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Chesterfield County Police Dept. Earns Membership to National Missing Kids Readiness Program
- By: VACP
- On: 10/22/2020 15:14:52
- In: Virginia News
The Chesterfield County Police Department is the first law enforcement agency in Virginia to become a certified member of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's (NCMEC) Missing Kids Readiness Program.
K9 Rudy, with handler Corporal Dan Shuklis. Rudy is being trained as a search-and-rescue K9. He was recently featured on WTVR's weekly "Heroes Among Us."
Chesterfield County's Emergency Communications Center also earned membership in the program; it is the seventh 911 call center in Virginia to achieve certification.
NCMEC developed the Missing Kids Readiness Program to promote best practices for responding to calls of missing, abducted and sexually exploited children. Law enforcement agencies and emergency communications centers are recognized for meeting essential training and policy elements demonstrating preparedness for responding to a missing child incident.
To achieve certification, every police department and ECC employee completed online training related to the program, and department and ECC leaders reviewed and revised applicable policies. (Interested? APPLY HERE)
"This certification is yet another example of the Chesterfield County Police Department's ongoing commitment to seeking and embarking upon best practices to meet the emerging needs of our community," said Col. Jeffrey Katz.
"Every second during an emergency matters," said Emergency Communications Center Director Tommy Tucker, "and this additional training and certification will enhance our ability to immediately obtain relevant and pertinent information when we receive a 911 call for a missing, abducted, or exploited child and quickly disseminate that information to our public safety partners.”
The Chesterfield County Police Department is now one of 315 current Missing Kids Readiness Program agencies nationwide; this total includes 262 public safety communications centers and 53 law enforcement agencies in 41 states.
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For more information, please contact Media Liaison Elizabeth Caroon at 804-543-7214.
