Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
1 01/24/2011 06/01/2019
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
______________________ ____
332 - Missing Person Reporting 1 POLICY 332 MISSING PERSON REPORTING
332.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidance for handling missing person investigations.
332.1.1 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This section pertains to the following CALEA Standards: 41.2.5 , 41.2.6 , 82.2.1, 82. 2.4
This policy pertains to the following Standard Operating Procedures: SS402
332.2 DEFINITIONS ( PENAL CODE § 14215 )
Missing Person – Any person who is reported missing to law enforcement when the person’s
location is unknown. This includes a child wh o has been taken, detained, concealed, enticed
away or kept by a parent in violation of the law (Penal Code § 27 8 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 § 1421 5).
At risk – Includes, but is not limited to (Penal Code § 1421 5) the following:
a) A victim of a crime or foul play;
b) A person missing and in need of medical attention;
c) A missing pe rson with no pattern of running away or disappearing;
d) A missing person who may be the victim of a parental abduction;
e) A mentally impaired missing person.
Missing person networks – Those 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) and Missing Unidentified Person System (M UPS). There
are tw o additional websites, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and
National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS).
332.3 POLICY
The Tustin 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 the facts reveal
otherwise. The Tustin Police Department gives missing person cases priority over property -
related cases and will not require any time frame to pass before beginn ing a missing person
investigation (Penal Code § 14211 ).
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
1 01/24/2011 06/01/2019
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
______________________ ____
332 - Missing Person Reporting 2 332.4 REQUIRED FORMS AND DNA COLLECTION KITS
The Criminal Investigations Unit supervisor shall ensure the following 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:
a) Missing Person Report Form;
b) Missing Person Investigation Checklist, providing investigation guidelines and resources
available in the early hours of a missing person investigation (Penal Code § 13519.07);
c) Medical Records Release Form from the California Department of Justice;
d) DNA Missing Persons Specimen Collection Kits.
332.5 ACCEPTANCE OF REPORTS
Any employee 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 employees who do not
take such reports or who are unable to render immediate assistance shall promptly dispatch or
alert an employee who can take the report. A report shall be accepted regardless of where the
person was last seen, where the person resides or any other question o f jurisdiction (Penal Code
§ 14211 ).
332.6 INITIAL INVESTIGATION
Officers or other employees conducting the initial investigation of a missing person should take
the following investigative actions as applicable:
a) Respond to a dispatched call for servi ce as soon as practicable;
b) Interview the reporting person 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 per son is at risk;
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 shall be broadcast ed
without delay, within our jurisdiction (Penal Code § 14 211(d) );
e) Ensure that entries are made into the appropriate missing persons networks within two
hours after receiving the report :
f) Notify a supervisor if the missing person may qualify for a public alert, as provided in the
Public Alerts Policy;
g) Complete the Departmen t’s missing person report forms accurately and completely;
h) Collect and/or review the following:
1) A photograph and a fingerprint card of the missing person, if available;
2) A voluntarily provided DNA sample of the missing person, if available (toothbrush,
etc);
3) Any documents that may assist in the investigation, such as court orders regarding
custody;
4) Any other evidence that may assist in the investigation, inclu ding personal
electronic devic es (cell phones, computers, etc).
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
1 01/