Policy Text
Policy
332Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentMissing Persons - 1Missing Persons
332.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidance for handling missing person investigations.
332.1.1 DEFINITIONS
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.
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 his/her ordinary
habits or behavior, and who may be in need of assistance (Penal Code § 14215).
Missing person networks - Databases or computer networks available to law enforcement and
that are suitable for information related to missing persons investigations. These include the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System (CLETS), Missing Person System (MPS) and the Unidentified Persons System (UPS).
332.2 POLICY
The Mountain View 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 Mountain View 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 REQUIRED FORMS AND BIOLOGICAL SAMPLE COLLECTION KITS
The Investigative Services supervisor 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
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Missing Persons
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentMissing Persons - 2•Medical records release form from the California Department of Justice
•California DOJ missing person forms as appropriate
•Biological sample collection kits
332.4 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.
A 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).
332.5 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)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.
(c)Notify a supervisor immediately if there is evidence that a missing person is either at
risk or may qualify for a public alert, or both (see the Public Alerts Policy).
(d)Broadcast a "Be on the Look-Out" (BOLO) bulletin if the person is under 21 years
of age or there is evidence that the missing person is at risk. The BOLO should be
broadcast as soon as practicable but in no event more than one hour after determining
the missing person is under 21 years of age or may be at risk (Penal Code § 14211).
(e)Ensure that entries are made into the appropriate missing person networks as follows:
1.Immediately, when the missing person is at risk.
2.In all other cases, as soon as practicable, but not later than two hours from the
time of the initial report.
(f)Complete the appropriate report forms accurately and completely and initiate a search
as applicable under the facts.
(g)Collect and/or review:
1.A photograph and a fingerprint card of the missing person, if available.
2.A voluntarily provided biological sample of the missing person, if available (e.g.,
toothbrush, hairbrush).
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Missing Persons
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/16, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentMissing Persons - 33.Any documents that may assist in the investigation, such as court orders
regarding custody.
4.Any other evidence that may assist in the investigation, including personal
electronic devices (e.g., cell phones, computers).
(h)When circumstances permit and if appropriate, attempt to determine the missing
person’s location through his/her telecommunications carrier.
(i)Contact the appropriate agency if the report relates to a previously made missing
person report and another agency is actively investigating that report. When this
is not practical