Fingerprint initiative raises hope
A campaign designed to facilitate the search for missing children is set to be implemented in March.
THE Pink Ladies in association with the SAPS, Secure Link and SA Community Crime Watch are in the final stages of developing an innovative project to facilitate the process of tracking down missing children.
My Little Fingers, a personal particulars initiative is set to be introduced in KZN. The campaign was developed with the hope of collecting and storing vital information often required by authorities when children go missing. Steven King, of Secure Link and SA Community Crime Watch reported that the campaign has been successfully implemented in Johannesburg and they are hoping to implement the project in March.
The information that will be collected includes a recent photo, fingerprints, defining features and demographic information such as age and gender. “The information will be stored in the child’s personal file at his or her school.
In the event that they go missing the information will be used to create a flyer that will be distributed electronically via social media. Social media has been an essential tool in finding missing children. We have had excellent results. In our groups alone we can send a flyer to 2000 people, which means that in an instant there are 2000 eyes assisting during the search, said King.
King also reported that the project was designed to develop a sense of unity between the SAPS and the community. “The police have lately been getting a bad reputation, and we hope that the project will repair the image as well as the relationships between them and the public. We also hope that it will teach children that the police are there to protect them,” said King.
According to Crime Stats SA a child goes missing every six hours and 1460 children are reported missing every year.
The Pink Ladies is a NPO consisting of dedicated men and women who volunteer their time to assist in the search for abducted, exploited and runaway teens and adults.
Schools who are interested in joining the organisations in this life saving initiative are encouraged to contact Steven King on 082 920 5799.
