Ensuring the safe return of a missing child may be dependent upon the First Responder's training and ability to appropriately intervene. Since time is so critical in missing children cases, the actions taken by the responding officer could make the difference between a positive outcome and a tragic result.

The Missing Child First Responder course provides standardized training for all front-line officers who may become a First Responder to a missing child case. It aims to help learners develop a better understanding of the different types of missing children and how to more effectively intervene when faced with Thrownaways or Runaways, Stranger Abductions or Parental Abductions. This course also includes an initiation to AMBER Alert program, which is a vital program in recovering missing children.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of the First Responder's role in the case of a missing child and his/her responsibilities
• Understand the Our Missing Children (OMC) program and its role
• Understand thrownaways and/or runaways, their characteristics, the risks they face and the measures to deal with them
• Recognize the signs of stranger abductions and the best investigative measures to solve them
• Understand the particularities of parental abductions, the best investigative measures to solve them and the necessary steps for recovering and reuniting a child with their
  parent(s)/guardian(s)
• Recognize what is an AMBER Alert, the situations in which it should be activated, the activation criteria and how to create an AMBER Alert plan

Subject Matter Expert

John Oliver, a retired RCMP Officer with 36 years of service, developed the content for this course. As the lead in the RCMP’s Missing Children’s Registry of Canada, Mr. Oliver spent the last decade of his career dedicating his efforts to issues regarding missing and exploited children. In 2005 he returned to National Missing Children Services as a contract employee and is currently an Analyst and Investigator with the RCMP, National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, a unit that is dedicated to eliminating the risk to children on the Internet. Through NCECC, Mr. Oliver continues to work to ensure that our children are protected from harm.

Additional input for this course was provided by Marie-France Olivera of the RCMP National Missing Children Services, Allan McCullough of CSRIC and Constable Todd Chadwick of the Miramichi Police Force.

Course Details

Content Provider: RCMP National Missing Children Services Child Safety Research and Innovation Center (CSRIC) Price: $100.00 + GST Languages: English and French Course Duration: 4 hours Release Date: October 25, 2004 Date of Last Revision/Review: August 2009