8-201 - Missing and Runaway Juveniles

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines and procedures for responding to and investigating reports of missing juveniles.

Juvenile/ Child: A person who is younger than 18 years of age.

• Younger than 18 years of age and
• Whose whereabouts are unknown to the child’s parent, guardian or responsible party.

NCIC: The National Crime Information Center database helps criminal justice professionals apprehend fugitives, locate missing persons, recover stolen property, and identify terrorists. It also assists law enforcement officers in performing their official duties more safely and provides them with information necessary to aid in protecting the general public.

Runaway: An unmarried child under the age of 18 years who is absent from the home of a parent or other lawful placement without the consent of the parent, guardian, or lawful custodian.

Court-Ordered Placement

A juvenile under court-ordered placement who is reported missing, shall require an MPD squad response.

Report by any Person for Runaway from Minneapolis Facility

A juvenile at a Minneapolis facility (e.g. The Bridge) who has run away, can be reported as a missing or runaway juvenile by any person, regardless of the reporting person’s relationship to the juvenile, and whether or not the stay was a court-ordered placement.

Jurisdiction

Jurisdictional conflicts are to be avoided when a juvenile is reported missing.

1. Any missing juvenile believed to be in imminent danger shall have a squad response and NCIC Entry protocol initiated, regardless of jurisdiction. Officers shall complete a Police Report with the code ARMISP.

2. If a missing juvenile either resides in or was last seen in this jurisdiction, the MPD will immediately initiate the required reporting process.
3. If a juvenile resides in this jurisdiction and was last seen in another jurisdiction, MPD will confer and coordinate with the law enforcement agency covering that jurisdiction.

Initial Response

Reporting and MECC response

1. Any person wanting to report a missing juvenile (including runaways) shall be directed to call 911 or the Minneapolis Emergency Communication Center (MECC) at all times.

1. If an officer is approached in-person, the reporting part shall be directed to call 911 or MECC.

2. MECC will dispatch a squad to the incident address.
3. A squad shall respond as soon as possible to verify the status of the juvenile.

1. If the child is found at the incident scene, the report shall be considered unfounded.

2. If the officer confirms the child is missing, the officer shall notify MECC.

4. MECC staff, reporting officers, and investigators shall advise the reporting person to call 911 if the missing juvenile returns or is located.
5. MECC will enter all juvenile missing persons into NCIC immediately after the report is made, or within 2 hours of the time reported if the report or squad was delayed. MECC will enter all juvenile missing persons into NCIC within 2 hours of the time reported, including cases where the status of the missing juvenile has not been confirmed.
6. If a juvenile who is on a 72-hour Health and Welfare Hold placed by the MPD runs away prior to the expiration of the hold, a squad shall respond.

Scene of the incident

Upon arriving at the incident address, officers shall:

Permission to search

If reasonable, officers shall ask for permission to search the residence to verify that the juvenile is missing.

Confirm missing juvenile status

Officers shall contact MECC Channel 7 upon determining whether the report of the missing juvenile is confirmed or unfounded.

1. If no contact is made or the status of the missing juvenile is not determined, officers shall notify MECC that the call was not serviced, so that MECC can attempt a callback and if necessary, return the call to pending until contact is made.

2. MECC will enter all juvenile missing persons into NCIC within 2 hours of the time reported, including cases where the status of the missing juvenile has not been confirmed.
3. If the missing juvenile report is determined to be unfounded, the officer shall inform MECC Channel 7 so that MECC can clear the missing person record from NCIC.

Determine “at-risk” status

While conducting the initial investigation, responding officers shall determine whether the missing child is considered “at-risk.”

1. A missing child will be considered “at-risk” when one or more of the following suspicious or unusual circumstances are present:

1.    The child is 12 years of age or younger. OR
2.    The child is believed to fit one or more of the criteria noted below:

• Has a developmental or physical disability.
• In a life-threatening situation.
• Has a medical issue or is taking critical medication.
• Out of the zone of safety as designated by the family or guardian.
• Believed to be with persons who could endanger the child’s welfare.
• Absent from home for more than 24 hours before being reported to law enforcement as missing.
• A potential victim of foul play or sexual exploitation, as suggested by credible information.
• Absent under circumstances inconsistent with established patterns of behavior. OR

3.    The child’s disappearance involves circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to conclude that the child should be considered at-risk.

2. If the missing child is determined to be “at-risk,” the officers shall contact and inform the on-duty Precinct Shift Supervisor of the circumstances.
3. The officers shall describe the reasons for their determination in their Police Report.
4. The code ARMISP shall be used for the Police Report if the missing child is determined to be “at-risk.”

Complete a report

If the juvenile is confirmed missing, officers shall complete a Police Report with the code MISPER or ARMISP (for “at-risk” missing children) and document if a search was conducted and who gave consent.

