happy the exercise is taking shape." Mr Munyari also urged parents and guardians to co-operate with the exercise as it was in their best interest. "Some parents are refusing to have their children tagged, which is not ideal as the grounds are overcrowded with high chances of their offspring going missing.
"During last year's exhibitions, over 100 children were reported missing, but with the help of the Red Cross authorities and this tracking system, we quickly reunited them with their guardians," said Mr Munyari.
Panaji:Taking the issue of women and child trafficking seriously, the
Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has recently issued guidelines on
tracing missing persons and asked the state government to set up
anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) exclusively to deal with human
trafficking cases.
The AHTU, recommended to set up under the police department, is aimed
at building capacities of law enforcement officers on tackling human
trafficking. The advisory issued by the commission specifically calls on
state government to setup AHTU in ensuring swift search and tracking in
all cases of children reported missing, as an essential measure for the
rescue of such children.
Commission has directed the state government to implement the guidelines
and asked to file their action taken report on October 26.
The three-member bench headed by Justice (retd) P K Mishra issued the
guidelines to the chief secretary and Director General of Police while
hearing the matter on a suo motu cognisance taken by the commission as
well as on a complaint filed by Delhi-based NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan
highlighting the lack of efforts on part of police and government
authorities to curb child trafficking in the state, who are bought from
across the nation and forced into sex trade.
Giving an advisory on preventing and combating human trafficking, the
three-member commission, in its guidelines, has stated that “upon
receiving any complaint of offence against women or child then the
police shall register FIR and investigate the matter in right
perspective and in the case of missing report is filed in respect of
women or child, then local police should conduct preliminary
investigation by conducting inquiry into the whereabouts from the
‘extended family of relatives, neighbours’.”
“And if they could not be traced within four weeks then they have to
register the FIR and conduct investigation and even after that the local
police cannot trace a missing child in four months of registering of
FIR then the matter may be forwarded to the anti human trafficking unit
for intensive investigation,” it says.
This unit will be responsible for collecting, collating and analysing
data on kidnapping and abduction of people in the state. The unit will
also investigate cases of use of children and women for the purpose of
exploitation, such as beggary and prostitution, a GHRC official said.
The human rights body further recommended the state government to
designate police officer of not below the rank of DIG as nodal officer
to exercise powers of investigation on handling cases of missing
children.
As many as 247 minors were rescued from Mumbai by the city police as part of the drive carried out under ‘Operation Muskan’ in July.
The police said the highest number – 154 –were those who had fled their homes over petty reasons.
Following directions by the central government, the police began the drive as part of Operation Muskan to rescue juveniles found either in child labour, begging or abandoned on the streets.
The drive was carried out between July 1 and 31.
“As part of the drive, the Juvenile Aid and Protection Unit (JAPU) and the police stations traced 247 children. Of them, 61 were found begging and 32 were working as child labourers. These children were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and they will be reunited with their parents,” said Pravinkumar Patil, deputy commissioner (enforcement).
The police have also started seeking a daily report from CWC officials in a bid to ascertain the actual figure of the underage children handed over to them.
“There are instances when common citizens find lost children on the streets and directly take them to the children’s home. A daily report from CWC officials will help us get clarity on their actual numbers,” Patil said.
In all, 416 underage beggars were rescued by the police in 2015 till August and as many as 198 were arrested for pushing them into begging, the police said.
In most cases, family members or guardians were accused of pushing children into begging. These people live on the earnings of the juveniles.
As prosecuting those accused under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act was not acting as a deterrent, the police have now begun filing cases under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act and the Indian Penal Code.
Delhi Police have launched project 'SNEH' to tackle the problem of missing children. Representational Image
An average of 21 children went missing daily in the first six months this year from the national capital, according to a government data.
A total of 3,889 children including 1,715 boys and 2,174 girls went missing in theNCT of Delhi between January 1 and June 30 this year, of which over 1,500 children are yet to be traced by the police, Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. While 2,337 of the missing children were traced, 610 boys and 942 girls remained untraced, he said in reply to a question by Motilal Vora (Congress).
