Fontana Pd Missing Persons

Policy 332Fontana Police Department Fontana PD Policy Manual Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/19, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Fontana Police DepartmentMissing Persons - 1Missing Persons 332.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE This policy provides guidance for handling missing person investigations. 332.1.1 DEFINITIONS Definitions related to this policy include: At risk - Includes but is not limited to (Penal Code § 14215): •A victim of a crime or foul play •A person missing and in need of medical attention •A missing person with no pattern of running away or disappearing •A missing person who may be the victim of parental abduction •A mentally impaired missing person, including cognitively impaired or developmentally disabled Missing person - Any person who is reported missing to law enforcement when the person's location is unknown. This includes a child who has been taken, detained, concealed, enticed away, or kept by a parent in violation of the law (Penal Code § 277 et seq.). It also includes any child who is missing voluntarily, involuntarily, or under circumstances that do not conform to their ordinary habits or behavior, and who may be in need of assistance (Penal Code § 14215). Missing person networks - Databases or computer networks that are available to law enforcement and that are suitable for obtaining information related to missing persons investigations. This includes the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), the Missing Person System (MPS), and the Unidentified Persons System (UPS). 332.2 POLICY The Fontana Police Department does not consider any report of a missing person to be routine and assumes that the missing person is in need of immediate assistance until an investigation reveals otherwise. The Fontana Police Department gives missing person cases priority over property- related cases and will not require any time frame to pass before beginning a missing person investigation (Penal Code § 14211). 332.3 ACCEPTANCE OF REPORTS Any member encountering a person who wishes to report a missing person or runaway shall render assistance without delay (Penal Code § 14211). This can be accomplished by accepting the report via telephone or in-person and initiating the investigation. Those members who do not take such reports or who are unable to render immediate assistance shall promptly dispatch or alert a member who can take the report. Fontana Police Department Fontana PD Policy Manual Missing Persons Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/19, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Fontana Police DepartmentMissing Persons - 2A report shall be accepted in all cases and regardless of where the person was last seen, where the person resides or any other question of jurisdiction (Penal Code § 14211). 332.3.1 RETURNED MISSING ADULTS In cases of located or returned missing adults, information regarding their location will not be revealed, even to the person originally reporting the absence, except in any case where the missing person is incapacitated. The person making the original report shall be notified of the "locate" of the reported missing person's condition, and of the reported missing person's desire for no disclosure of her/her whereabouts if so requested by the missing person. 332.3.2 SUPPLEMENTAL AND "LOCATE" INFORMATION Whenever a department member receives supplemental information relative to the original missing persons report, that information shall be documented on an approved supplemental report form or documented by CAD sequence. If documented on CAD sequence, a printout shall be forwarded with the locate teletype to the records unit. 332.4 REQUIRED FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE COLLECTION KITS The Investigations supervisors should ensure the forms and kits are developed and available in accordance with this policy, state law, federal law and the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Missing Persons Investigations guidelines, including: •Department report form for use in missing person cases •Missing person investigation checklist that provides investigation guidelines and resources that could be helpful in the early hours of a missing person investigation (Penal Code § 13519.07) •Missing person school notification form •Medical records release form from the California Department of Justice •California DOJ missing person forms as appropriate •Biological sample collection kits 332.5 INITIAL INVESTIGATION Officers or other members conducting the initial investigation of a missing person should take the following investigative actions, as applicable: (a)Respond to a dispatched call for service as soon as practicable. (b)Any missing person 14 years and younger shall be dispatched to a sworn police officer. Community Service Officers will no longer handle any missing person investigation when the individual is 14 years old or younger. (c)Interview the reporting party and any witnesses to determine whether the person qualifies as a missing person and, if so, whether the person may be at risk. (d)The investigating officer shall take preliminary investigative steps to locate the missing person/RAJ and document all investigative leads. These steps should include initial Fontana Police Department Fontana PD Policy Manual Missing Persons Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2024/08/19, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Fontana Police DepartmentMissing Persons - 3interviews, area canvass, and the deployment of additional resources as needed. The investigating officer should also attempt to contact any known acquaintances of the missing person/RAJ and obtain statements or additional information relating to the missing person/RAJ. The investigating officer should take all reasonable steps