Reconciliation of Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains: The Tools are There...But are Police Using Them?

• In Event: Policing and Victims

Abstract

The police response to long-term missing persons has been heavily criticized in Canada over the past decade. Police agencies are struggling to identify appropriate resources to implement hundreds of recommendations arising from public inquiries at the municipal, provincial, and federal level. Many of these recommendations are related to technological advances in the use of DNA, which may be exceeding the ability of conventionally structured police resources to keep pace. This research examined the extent to which available processes for DNA comparisons between missing persons and unidentified human remains are used by the police resources assigned to investigate these cases. Key findings were that assigned police resources required specialist assistance to complete tasks related to DNA collection and database submission in 83-85% of cases, and that 96% of surveyed officers agreed that long-term missing person cases should be investigated and/or overseen by specialist resources (which seldom exist). There are significant implications for use of this research within police agencies as it is widely acknowledged that the investigation of missing persons is a high risk and resource-taxing area of policing, yet there has to date been little evidence to support decisions regarding allocation of scarce police resources in this field.

Author

• Jennifer Sue Sparkes, University of Cambridge