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| April Jones: abduction triggers child rescue alert | April Jones: abduction triggers child rescue alert |
| (30 days later) | |
| The abduction of April Jones triggered the first nationwide child rescue alert ever used in the UK as investigators weighed up the risk to the child in the hours after her disappearance. | The abduction of April Jones triggered the first nationwide child rescue alert ever used in the UK as investigators weighed up the risk to the child in the hours after her disappearance. |
| Late into Monday experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit, (Ceop) liaising with Dyfed-Powys police were engaged in the difficult decision of whether to initiate the high profile national alert to help in the hunt for the missing five-year-old. | Late into Monday experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection unit, (Ceop) liaising with Dyfed-Powys police were engaged in the difficult decision of whether to initiate the high profile national alert to help in the hunt for the missing five-year-old. |
| A tactic long used in America, the child rescue alert has never been used across the country like this before, partly because suspected stranger abductions are rare. | A tactic long used in America, the child rescue alert has never been used across the country like this before, partly because suspected stranger abductions are rare. |
| Charlie Hedges – manager of the missing, abducted and kidnapped children unit within Ceop – said the decision to launch the alert was made in the knowledge that to do so could swamp the investigating team. Hedges said such alerts are usually only triggered if the police have detailed descriptions of suspects or vehicles to release to the public. | Charlie Hedges – manager of the missing, abducted and kidnapped children unit within Ceop – said the decision to launch the alert was made in the knowledge that to do so could swamp the investigating team. Hedges said such alerts are usually only triggered if the police have detailed descriptions of suspects or vehicles to release to the public. |
| But in the case of April Jones the great difficulty for the police is that the description of the vehicle she got into is extremely vague – a light grey coloured van, or Land Rover which may be a left hand drive. | But in the case of April Jones the great difficulty for the police is that the description of the vehicle she got into is extremely vague – a light grey coloured van, or Land Rover which may be a left hand drive. |
| "We discussed it long into the night," said Hedges. "Normally you would issue fairly precise information and we didn't have that. It was a really difficult call, but we decided the risk to April was such that we needed to launch the alert." | "We discussed it long into the night," said Hedges. "Normally you would issue fairly precise information and we didn't have that. It was a really difficult call, but we decided the risk to April was such that we needed to launch the alert." |
| The child rescue alert – a system adopted in the UK in 2010 – aims to engage the public through the media and feed information back into the investigating team. | The child rescue alert – a system adopted in the UK in 2010 – aims to engage the public through the media and feed information back into the investigating team. |
| The special 0300 hotline number is answered by police forces across the country – who are providing mutual aid to the inquiry – and the information is fed into the major incident room within Dyfed-Powys police. | The special 0300 hotline number is answered by police forces across the country – who are providing mutual aid to the inquiry – and the information is fed into the major incident room within Dyfed-Powys police. |
| "It is a way of really grabbing attention and raising the profile of a case," said Hedges. "We have used it locally before, but never in this sort of way with this profile, because these sort of cases are so few and far between." | "It is a way of really grabbing attention and raising the profile of a case," said Hedges. "We have used it locally before, but never in this sort of way with this profile, because these sort of cases are so few and far between." |
| The alert spreading nationwide via the mainstream and social media is just one aspect of the massive police inquiry into April's disappearance. | The alert spreading nationwide via the mainstream and social media is just one aspect of the massive police inquiry into April's disappearance. |
| Police are coordinating an extensive search – largely through volunteers who have poured into the area, which is mountainous and rural – at the same time as calling on people across the country to look out for the missing child. | Police are coordinating an extensive search – largely through volunteers who have poured into the area, which is mountainous and rural – at the same time as calling on people across the country to look out for the missing child. |
| Ten teams of 20 volunteers each led by a mountain rescue expert were continuing that search into the darkness as the weather closed in. | Ten teams of 20 volunteers each led by a mountain rescue expert were continuing that search into the darkness as the weather closed in. |
| The police's difficulty is in the huge scale of the search operation required – which by necessity has to begin close to where April was last seen, and spread outwards – and the vagueness of the information they have about the vehicle which means a large amount of information coming into the system could be of poor investigative value. | The police's difficulty is in the huge scale of the search operation required – which by necessity has to begin close to where April was last seen, and spread outwards – and the vagueness of the information they have about the vehicle which means a large amount of information coming into the system could be of poor investigative value. |
| As well as these intensive searches in the local area, police will be examining the family history of the missing child in detail to see if there are any associates, friends or relations who might have abducted her. | As well as these intensive searches in the local area, police will be examining the family history of the missing child in detail to see if there are any associates, friends or relations who might have abducted her. |
| In addition, in an operation which is being supported and coordinated by a team from Ceop who have travelled to mid Wales, officers are also examining intelligence on known sex offenders in the area, including those who might have been recently released from a prison term. | In addition, in an operation which is being supported and coordinated by a team from Ceop who have travelled to mid Wales, officers are also examining intelligence on known sex offenders in the area, including those who might have been recently released from a prison term. |
| Using intelligence from the police national computer system, and information from neighbouring forces, identified individuals will be subjected to a risk assessment in order to decide whether they could be a suspect in the disappearance. | Using intelligence from the police national computer system, and information from neighbouring forces, identified individuals will be subjected to a risk assessment in order to decide whether they could be a suspect in the disappearance. |
| The police are keeping an open mind as to whether the abductor was known to April or not, but experience from previous cases of stranger abduction shows that perpetrators are likely to have offended before, making every sex offender who fits the profile a likely suspect. | The police are keeping an open mind as to whether the abductor was known to April or not, but experience from previous cases of stranger abduction shows that perpetrators are likely to have offended before, making every sex offender who fits the profile a likely suspect. |
| As every hour passes the risk to the child grows, something that will be at the forefront of the police's mind. | As every hour passes the risk to the child grows, something that will be at the forefront of the police's mind. |
| "The early hours are crucial in two ways," said Hedges. "From the point of view of the investigation, what has happened is fresh in people's minds and information coming in hasn't been contaminated. | "The early hours are crucial in two ways," said Hedges. "From the point of view of the investigation, what has happened is fresh in people's minds and information coming in hasn't been contaminated. |
| "The other aspect is that the longer April is being held somewhere, the more damage there could be to her from a child protection point of view. | "The other aspect is that the longer April is being held somewhere, the more damage there could be to her from a child protection point of view. |
| "Part of the appeal is trying to trigger people's consciences. Maybe there is someone out there who knows someone, or something about the person responsible." | "Part of the appeal is trying to trigger people's consciences. Maybe there is someone out there who knows someone, or something about the person responsible." |
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