Police have clarified their procedures for handling reports of missing minors after residents raised concerns about how such cases are managed and communicated to the public.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Commissioner Everton Jeffers said officers begin an investigation as soon as a report is made that a minor is missing. Police may also issue a public notice asking the community for help in locating the child.
Once the minor is found, authorities inform the public that the individual has been safely located, but further details are usually not released.
Mr Jeffers said the child is typically taken to a police station until their parents or guardians arrive.
“When a missing person report is made, an investigation will commence, and when that person is found they would be held at the station while their parents or guardians come to pick them up,” he said.
He added that the circumstances surrounding where and how the minor is found determine whether additional police action is taken.
“If that person is found with a minor, there are times that person would be arrested,” he said, adding that adults found with the child may also be detained while investigations continue.
Mr Jeffers said police must balance the public’s demand for information with the need to protect the privacy and welfare of minors.
However, some residents say the limited information released after a child is found often fuels speculation and have called for greater transparency from authorities.
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Police Commissioner Everton Jeffers is the duly appointed Police Commissioner. He is no longer the acting Commissioner as shown.
What is the status of the St. Lucian young man and his uncle who authorized him driving an unlicensed an uninsured vehicle on Barbuda
The public needs to know Commissioner.
The young lady almost lost her legs. She had to undergo numerous surgeries; and is impaired for life.
Why is it being kept a secret? Is it because your men and women on Barbuda spend their shift sitting and lounging about in the police station?
Time for us to see some press release from your office about how policing is changing for the better under your watch.
Keep it straight with substance and honestly, and not rhetorical misleading headlines.
I think the public deserves more transparency. We want to know where they were and who was arrested
The public may not need to all the details of the circumstances involved in such cases. However, the adult perpetrators involved in those cases should be exposed do that parents and other children can be wary of them. Particularly in the case of sexual predators, the public must be made aware.