The minister, however, said that no data was maintained centrally about children missing from the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi outside the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, he said. Delhi Police have launched project 'SNEH' to tackle the problem of missing children. Juvenile Welfare Officers at police stations work in close coordination with NGOs and undertake awareness campaigns under the scheme, he added.
The shocking scale of trafficking and grooming gangs across the West Midlands has been revealed in a series of police reports.
Official documents dating back to 2009 show West Midlands Police was not fully aware of the extent of the region’s high level of vulnerable youngsters and how to deal with the problem.
One report says that although the majority of suspects were from an Asian background, police were concerned about the dangers of racial stereotyping when dealing with incidents of abuse.
Another document details the lack of trust between police and social workers and the dismissive attitudes officers had towards vulnerable runaways.
Reports also show how children living at home were targeted with more frequency than those in care, with abuse going on virtually unheeded for years.
It has also emerged that the force’s failure to cope with the rising problem was so acute the identities of many of those engaged in the abuse was either not known or outdated.
These police difficulties in dealing with the widespread and escalating scale of the abuse has not been made public until now.
In Sandwell in 2010, two vulnerable young women were noted as being ‘at high risk’ of sexual exploitation. Police believe they were being groomed for – or were already being sexually exploited – at the time of the report.
Two other young women were identified as being at high risk in Dudley, along with six girls in Walsall during the same period.
Officers in Wolverhampton, where two groups of young women had been identified, said alcohol, drugs and acts of physical violence were ‘key leverages’ used by offenders to groom victims into prostitution.
The worst area in the West Midlands was Birmingham, where almost half of all offenders were said to live. No recent figures have been released, although a report from this year could be issued in the coming weeks.
The reports also reveal the largest proportion of victims, at 44 per cent, did not reside in children’s homes and lived with their parents or other family members.
“The force has very limited insight into the threat, and the intelligence profile related to children who are not in care is non-existent,” a document said.
“The current situation poses significant challenges for West Midlands Police in protecting children and enhancing the trust and confidence agenda.” Victims were also said to frequently abscond from their family homes, leading to calls for the force to improve the way it deals with such situations.
The most common offenders were said to be Pakistani males aged between 16 and 26, and the majority of the victims were white.
But the report showed senior officers had warned of the dangers of racial stereotyping amid claims of a ‘widespread problem of British Pakistani men exploiting under-age white girls’. Police said ‘convenience and accessibility’ may be the prime drivers for those looking for victims, rather than race.
But another report, entitled Internal Human Trafficking For Sexual Exploitation Within the West Midlands, revealed that of 139 female victims, 78 per cent were white. A ‘significant proportion’ of the suspects were said to be of Muslim background.
The oldest document dates from October 2009 and highlights a lack of trust between police and social workers said to be prevalent at the time. Some of the unsympathetic attitudes from the authorities towards vulnerable runaways are also detailed.
“For a number of years children in care or residing in children’s homes have repeatedly run away,” it states. “Unfortunately they are often perceived to be streetwise and able to look after themselves while police officers consider them to be a nuisance and permanent drain on resources.
“Children’s services, home managers and social workers are frustrated by what they perceive to be a lack of interest and action from police officers.
“Officers are equally frustrated by their perception the workers are not protecting the children and let them runaway, often within minutes of a return to their home, which has undermined opportunities to protect missing children.”
The report adds children in care who regularly go missing ‘receive very little police attention’, despite police intelligence showing young girls were being groomed by older men who were often involved in drug trafficking and other criminality.
It also says the identity of those currently engaged in abuse was not known and some intelligence gained in 2008/09 was no longer current.
“There is no current intelligence on vehicles or telephone numbers,” it says.
Police identify three ‘organisational risks’ in the 2010 report, including missing opportunities to secure convictions by dealing with offences only in isolation.
The report also highlighted ‘repeat offence locations’, including hotels, parks, and private homes.
Offences were said to include group rape and sexual assault, indecent assault, child abuse and false imprisonment.
Family members of Sarah and Jacob Hoggle, missing for 9 months, say the children are alive. Their mother won't disclose their location.
Catherine Hoggle, the Montgomery County mother charged with child neglect in the disappearance of her two children, faces two rounds of legal battles this summer: a criminal trial and a civil fight with the children’s father.
