European countries are continuing to collaborate and test their child abduction plans to try and make them better. In May 2009, the United Kingdom conducted a national exercise involving five different law enforcement agencies, including one in Scotland, to test cross border issues.
“The exercise was incredibly successful and there were many beneficial outcomes which will assist to shape the structure of the National Alert,” said Joe Apps, Manager for the U.K. Missing Persons Bureau. “We are planning to carry out further exercises in both Wales and Scotland.”
Authorities said they learned about the importance of handling phone calls and having the right software to facilitate calls. They also learned about managing a case in real time and preparing case papers for prosecutors.
The May training was a follow-up to a British and French exercise held in November 2008. Law enforcement officials said they made many improvements to their system based on the first international training scenario.
The UK Missing Persons Bureau is hoping to receive some funding from the European Commission in order to develop training and technology for a more seamless child abduction alert plan with France, Belgium and the Netherlands.