Understanding the Child Search Network
Imagine taking a poster about a missing child and being able to tape it to more than a million telephone poles in less than five minutes.
Thanks to technology, innovation, and digital reach, not only is it possible, it's got a name: the Child Search Network - a communication tool with a series of components, including a versatile app, social media, and other digital communication channels.
The Child Search Network allows police departments across Canada to reach members of the community whose eyes, ears, and voices are critical in the search for a missing child.
One of the key elements of the Network is MCSC rescu, an easy-to-use application that was created for MCSC by Esri Canada and is populated, in part, with information on missing children cases pulled from databases by technology developed by Microsoft.
People can access MCSC rescu on their phones and other devices by visiting https://rescu.mcsc.ca, where they see continuously updated information from police on missing children in Canada. Active cases are divided by region and tips on specific cases can be submitted with one click on the platform’s case page. Critically, users are also invited to share that case page to their contacts, through networks, including text, email and other social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Rescu users can also register to receive SMS alerts on cases in their area police deem critical, but that don't meet the specific criteria required to become an AMBER Alert.
As more people join the Child Search Network, by accessing MCSC rescu, following MCSC on social media, signing up for SMS alerts and sharing case information with their networks, it's easy to imagine the exponential reach one case file can have.
Police services are clear that help from the community is critical to their important work in finding missing children. And while they will point out it might only take one tip to bring a case to a positive conclusion, it's clear that the chance of reaching that outcome increases as the Child Search Network grows.
What is the difference between AMBER Alerts and Child Search Alerts?
It’s important that authorities, such as police, be contacted so efforts can be concentrated around the search for that child. In many cases, alerts will be sent out to members of the public whose help is vital to finding the missing child.
Typically, there are two alert scenarios when a child goes missing: the AMBER Alert, which is used sparingly, or the Child Search Alert, which is initiated by the Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) upon being contacted by police.
AMBER Alerts
AMBER Alert is a rapid emergency child alert system that is activated by police when a child, under the age of 18, is believed to have been abducted and in imminent danger. AMBER Alerts are sent through the National Public Alerting system to mobile phones and on broadcast media, through social media, and on electronic highway signs. Alerts include the name and a description of the abducted child, who he or she might be with, and descriptions of any vehicle suspected of being used in the abduction. AMBER Alerts are rarely issued, and criteria depends on the province, but members of the public play a critical role in the search.
Child Search Alerts
A Child Search Alert is issued by police in conjunction with Missing Children Society of Canada. They are issued only after an investigating team has defined the perimeter of the search and to people who have registered with MCSC through rescu to receive the text alerts. Text alerts from MCSC rescu advise that there may be a missing child in your area with a link to the case information on MCSC rescu. They are issued when new missing children cases are reported to police and the public’s assistance is needed. Child Search Alerts can be targeted to a smaller, more specific geographic area (e.g. city or street). The alert is received based on the location you specify when you register for SMS text alerts.
“We believe that this program has the potential to improve traditional search and investigation methods and offer law enforcement resources which, given budget restraints, prove challenging for all agencies within the police community." - Superintendent, Cliff O’Brien, Calgary Police Service
The MCSC’s Child Search Alerts includes people connected through social media, digital marketers, plus traditional and online media. The alerts are assembled to support police and allows them to share important with the public. All information to the network comes directly from police.
CACP Member communications: Calgary Police Service & Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service // Durham Regional Police Service // Kennebecasis Regional Police Force // Kawartha Lakes // Toronto Police Service
The Child Search Network is endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) has identified the Child Search Network as a complementary tool and national system to be used in the search for all cases of missing children and youth that do not meet the strict criteria for the AMBER Alert national strategy for missing children.
The CACP Board of Directors approved motions endorsing the development, promotion, and implementation of MCSC's initiatives that look beyond traditional enforcement tools to engage the community and expedite the search for and location of missing children and youth in Canada.
CACP members, alongside the RCMP, have guided the development and execution of processes enabling the Child Search Network to support the police and their missing children cases.
MCSC and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have a formal agreement through a Memorandum of Understanding. Through this agreement, MCSC and the RCMP will work together to raise public awareness of issues related to missing children, assist in the prompt and safe return of missing children to their lawful guardians, and contribute to national and international efforts to obtain support for a cooperative global response to the issue of missing children.
“MCSC is recognized globally as a pioneer and leader of harnessing technology to proactively protect children and support police,” CEO Amanda Pick said. “MCSC has long been a partner of the RCMP, and specifically the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains. This collaboration provides a powerful and elevated opportunity to lessen the risk to children and reduce the growing number of missing children cases in Canada. We thank the RCMP for this honour and look forward to our new level of partnership.”
MCSC alongside the RCMP represents Canada as members of the Global Missing Children’s Network, Launched in 1998, the Global Missing Children’s Network (GMCN) is a collaborative venture bringing together 30 member countries on 4 continents to help recover missing and abducted children.
Notice about MCSC rescu changes:
We have some exciting news to share with you about our MCSC rescu app. We will be migrating the existing native Apple and Android rescu apps to a single progressive web application. This migration will need to be complete by all member organizations by January 31, 2025.
The Change:
From a technical perspective, all that is changing for you or your organization is the delivery of the application. The progressive web app will provide the same functionality through the device browser as opposed to a native application installed on the device. Additionally, there is a desktop browser version of the web application.
The Benefits:
There are several benefits to this migration, not the least of which are a decrease in development and maintenance costs, along with broader accessibility acros
s platforms and operating systems. From an organizational perspective, the progressive web application is lightweight and as such takes up less space on the device. Lastly application updates are instant and seamless requiring no IT support.
Instructions:
For Users:
- Delete the Native Application on the device.
- Navigate to https://rescu.mcsc.ca
- Once the page is loaded, add it to your Home Screen
Please Note: depending on your device and browser, this process will look different. If you need, please click here for details.
For Organizations:
If your organization uses a Mobile Device Management solution, please inform your IT department of this change. They will need to remove the native application and replace it with the progressive web app https://rescu.mcsc.ca.
Access MCSC rescu, to see updated cases of missing children in Canada, leave a tip and sign up for SMS alerts. MCSC rescu is also available as an app in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.