NSW Police Force Missing Persons Unit and the Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit, Department of Justice and Attorney General invite you to come together to mark the beginning of Missing Persons Week with others who are experiencing a similar loss.

The gathering will allow families and friends to come together to celebrate the lives of those currently missing.

An opportunity will be provided for families to share a message to their missing loved one if they wish during the service.

Guests are also invited to attend a light morning tea following the service.

Date             Sunday, August 1.

Time             Please arrive at 10.50am for an 11am service.

Location     NSW Police Headquarters,

RSVP           NSW Police Force Missing Persons Unit by July 27 to 02 8835 7663 or missingpersons@police.nsw.gov.au

Council parking is available along

If you wish to access support prior to the day please contact the Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit Counselling service on 1800 227 772 or visit:

www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/missingpersons

2010 NATIONAL MISSING PERSONS WEEK BRIEFING

 ‘When someone goes missing, a day spent waiting is a day lost’

a)     Key Messages

b)     Background/General Information

c)      Outdoor Media Campaign

d)     Talking Points: Questions and Answers

a) Key Messages:

• Every year in NSW 11,000 people will be reported missing to the police.

• 35,000 people are reported missing each year in Australia – one person every 15 minutes.

• Of those reported missing to police, over 95 per cent are located within a short period of time (usually one week).

• Do not wait 24 hours to report someone is missing if there are fears for their safety and their location is unknown.

• It is not a crime to go missing. People go missing for a variety of reasons.

a) Background/ General Information

·         National Missing Persons Week (NMPW) is an annual event to raise awareness of the issues and impacts associated with missing persons.

·         This year the focus for National Missing Persons Week is on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities with the theme ‘When someone goes missing, a day spent waiting is a day lost’. The theme reminds the community that you don’t need to wait 24 hours to report someone missing, but can report if you hold fears for their safety and you don’t know where they are located.

·         While in Australia 95 per cent of missing persons are found within a short period of time, the lasting impact, particularly on families, is devastating.

·         The reasons for going missing are many and varied and include can include abduction, murder, domestic violence, misadventure, miscommunication, mental illness and dementia related illnesses.

·         There are currently 592 people listed as long-term missing in NSW, that is, missing for more than three months.

·         Adults are more likely to be listed as long-term missing persons.

·         For every missing person reported, at least 12 other people are affected whether it is emotionally, physically, psychologically or financially.

Outdoor Media Advertising Campaign

·         For the second year in a row, the Outdoor Media Association has offered free advertising space to promote missing persons throughout the state.

·         To coincide with this year’s Missing Persons Week theme, the campaign focuses upon Rista Chanthavixay.  Rista has a Cambodian/Laos background, and was 15 when she went missing in March 2009. 

·         Rista’s younger sister Alpha CHANTHAVIXAY speaks English well and the mother, Nuophone CHANTHAVIXAY, speaks a little English. Both will attend the launch. 

·         She was a keen shopper and liked large shopping centres.  She was last seen at Liverpool Westfields. There have been unsubstantiated reports that Rista was seen shopping at

Macarthur Square

shopping centre at Campbelltown. Officers still hold a lot of hope that she is alive.

·         The outdoor media campaign is free and  will feature the following elements:

* further media space yet to be confirmed – potentially doubled

Talking Points:

1. What is the aim of National Missing Persons Week (NWPW)?

• National Missing Persons Week is an annual event organised by the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre to raise awareness of the issues and impacts associated with missing persons.

• The week aims to increase reporting of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities who may have gone missing.

2. What is the theme of this year’s NWPW campaign?

• The theme of the 2010 National Missing Persons Week campaign is ‘When someone goes missing, a day spent waiting is a day lost’. The theme highlights that ‘it’s not a crime to go missing’ and not to wait 24 hours to report someone missing if there are fears for a loved ones safety and their location is unknown.

3. Why is the focus of 2010 Missing Person’s Week campaign focus upon Culturally and linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities?

• Sometimes Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities may have limited access to information about the procedures and services available when someone goes missing. The reasons for this may be:

• Language differences

• Some cultures may feel shamed if a family member chooses to go missing

• Some communities may not feel comfortable speaking to police due to their cultural history. Families and friends of CALD missing persons often feel that they would rather not report the incident to police and use their own networks to find them.

• Our message to CALD communities:

• Over 95 per cent of missing persons are located within a short period of time (usually one week).

• Police are available to help you and your family find your missing loved ones.

• It is not a crime to go missing

• There is no shame in having a family member go missing – people go missing for a variety of reasons.

4. How will the campaign reach the CALD community members?

• This year the AFP has coordinated translations of Missing Persons FACT sheets into the following languages:

• Mandarin

• Vietnamese

• Korean

• Dinka

• Somali

• Arabic

• Greek

• Italian

• Serbian

• Croation

• Sinhalese

• Spanish

• The campaign is designed to connect with CALD communities and educate communities about the role of police and reporting to police.

• The supporting media campaign aims to reach CALD communities through ethnic media channels. NSWPF Multicultural Liaison Officers will speak on SBS multi lingual radio programs and to other ethnic media.

5. How many Australians go missing each year?

• It is estimated that 35,000 people are reported missing each year in Australia, with the amount of reports equivalent to one person every 15 minutes.

• Of those reported missing to police, over 95 per cent are located within a short period of time (usually one week).

• Long-term missing persons (missing for six months or longer) are more likely to be adults.

6. Missing persons in NSW

• The majority of missing persons’ reports are from the larger states, with more than 31% coming from New South Wales. This is due to the higher populations in this state.

• Active investigations and regular media coverage and calls for public assistance by families may also tend to encourage higher levels of reporting in these states.

7. Why do people go missing?

People go missing for a variety of reasons, which may include

·         Mental health, particularly anxiety and depression.

·         Alcohol and illicit drug problems

• For young people, family dysfunction and conflict or violence, issues associated with puberty and peer pressure, mental health issues, and drug and alcohol problems were the reasons.

• In old age, Dementia and Alzheimer’s can cause a person to wander off or go missing.

Further information

• State and territory police manage their own missing persons cases and are responsible for all operational matters.

• The AFP, through the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC), has developed a three-year communication strategy focusing on those groups most at risk of becoming a missing person.  In 2007 the National Missing Persons Week focused on people living with a mental illness, in 2008 the focus was on youth.  The 2009 campaign focussed upon the elderly. This year the focus is upon CALD communities.

Other Initiatives: Safely Home

• In the 2009 NMPW campaign the NSW Police Force in association with Alzheimer’s Australia relaunched the Safely Home Program – which offers a personalised stainless steel bracelet and registration service, to help ensure missing persons with dementia return safely home through quick and accurate identification.

• The bracelet, designed to be worn at all times, features a toll free telephone number and personal identification number linked to the NSW Police’s ‘Safely Home’ database.

• The 'Safely Home' database is accessible by Police 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It includes a detailed description of the person with dementia, contact information, previous residential addresses and locations the person may visit.  All details on the database are confidential

• To obtain an information kit on the Safely Home program, please telephone the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 or visit the Alzheimer's Australia website at www.alzheimers.org.au.

Members of the public should note the usage of the Safely Home bracelets, and notify police if they see someone