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Missing Children in the European Union Mapping, Data Collection and Statistics

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Missing Children in the European Union Mapping, Data Collection and Statistics Missing children in the European Union Mapping, data collection and statistics Justice Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. ECORYS Nederland BV Watermanweg 44 3067 GG Rotterdam T +31 (0)10 453 88 00 F +31 (0)10 453 07 68 E [email protected] W www.ecorys.nl This study has been prepared by Alessandra Cancedda, Laurie Day, Dafina Dimitrova and Martin Gosset, of ECORYS Nederland BV for the European Commission. The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. European Commission – Directorate-General for Justice More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union, 2013 ISBN: 978-92-79-28859-3 doi:10.2838/72121 © European Union, 2013 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium 1 Executive summary 2 Introduction 7 Study aims and methodology 7 Activities carried out 8 Inception phase 8 Mapping phase 8 Data Collection Phase 9 Finalisation phase 10 Definitions 11 Introduction 11 Missing person, child and missing child 11 Specific categories of missing children 13 Responses 19 Introduction 19 Timescales for investigation 19 Preliminary investigation 19 Escalation of cases 21 Responsible authorities 22 Geographical coordination for missing children cases 22 Specific investigative procedures followed 23 Public communications 23 Resolution of cases 24 Mechanisms and support structures 24 Specific mechanisms 24 1.1.1 Support measures 26 The provision of training 27 Co-operation between key stakeholders 27 Data availability and potential EU indicators 33 Missing children: overall numbers 33 Number of child disappearances reported to the police 33 Number of children still to be found by the police 36 Type and number of legal proceedings triggered by disappearance 37 Number of convictions resulting from disappearance/outcomes of proceedings 37 Type and frequency of follow-up support provided (by whom, in what form) 37 Type and frequency of provision of "child friendly" measures 37 Number of cases reported to 116 000 hotlines 38 Missing children: specific categories 39 Runaways 41 International abductions: applications under the Hague Convention of 1980 44 Child abduction convictions 46 Unaccompanied migrant children 46 Potential comparative EU indicators 48 Recommendations on minimum common standards and good practices 51 Introduction 51 Data recording practices 51 Operational rules and definitions 56 Awareness-raising and information 63 Feedback of law enforcement experts 66 Identifying enabling actions 68 2 Executive summary Introduction The “Study on missing children: mapping, data collection and statistics on missing children in the European Union” was conducted by Ecorys on behalf of DG Justice from July 2012 to June 2013 and had two main objectives: · To collect and analyse data and to develop the basis to improve the mechanisms involved when children go missing in the 27 EU Member States. · To use and to build on existing data and indicators to obtain sustainable, comparable data and indicators on missing children in all 27 Member States covering the period 2008-2010 (and 2011 where available). It was carried out in four phases: an inception phase for fine-tuning the methodology and workplan, a mapping phase where detailed information was collected on current definitions, responses and potential data sources in all Member States, a data collection phase where actual data where gathered from official and non-official sources (with a focus on the former), and a finalisation phase in which recommendations were developed. Definitions The mapping of definitions used in the context of handling missing children cases in the 27 EU Member States revealed a complex and diverse picture that leaves many opportunities for improving coherence and comparability. To start with, most countries define missing persons in the context of police regulations that prescribe the responsibilities and procedures to be followed in cases where a person goes missing, and only three Member States (Estonia, Hungary, Ireland) actually have a legal definition of the phenomenon of missing persons. Most countries build their – legal or operational - definition around the criteria of lack of information on whereabouts, but significant variation exists as to further elements included in the definitions. Some countries differentiate in terms of risk levels, some look at the cause of disappearance, while others define specific categories for cases where there is an indication of crime, or where no information on the actual identity of the person involved is available, e.g. through loss of memory. A child is defined in almost all countries as a person under 18 years of age (or else, the category “minor” is used, which includes all those up to 18 years of age), thus this does not create the comparability issues originally expected in the study. An exception can be made for data collected in the context of the Hague Convention on International Parental Abductions, which applies to those aged under 16. This is consistent across EU Member States and therefore not an issue in terms of data collection. Missing children are rarely referred to in national legislation, although they often exist as a subset in the general description and typology of missing persons used in police regulations. Their definition is often derived from the definition of a child in combination with that of a missing person. In practice this implies that missing children are considered as those aged under 18, for whom no information can be found on their whereabouts, in conjunction with all other conditions that may apply to the national definition of a missing child. Many variations also exist in terms of how the different types of missing children are recorded in the Member States. In several countries, no specific categorisation is used. Other countries have 1 categories that do not necessarily match the classification proposed by Missing Children Europe 1 2.3 Specific categories of missing children p. 18. 3 (that is so far the only one developed for an EU-wide use). The category of “runaways” is the one most often distinguished as a separate category, by more than half of all Member States. The most complex and difficult distinctions were found in the categories of “abduction by a third person” and “international parental abduction”. A number of countries do not differentiate parental abduction from abduction by third parties, others do not distinguish domestic from international abductions. Finally, the categories of “missing unaccompanied migrant children” and “lost, injured or otherwise missing children” are differentiated in only a handful of Member States within general missing persons records. Some Member States have further specific categories like missing children with mental health issues, or suspects wanted in relation to criminal offences. Responses In slightly less than half of the Member States (n=12), the timescales for the preliminary investigations are at the discretion of the local authorities (usually the police) in the absence of any specific intelligence indicating criminal activity. All Member States report arrangements to respond immediately in the event of known criminal activity or in where the child is thought to be in imminent danger. This usually includes suspected abduction cases. However, fifteen Member States also undertake an immediate investigation as routine practice when children go missing in general. For these countries, there is usually a principle of taking immediate action in the interest of the child’s safety. Cases are automatically given a higher level of priority, because the ‘child’ status is equated with vulnerability under national legislation. There is a rather contrasting approach to the response for missing unaccompanied migrant children. Whereas in Estonia these cases are investigated immediately by local police (which issues a search alert), they receive a lower priority than general cases in Denmark, and Belgium, where there is a fixed ‘no action’ period before the start of local police investigations. Furthermore, in Slovenia the police will work with the asylum home to establish the circumstances of any unaccompanied migrant children who have disappeared. However, if the child has not returned in three days, their application for asylum is considered as ‘withdrawn’. No further investigative action is taken in this situation. In the majority of Member States, the initial case is taken forward by the local police force where the child was first reported as missing. Typically, local police are responsible for undertaking background checks, in liaison with other organisations (e.g. child welfare, emergency services). The case is then investigated up to the point at which criminal proceedings are identified or there are other criteria for raising the level of priority, at which stage the case is passed to the
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