SPRINGDALE — The Police Department will be better prepared to look for missing children because of training in the dispatch center.
Springdale dispatch has been recognized as a 9-1-1 Call Center Partner by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to a Police Department news release. The center is one of three in the state with Fayetteville and Jonesboro.
AT A GLANCE
The Center
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a private, non profict organization established in 1984 by Congress. The formation of the center was spurred by notable child abductions, such as the 1979 abduction of six-year-old Etan Patz from New York City and the 1981 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh from Hollywood, Fla. Because police had the ability to record and track stolen cars, stolen guns, and even stolen horses with the FBI's national crime computer, it was believed the same should be done with children.
Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
“This puts us into a good position to be able to tap into the (National) Center’s resources,” said Kathy O’Kelley, Springdale Police chief. “They have amazing resources to help gather information.”
The recognition requires training, including instruction for a dispatch center director at the headquarters of the National Center headquarters in Alexandria, Va., according to its website. O’Kelley and Greg Tabor, Fayetteville Police chief, participated in three days of training at the facility in 2012, O’Kelley said.
“I was very impressed by their organization,” O’Kelley said. “When I got back, we made it a priority to train our dispatchers.”
All the dispatchers took an online class, said Teresa Hudson, Springdale night-shift dispatch supervisor. New hires for Fayetteville dispatch are required to take the class with refresher classes also required for current employees, said Jennifer Reynolds, a Fayetteville dispatch supervisor.
The dispatchers are trained to take all information when a child is reported missing, Hudson said. That type of information includes the times and circumstances of the disappearance, descriptions of any possible abduction suspect and any identification marks on the child, including scars and birthmarks.
“We need to get all the information possible to help find the child,” Hudson said. “We have been lucky in this city. We have had some custody disputes and some runaways, but we haven’t had a child abduction that I can remember.”
The recognition also required Springdale’s policy on missing persons to be changed, said Capt. Mike Peters. The department used the National Center’s suggested policy to rewrite Springdale’s, he said.
The training will allow the department to respond quickly to a child abduction, O’Kelley said.
“A missing child can be a nightmare for a city and an organization,” O’Kelley said. “This training will help us be ready for such an experience and be able to take an extra step in response.”