Project
Police Expert Network on Missing Persons
Police Expert Network on Missing Persons
The Police Expert Network on Missing Persons (PEN-MP) is the official European missing persons police network consisting of police experts in the field of missing persons from all over Europe. The network was initiated by the AMBER Alert Europe foundation and is now officially affiliated with the Law Enforcement Working Party (LEWP) of the Council of the European Union.
The PEN-MP brings together over 80 law enforcement experts from 34 EU and non-EU countries. The goal of the PEN-MP is to bring together law enforcement experts in the field of missing persons. The PEN-MP enables fast and direct cross-border cooperation and communication between law enforcement experts in missing person cases. It also provides specialist support, advice, and training to participating law enforcement authorities.
The Beginnings
In 2014, AMBER Alert Europe launched an informal network of law enforcement experts in the area of missing persons, the Police Network on Missing Children. In 2016, the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union called for the formalisation of the network and called on every Member State to appoint a national contact for the network during the ‘Missing Persons: Missing Information’ conference in Amsterdam.
This call was echoed by Members of the European Parliament, of which a majority of 465 MEPs from all EU Member States signed AMBER Alert Europe’s Written Declaration for better European cooperation on saving the lives of missing children. Despite the vast support from Member States and Parliament, the network was not formalised during the Dutch EU Council Presidency.
Salzburg Forum
In 2017, AMBER Alert Europe organised the ‘Salzburg Forum Law Enforcement Expert Meeting on Missing Children’ in Prague in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and Police of The Czech Republic. The Expert Meeting was attended by 40 members of the Police Network on Missing Children from 10 European Member States. The goal of the meeting was for experts to meet their colleagues in neighbouring countries, build relationships and exchange best practices. The Expert Meeting in Prague was supported by a Joint Declaration adopted by the Ministers of the Interior of all nine Salzburg Forum Member States in which the Ministers acknowledged the urgent need for new solutions and improvements in the search for missing children, including a better use of citizens’ assistance and an effective inter-agency cooperation.
The first PEN-MP presidency
In 2018, Colonel Jan Rybár, former Head of the Missing Persons Unit of the Czech Police Presidium, was officially appointed as first president of the network. The Czech presidency hosted two PEN-MP conferences in Prague during its presidency. Both were organised in cooperation with AMBER Alert Europe.
Official recognition
In 2019, the network was renamed the Police Expert Network on Missing Persons and officialised through its affiliation with the the Law Enforcement Working Party (LEWP) of the Council of the European Union. The initiative to formalise the network was taken by AMBER Alert Europe in cooperation with the Czech PEN-MP presidency. After its officialisation, AMBER Alert Europe took on the Secretariat of the PEN-MP.
Slovenian PEN-MP Presidency
In 2020, Damjan Miklič, Criminal Police Inspector Specialist at the Slovenian Police Directorate, took over the PEN-MP presidency. The first PEN-MP conference under the Slovenian presidency was held online due to COVID-19. In 2021 and 2022, the Slovenian presidency hosted two in person PEN-MP conferences in Ljubljana in cooperation with AMBER Alert Europe. In 2021, a combined effort of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Slovenian Police, PEN-MP, and AMBER Alert Europe led to Council Conclusions on Stepping up Cross-border Police Cooperation in the Area of Missing Persons, which serves as the foundation for improved cooperation in the area
of missing persons and missing children in Europe.
Current PEN-MP Presidency
On January 1st, 2023, Izanne de Wit, National Coordinator Missing Persons at the Dutch National Police, started her presidency of the PEN-MP. At the beginning of the Dutch presidency, AMBER Alert Europe transferred its secretarial activities to the PEN-MP presidency. AMBER Alert Europe continues to support PEN-MP and its members through a joint work programme, including training, research and prevention. The work programme took effect in May 2023.
DISCLAIMER
Effective January 2023, AMBER Alert Europe has transferred all activities and responsibilities of the Police Expert Network on Missing Persons (PEN-MP) secretariat to the Presidency of PEN-MP. AMBER Alert Europe is an independent foundation and does not represent PEN-MP. All initiatives, opinions, and activities by AMBER Alert Europe are our own.