Last week, the Australian Federal Police and the Queensland Police Service launched the National Missing Persons Week for 2017 which highlighted the situation of missing persons and their loved ones.
National Missing Persons Week
National Missing Persons Week is an event hosted yearly to promote awareness and educate Australians about the consequential information involving cases of missing persons and help in scaling down its numbers.
According to reports, there are over 38,000 people reported missing each year and most of them are found within a short period of time. However, over 2000 people still remain missing for a long time, (these people who have been listed missing for more than three months).
AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin mentioned that for every missing person, there are family, friends and colleagues left behind, hopefully waiting for them to come home, and this has caused them to raise this year’s campaign and named it to “Still waiting for you to come home”.
This Year’s Campaign for Missing Youth
This year’s campaign is specifically focused on the 25,000 young people reported missing to police each year across Australia, of which about two-thirds of the number of total people missing.
It has been observed that these young people, especially those aged between 13 and 17, are six times more likely to go missing and this has been caused by various reasons which most of them are personal and usually include mishandled emotions, miscommunication, great sense of adventure, criminal involvement, or abuse.
Concerns Raised for Elderly Missing
But out of the deliberate discussion about youth playing a huge number, rising concerns for the elderly is highlighted in the event. It is indicated that the elderly, particularly those living with dementia, are one of the groups in the community subject to going missing.
In 2014, the focus of National Missing Persons Week campaign ‘Safely Home Initiative’ was dementia. And yet after years of research it has still been flagged that elderly people especially those with dementia are still one of the key groups at risk of going missing.
Working Together
Because of the collaboration of the Australian Federal Police and Alzheimer’s Australia, the cases of missing people involving dementia has impressively decreased statistically. But even if this is so, the AFP, National Missing Persons Coordination Centre and other organizations involved, are still actively on loop and continue to educate the Australian community to prevent incidents of people going missing.
Tips from the Event
Overall, the event has discussed the security of our loved ones, young or old. It is advised to wear items with identifications such as bracelets with the person’s name, contact phone and family’s address.
Do not wait for 24 hours to report someone missing. As soon as there’s a threat to the person’s safety and if their whereabouts are unknown, a report can be made.
If you are worried that reporting someone missing, and being the person missing, may involve you in any form of crime, it won’t. People who are reported missing and eventually located will not be charged.
The sooner you can report someone missing, the better. Don’t wait. If you are worried about a person’s safety and their whereabouts are not known, report it!
People also read: Your Loved One With Dementia: Keep Them Safe In The Most Loving Ways
National Missing Persons Week was sponsored by Outdoor Media Association, Chemist Warehouse and McDonald’s Australia.
To view Australia’s national register of missing persons, visit the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre website at www.missingpersons.gov.au, where information about support services across Australia can also be found.