Reports of missing, abducted, and/or sexually exploited children may be among the most difficult, challenging, and emotionally charged cases public-safety tele-communicators and law-enforcement agencies will ever experience. The attitude and approach taken when responding to these incidents may determine whether the child is recovered promptly and safely or remains missing and/or in an exploitive environment. Each stage of the case, therefore, from initial call through case closure, forms a critical component of a thorough child-protection response. Since public-safety telecommunicators are the agency’s initial first responders and have the primary responsibility to receive, process, transmit, and/or dispatch calls, the manner in which the initial call is managed by the public-safety telecommunicator forms the foundation and direction of the overall response to incidents involving missing, abducted, and/or sexually exploited children.All agencies must provide its members with the necessary tools and training enabling them to act quickly and decisively when confronted with reports of missing, abducted, and/or sexually exploited children. The single most important tool an agency may provide is a clearly worded policy containing logical procedures and best practices for public-safety telecommunicators to follow when receiving calls pertaining to these incidents