At- risk missing child response

If a missing child is determined to be “at-risk,” the following shall occur:

1. The Precinct Shift Supervisor shall notify the MECC on-duty supervisor that the child has been determined to be “at-risk” (MECC can add an alert to the call as necessary).

2. The Precinct Shift supervisor shall notify the Watch Commander or Inspector (when the Watch Command is not on duty), and Car 710/Car 712.
3. The supervisor shall evaluate facts as they are known at the time and determine if the totality of the circumstances requires further action.

1. Depending on the situation, the supervisor may determine that additional personnel, including specialized units, should be called to the scene or otherwise assist in the investigation (including the Watch Commander, Car 710/Car 712 or Juvenile Missing and Absentee Investigations).

2. The supervisor may also determine that requesting activation of the AMBER Alert System through the BCA or using the MN Crime Alert Network (see Section 8-202 Amber Alerts and MNCAN Activations) is necessary.

4. If further action is needed, the Precinct Shift Supervisor shall assume Incident Command of the call and:

1. Coordinate search and investigative efforts, and through the Precinct Lieutenant or Watch Commander request additional resources deemed necessary.

2. The Watch Commander will monitor the missing child case and assist the Incident Commander with resource management.
3. Ensure that Precinct or Patrol responders continue the response and search.

1.    Investigators are there to assist the Incident Commander with the search.

2.    Investigators from the Juvenile Missing and Absentee Investigations unit will be the lead investigators when available, otherwise Car 710/Car 712 will be the preliminary lead investigators.

4. At the time the missing child is found or located, contact MECC to provide a brief summary and request MECC make required notifications.

5. The “at-risk” missing child case shall be noted on the Watch Commander Log and the Precinct shift bullets.

Investigating Missing Juveniles

Investigator responsibilities

The Juvenile Missing and Absentee Investigations unit shall be responsible for the follow-up investigations on all juvenile missing person cases. Once an investigator is assigned a missing person case, the investigator shall:

1. Contact the reporting party by phone or in-personwithin 24 hours of the initial contact by the reporting party.The time and summary of the contact shall be documented in the case file for Audit purposes.

2. Determine if the child has returned or if additional information is available. Contact MECC, designated Juvenile staff or the Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) in the Business Technology Unit (BTU) if changes need to be made in the NCIC entry.
3. Perform necessary follow-up as prompted by the nature of the case. Record all systems used. At a minimum, RMS, DVS, Criminal History and DOC Portal information must be available in the case file for Audit purposes.
4. Consider contacting the Strategic Information Center to request a bulletin on the Daily Information Brief.
5. Complete closing supplements and Disposition Sheet.

NCIC packets

1. The Commander who oversees the Juvenile Missing and Absentee Investigations unit will designate staff for handling NCIC packets, entry of the NCIC information and updates to the NCIC entry.

2. Designated staff shall provide the following materials to the reporting party no later than two weeks after the date of the NCIC entry:

• a packet titled “NCIC Missing Person File Data Collection Entry Guide” and
• the form titled “Minnesota Missing Person Bulletin Information & Release Form”.

These documents are available on the MPD intranet in the “Forms” section.

3. Designated staff shall enter a case supplement noting the date these materials were distributed.
4. The Data Collection Guide packet will be returned to the designated staff member, who shall review the information and enter a case supplement stating the date the packet was received.
5. Designated staff shall update the NCIC entry with any additional identifying information as soon as it becomes available.
6. The assigned investigator shall property inventory the Data Collection Guide once the investigator’s review is complete and appropriate updates are made to NCIC and to the case reports.

Located/Returned Juveniles

MECC notified directly

1. When MECC receives notification that a missing juvenile who is considered “high risk” has returned or been located, they will immediately dispatch a squad to the incident address to verify that the missing juvenile has returned. “High risk” generally includes many of the “at-risk” factors, particularly age, significant physical or mental disabilities or factors related to situations such as trafficking, abduction, etc.

2. Upon verifying the juvenile has returned, the officer shall ensure that MECC Channel 7 is notified so that MECC can remove the juvenile from NCIC.MECC will remove the juvenile from NCIC within 24 hours from receiving notification the juvenile has returned.

Officer encounters juvenile

Release or transport

When an officer encounters a listed missing or runaway juvenile and the juvenile cannot be released to a parent or legal guardian, officers shall transport the juvenile to the Youth Connection Center. This includes juveniles who live outside of Minneapolis.

Notify MECC

When officers encounter a listed missing or runaway juvenile, the officers shall ensure that MECC Channel 7 is notified so that MECC can remove the juvenile from NCIC. MECC will remove the juvenile from NCIC within 24 hours from receiving notification the juvenile has returned.

Runaways

1. Responding officers shall not issue a Hennepin County Juvenile Citation to runaways.

1. If a citation is necessary, it can be issued by an investigator.

2. When the missing juvenile is located, the officer shall document the return via a narrative text in the original Police Report.