8-207 - Lost and Abandoned Children

The purpose of this policy is to establish the actions to be taken upon discovery of a lost or abandoned child.

Found Child

1. Officers shall immediately contact MECC upon finding a child who would be considered lost.

2. If MECC receives a report of a found child, a squad shall respond to recover the child.
3. If the child’s parent or legal guardian is unable to be located or the home address is not known, officers shall contact First Response.

Abandoned Child

1. Upon discovering an abandoned child (in a location where the child was expected to be), officers must use discretion and consider the totality of the circumstances in deciding what actions to take.

2. If the parent or legal guardian cannot be located, officers shall contact First Response.

Health and Welfare Hold

Should officers become aware of underlying circumstances which necessitate placing the child on a 72-hour Health and Welfare Hold, officers shall place the hold in accordance with P&P 8-205 Health and Welfare Holds for Juveniles.

• Abandoned Child: Any child left alone long enough to come to the attention of police, and children left with a baby-sitter past the agreed upon return time of the parents, may be considered abandoned. An abandoned child is present in their expected location, but without the expected supervision.
• First Response: First Response (Community Based First Response) social workers are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. First Response handles emergency shelter placements, telephone assessments of families in crisis and takes child & adult protection reports.
• Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.
• MECC: Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is the city's 911 center that answers emergency and non-emergency calls and coordinates the appropriate response by public safety services.
• Parent/Legal Guardian: "Parent" means the birth or adoptive mother or father of a child and does not apply to a person whose parental rights have been terminated in relation to the child. A legal "guardian" is a person who has been appointed by a judge or social services agency, to take care of a minor child (to include foster parents).
• Totality of the Circumstances: All facts known to the member at the time, including the conduct of both the member and the person leading up to the action (such as the use of force).