Child Abduction Flag

The FBI has added a "Child Abduction" flagging mechanism to NCIC missing person entries to facilitate automatic notification to the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes (NCAVC) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).  Use of this automatic alert system may save valuable time in the crucial first 48 hours after a child is abducted.

Upon request, NCAVC provides immediate operational assistance to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation of child abduction and serial homicide cases.  NCMEC was established to aid the parents of missing and exploited children.  It is a national clearinghouse and resource center for missing and exploited children's issues.

The new Child Abduction Flag is to be used when the child is under the age of 18, and there is reasonable indication or suspicion that the child has been abducted and/or is missing under circumstances suggesting foul play or a threat to life.  Therefore, the Child Abduction Flag can only be used for the missing person categories of Endangered and Involuntary.

The flag is initiated at the local level when an agency enters a child. In order to immediately notify NCAVC and NCMEC, the terminal operator should enter "CA" in the Child Abduction Field.

For NCIC to work effectively, all entries or records must be packed with as much information as possible.  The more information added to a record, the better the chances of locating stolen property, finding missing persons, and arresting fugitives.  Information such as additional aliases; scars, marks, and tattoos; and other identifying information can be added to a record.  Information that cannot be entered in a specific field such as stating that a "child is missing under suspicious circumstances" and/or that a "child is believed to be in a life threatening situation" can and should be placed in the Remarks Field.  The Remarks Field will assist NCAVC and NCMEC in reviewing cases for immediate attention.  Any additional information that will assist law enforcement in identifying special/urgent cases or unusual circumstances should be entered.