U.S.

DepartmentofJustice
OfficeofJusticePrograms

AMBERALERT

FactSheet
APRIL2005

EffectiveUseofNCIC
(NationalCrimeInformationCenter)
Guidelines
Whenachildisabducted,lawenforcementmustcollectanddisseminateaccuratein
formationabouttheevent,thechild,andtheabductor.Memorandaofunderstanding
(MOUs)forlocal,state,andregionalAMBERAlertplansmustdefineagencyrolesand
responsibilitiesinabductioncasesandestablishstandardsforconductingtimelyand
thoroughinvestigations.
TheNationalChildSearchAssistanceAct(42U.S.C.5779,5780)requireslawenforce
menttoimmediatelyenterintotheNationalCrimeInformationCenter(NCIC)database
everyreportedcaseinvolvingamissingchild.Theintentofthislawistoensurethatlaw
enforcementdisseminatesasquicklyaspossibleinformationvitaltotherecoveryof
a missingchild.ThestepsforenteringachildabductionintoNCICarecritical:
EntertheinformationimmediatelywithNOdelay. Lawenforcementshouldenter
a childintoNCICimmediatelywithoutdelay.Theinitialentryshouldbereviewed
withinone hourofentryintoNCICandverifiedastotheentrytime,accuracyofthe
descriptiveinformationofthevictimand/orperpetrator,vehicleusedintheabduc
tion,andotherinformationthatcouldhelplawenforcementapprehendtheperpetra
tor.(InformationabouttheperpetratorshouldalsobeenteredintheWantedPerson
Fileifawarrantisissued,andtherecordsshouldbelinked.)Unfortunately,insome
casesdataaboutanabductedchildwasnotenteredintoNCICuntilhoursandeven
daysafterthe childsdisappearance.Suchdelayscanhavedisastrousconsequences.
UsetheproperNCICcategory. ChildabductioncasesshouldbeenteredintotheNCIC
MissingPersonFileineitherthe endangeredortheinvoluntarycategory,and thechild
abduction(CA)flagshouldbeentered.AnNCICnumberwillbeautomaticallyassigned

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when therecordisentered.Thereportingagencyshouldassignacaseororiginatingagency
case(OCA)numbertothepreliminaryorinitialinvestigation.Eachentryofachildage17
or undershouldbereviewedtoensurethattheinformationhasbeenenteredintotheap
propriatecategory.NCICwillthensendanimmediatenotificationtotheNationalCenterfor
Missing&ExploitedChildren(NCMEC).NCMECcallcenterstaffwillgetincontactwiththe
appropriatelawenforcementagencytoconducttheintakeofthecaseandofferallavailable
resources.Thedesignatedsupervisorshouldalsoauditeachentrywithinonehouroftheinitial
entrytoverifyandauthenticateeachrecord,signature,andtime.
IfanAMBERAlertisissued, theAMBERAlert(AA)flagshouldbeenteredintherecord. Ifthe
locallawenforcement agencyortheCriminalJusticeInformationServices(CJIS)Systems
Agency(CSA)cannotset theflag,NCMECshouldbenotifiedimmediatelysothatNCMEC
staff canmodifytheNCICrecordon theagencysbehalf.NCMECcanbecontactedat
8008435678orreportingagencyORIVA007019Wor<mailto:amberalerts@ncmec.org>.
NCMECwillthencontacttheappropriatestateAMBERAlertcoordinator,whowillbeasked
to approveanupdateof theNCICrecordwithanAAflag.TheAAflagallowstherecordto
reflectthatthechildisthesubjectofanAMBERclassifiedabductionandisvitaltoalerting
law enforcementandtocreatinganationaltrackingsystemforAMBERAlertcasesusingthe
resourcesofNCIC.

