On September 4 – 6, more than 40 law enforcement specialists from 16 countries will gather in Prague for the second European Police Expert Network on Missing Children Forum. During the event, which is hosted by the Czech Police and AMBER Alert Europe, police experts on missing children are brought together to exchange best practices, demonstrate the latest techniques to save missing children and strengthen police cooperation across borders.
This year’s forum, which revolves around ‘’Leading change and innovation’’, will be officially opened by Colonel Jan Rybár, Head of the Missing Persons Unit of the Czech Police Presidium and President of the Police Expert Network.
During the three-day event, real-life missing person cases will be introduced by the national police of the Czech Republic, Poland, Canada, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden and the UK. In addition, Europol and Frontex will present the latest developments and techniques in finding missing children.
“The forum offers a unique opportunity for law enforcement specialists in the field of missing children to meet their colleagues from across Europe and learn from each other’’, says Frank Hoen, Chairman and Founder of AMBER Alert Europe. “When a child goes missing and they need support from colleagues in another country, they will know exactly who to call at 3 AM in the morning. This will highly contribute to saving more missing children, which of course is our ultimate goal.”
A unique network with strong support from EU Member States
The Police Expert Network on Missing Children is the only law enforcement group on missing persons in Europe. The Police Expert Network was announced in 2016, under the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU. At its launch, the Dutch Presidency called on every Member State to appoint a national contact for the Police Expert Network. In support of the Dutch initiative, a majority of 465 Members of the European Parliament from all EU Member States signed AMBER Alert Europe’s Written Declaration for better European cooperation on saving the lives of missing children.