tool name

Thursday, Apr. 09, 2009

Response in missing person cases a judgment call, Sacramento officers say

As the search for 8-year-old Sandra Cantu continues in Tracy, Sacramento law enforcement officers say that determining whether a missing child could be in danger – and whether the media should be notified – is not always immediately clear.

In the Cantu case, some prominent child advocates criticized the Tracy Police Department's early handling of the case, saying it waited too long to notify media and the public about the girl's disappearance March 27. When officials did issue a news release, police have acknowledged it failed to reach all local media outlets because the department's distribution list was out of date.

Authorities from the Sacramento region's two largest agencies – Sacramento city police and the county Sheriff's Department – say they have some guidelines that dictate when to elevate a missing person report by adding resources and involving media.

But the sheer number of reports within their jurisdictions often requires that judgment, not just protocol, factor into the decision-making process.

Combined, the two agencies field an average of 13 missing person cases a day, according to 2008 statistics. That's 4,765 missing person reports over the course of the year.

"As a field supervisor, you always question whether that missing person will be the one that is the righteous abduction … (that is) going to be a major missing persons case," said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong. "We balance that knowing we deal with 3,500 (missing person reports) a year. You have to balance resources against what you think you have."

State law dictates that an officer be dispatched to take any report of a missing person, and that officer often is matched by other resources, maybe even a helicopter unit.

The resources multiply quickly when there's indication of foul play, Leong said.

Both agencies have criteria to determine whether a person is at risk: they are in need of medical attention or medications, for example, or have mental or physical limitations.

A missing juvenile who has no history of running away is considered at risk by both agencies.

Sheriff's deputies automatically notify child abuse detectives, followed by the public information officer, any time a child under age 12 has been missing more than two hours or has been deemed at risk for other reasons, said Sgt. Tim Curran, the sheriff's information officer.

Once he is notified, Curran said, a news release is distributed within "a couple of hours."

A news release will be distributed if there is any indication of foul play, no matter the age, Curran said. Decisions about whether to issue releases in other cases are made by field supervisors.

In 2008, Curran issued 16 releases about at-risk missing persons.

An at-risk designation doesn't automatically trigger a news release within the Sacramento Police Department. As in the Sheriff's Department, decisions about whether to call the public information officer are made by field supervisors.

Leong and Curran both said a news release would be expected any time there's obvious evidence of an abduction, such as a witness who saw the missing person get grabbed.

But Leong warned that relying too heavily on the media before there is evidence that someone might be in danger can have consequences.

"If we were to inundate the media or public every time we have a missing child, nobody would pay attention," he said. "You want to use that sparingly for situations where you've done some initial searching … before you ring the bell of the media."

In 2008, city police issued six news releases about missing persons.

Neither department has any missing person cases pending in which foul play is suspected.