StrategiesforImprovingthe
UseofNCIC
Local,state,andregionalAMBERAlertcoordinatorsshouldpaycloseattentiontothe
numberandkindsofcasesbeingenteredintoNCICbylawenforcementagenciesintheir
jurisdictions.Byexaminingthedata,coordinatorscanquicklydeterminepatternsand
trendsintheaccuracyoftheinformationbeingreportedandthenmakechangesintheir
policiesandpracticesthatwillimprovethequalityofthedataonmissingchildreninthe
NCICsystem.
Evaluatethequalityofpreliminaryinvestigationsinallmissingchildrencases. Most

abductionsthatendinhomicidearereceivedinitiallyasmissingpersoncases.That
meansthatinvestigatingofficersneedtoestablishveryearlyintheinvestigative
processwhetherthechildhasbeenabducted,sothatthecasecanbeputonthebest
trackpossibleforsuccessfulrecoveryofthechild.
RequestreportsofmissingchildrenentriesfromtheFBI. UseFBIreportstoanalyze

patternsintheuseofNCICanddeterminewhethersomecaseswereenteredimprop
erly.Investigatorsmayalsowanttousethedatatodocoldcasereviewsofentries
morethanfiveyearsold.
Interviewterminalcontroloperators. Terminalcontroloperatorsareinanexcellent

positiontounderstandboththestrengthsandtheweaknessesinthesystem.Because
operatorsrelyoninformationrelayedfromtherespondingofficer,theymayhavepar
ticularlyvaluablesuggestionsforensuringthequalityofentriesmadeinNCIC.They
mayalsohaveideasaboutthetrainingneedsofAMBERpersonnel.

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Addtheimageofthechildtotherecordwhenavailable. Whenthephotoismadeapartof
therecord,anylawenforcementofficercanviewthepictureofthechild.Theimagecapabili
tycanalsobeusedtoattachphotosofwantedsuspects(careshouldbetakentoensurethat
themiscellaneous(MIS)fieldclearlystatesthatthephotoisoftheperpetrator),vehicles,
tattoos,andotheridentifiers.
Updateinformationaboutthevictimandsuspectonanongoingbasis. Initialpolicereports
arebasedonpreliminaryinvestigations,andinformationenteredintoNCICcanquicklybe
comeobsolete.UpdatetheNCICentryorrecordfrequentlytoensurethatthemostcurrent
andreliableinformationissharedwithotherlawenforcementagencies.Theinvestigator
assignedtothecaseshouldreviewtheentrytobesuretheinformationiscorrectandthat
all availableinformationisincluded.Ifinformationonthesuspectorvehicleisalsoentered
into NCIC,therecordsshouldbelinked.

UsetheMISfieldtoprovidedetailedinformationthatdoesnotfitinoneofthestan

dardNCICfields. Forexample,thefollowinginformationcouldbeaddedtotheNCIC
MISfield:CHILDISMISSINGUNDERSUSPICIOUSCIRCUMSTANCES,orCHILDIS
BELIEVEDTOBEINALIFETHREATENINGSITUATION.Informationonthesuspector
medicalalertsalsocanbe addedinthe MISfield.
Providerefreshertraining. Bothterminaloperatorsandinvestigativepersonnelcan

benefitfroma reviewofthepoliciesandproceduresforproperentryofinformation
intoNCIC.Topicsfordiscussionincludepropercodingofcases,linkingentries,imag
ingcapabilities,andproperentryoftextinformation.
Establishasystemforissuingaformalauditingreportonallmissingjuvenile

recordsenteredintoNCIC. Reviewthereportstoensurethatcaseswereenteredinto
thecorrectcategoriesonatimelybasisandusedtheCAand/orAAflagswhere
appropriate.Resultsofauditsshouldbeanalyzed,andcommonerrorsshouldbe
addressedthroughtraining.
Modifypolicies, procedures, andMOUstoensurethattheyreflectthebestpolicies

andpracticesandthemosteffectiveuseofNCIC. Areastoconsiderincluderesponsi
bilityfortrainingofpersonnel,formalauditsofNCICrecords,andidentificationof
proceduralchangesthatwillimprovetheuseoftheNCICsystem.
Educatelocalagencypersonnel. Informthemthattheyaretoimmediatelyaccepta

complaintreport,verbalorwritten,ofamissingchildandtoimmediatelyentera
recordinthestatesystemandNCICandmakedetailsofthemissingpersonreport
availabletotheappropriatestatemissingpersonclearinghouse.

U.S
.S..Depar
DepartmentofJ
tmentofJustice
ustice
OfficeofJusticePrograms

*FS~000308*

OfficeofJuvenileJusticeandDelinquencyPrevention
Washington, DC 20531
OfficialBusiness
PenaltyforPrivateUse$300

AMBERALERT

FactSheet

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