Missing siblings Jacob Hoggle, 2, and Sarah Hoggle, 4, have not been seen since early September 2014. Their mentally ill mother was with them last and refuses to tell the children’s father, her mother, or police, where the children are. Those family members remain steadfast in their belief that the children are alive.
Catherine Hoggle – a schizophrenic who reportedly refused to stay on her medication -- remains in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. Hoggle says the children are safe, but has not given any information on their whereabouts.
She is scheduled to go to trial July 8 on charges of child neglect and obstructing and hindering an investigation in connection with the disappearance of the youngsters, reports Montgomery Community Media.
The children’s father, Troy Turner, who is Hoggle’s common-law husband, is seeking to be appointed her legal guardian. Hoggle’s attorney has filed to dismiss the case, says MCM, but an Aug. 6 trial is scheduled in that matter.
There are two theories on the fate of the children. Turner and Lindsey Hoggle, the children’s grandmother, believe Catherine gave the youngsters to someone to care for them. Montgomery County Police say they believe the children are dead, although no bodies have been found.
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) -- While it's Andrea Hudson's job to help children, when she saw a young boy walking down a busy road alone she sprung into action. Hudson works as an investigator for the Arizona Department of Child Safety in Tucson.
"The job doesn't stop," Hudson said. "It's not something you put aside or put your blinders on at the end of the night." On June 2nd, Hudson was driving home from work when out of the corner of her eye she saw the boy near I-10 and Colossal Cave Road. Hudson says she approached the boy and at first he was very reluctant to talk. When she told him where she worked, Hudson says the boy made her show him her badge.
The boy had been missing from his home on Slate Drive for hours. There was a massive search organized by the Pima County Sheriff's Department when Hudson found the boy. After the search detectives started an investigation, and the boy's stepfather is now facing child abuse charges.
Hudson says her job can be difficult, but she knows that she is helping others.
"I find it more empowering," Hudson said. "To be able to go in there and offer assistance and help these families out in there time of need."
In a press release today, DCS Director Greg McKay released the following statement:
"We cannot thank Ms. Hudson enough for her invaluable effort in helping locate this child," said McKay. "Her quick thinking and vast knowledge and experience in child welfare led to a safe outcome for this child. This is just one small example of all the extraordinary work our employees do in protecting the children of Arizona."
If you suspect someone may be a victim of child abuse, you can call 1-888-SOS-CHILD or 911.
Madeleine McCann was three when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Portugal’s Algarve on May 3, 2007 as her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.
Celebrities including Stephen Fry and Simon Cowell have joined a charity Twitter campaign to help find missing children.
The QI host and X Factor supremo reached out to their combined total of nearly 22 million followers in support of Missing People’s Big Tweet, on International Missing Children’s Day.
They were joined by Madeleine McCann’s mother Kate, who said the campaign “harnesses social media for good”.
Kate McCann will also lead a 500-mile (805km) bike ride from Edinburgh to London in June to raise £10,000 for a missing persons charity.
Mrs McCann will lead 20 cyclists on a Cycle Challenge starting at Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh’s landmark hill, on June 13. They will then take in Newcastle, York, Nottingham and Northampton before finishing at the Tower of London on June 17.
Madeleine’s disappearance is one of the most famous missing persons cases of all time.
Her parents recently won a libel payout against Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who had been on trial over claims he made in a book and a documentary that the couple were involved in Madeleine’s disappearance in Praia da Luz.
In a written verdict, a Lisbon court agreed that Mr Amaral should pay Mr and Mrs McCann 250,000 euros (£179,000) each in damages and it banned further sales of his book, The Truth Of The Lie.
British police officers spent eight days searching three areas of land in Praia da Luz last June, close to where Madeleine disappeared, but found no new evidence.
The Metropolitan Police launched their own operation in 2011.
Missing People is launching a fund-raising effort alongside Mrs McCann’s ride. £MissforMay encourages people to give up a luxury for May and donate the money they save.
Its chief executive, Jo Youle, said: “We are hugely grateful to Kate McCann for taking on this incredible challenge to help missing people and their families across the UK.”
