We're All In This Together

Carole Moore
Missing Persons Contributor
Officer.com

Aren't we? Here's the deal: law enforcement is insular by nature. It's a "them and us" kind of profession. I think some of that is good. I find few in the general public understand exactly what is out there on the streets. But by reinforcing the division between LEOs and civilians, we also lose one of our most precious assets. All of those eyes, those ears, those witnesses, those people paying attention to what's going on around them. How many cases have been solved because somebody NOT involved in the crime paid attention? Saw someone who looked like the composite, took down the license number because the car seemed suspicious, remembered a guy who had a jacket like that, found a key piece of evidence and called the police? A lot. So why do we universally bristle when civilians volunteer their time to search the Internet looking for matches between missing and unidentified found persons? It's not like law enforcement has the time or personnel to work every missing persons case the way they could be worked. But with thousands and thousands of eyes and ears out there and hours of volunteer time, it is possible to end some of the misery that families and friends undergo. I can't imagine not knowing what happened to my father or sister or child. But I see an unofficial partnership that could be very useful. More about this in my next post.