Newly commissioned research into the reasons why people go missing is one of the initiatives of National Missing Persons Week 2006.
The theme of this year's National Missing Persons Week, which will be launched by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Canberra today, is Life is a puzzle - every piece is important. The theme emphasises that every little piece of information can help locate a missing person.
In an attempt to understand the reasons why people go missing, the AFP's National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) and the Attorney General's Department of NSW (NSWAGD) have commissioned research into the phenomena of missing persons in Australia.
The NMPCC and the NSWAGD's Families & Friends of Missing Persons Unit (FFMPU) will jointly fund the project to help reduce the incidence of missing persons and provide guidance and direction for future policy development and service delivery.
AFP National Manager Economic and Special Operations Peter Drennan said the research would be carried out by the Australian Institute of Criminology.
"The research will update existing data on missing persons from all Australian sources to help identify ‘at risk' groups of people and which preventative strategies are the most effective," Federal Agent Drennan said.
"The AFP received Federal Government funding of $3.9 million over four years from 1 July 2006 to establish the NMPCC, which has absorbed the former National Missing Persons Unit.
"In addition to the research, this funding will enable the NMPCC to undertake a number of other initiatives.
"This includes facilitating a national approach to support families of missing persons, establishment of an interactive website with e-sighting reports to help locate missing persons, and develop and implement a strategically-focused community education program."
The NMPCC is also working with state and territory police services to provide input into a missing persons database, which has the potential to increase the rate of location of missing persons.
In a move to further raise awareness of missing persons, the NMPCC has entered into a partnership with FOXTEL's Crime & Investigation Network.
FOXTEL has developed a new community service announcement featuring profiles of current missing persons, which are repeatedly shown on the Crime Investigation Network.
These new announcements began appearing on the Crime & Investigation Network on the weekend and it is hoped this will prompt viewers to provide another piece of the puzzle.
