One of the most important tools for law enforcement to use in the case of a missing child is... an up-to-date, good-quality photograph.Noted below are some tips for parents and guardians regarding such a photograph.
The photograph should be:
- a recent, head-and-shoulders color photograph of the child in which the face is clearly seen.
- of "school-portrait" quality, and the background should be plain or solid so it does not distract from the subject.
- in a digitized form and available on a compact disk (CD), as opposed to just a hard copy. This minimizes the time necessary to scan, resize, and make color corrects before disseminating it to law enforcement.
- an accurate depiction of the child, not overly posed or "glamorized." Nor should other people, animals, or objects be in the photograph. The photograph should not be taken outside, out of focus, torn, damaged, or very small.
- have space below is for a narrative description to Identify the childs name, nickname, height, weight, gender, eye color, marks, moles, braces and glasses.
- updated at least every six months for children 6 years of age or younger and then once a year, or when a child's appearance changes.
- All copies of child's photograph and information should be maintained in an easily accessible, secure space by the parents or guardian.
- The photograph and data should not be stored in a public database.
