2023-07-10 10:37:00
Émile, 2 and a half years old, has been wanted since Saturday July 8 in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Each year, there are 50,000 reports of the disappearance of minors in France.
By Valentine Arama In 30% of cases, children reported missing are found within 48 hours. © PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP Published on 08/30/2019 at 09:14 – Modified on 07/10/2023 at 10:37
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There are the highly publicized disappearances, those of Marion Wagon, Estelle Mouzin or Lucas Tronche. But these types of cases are rather rare in France and represent on average only two to three cases per year. Most of the reports recorded by the police come mainly from runaways. However, whatever the reason, “a minor who disappears is always treated as a worrying disappearance”, confides Philippe Guichard, director of the Central Office for the Suppression of Violence against Persons (OCRVP).
It is this section of the judicial police that is sometimes called upon to support the local police or gendarmerie services, particularly in extra-regional or national cases. “If there is a kidnapping in Rennes and the parent is likely to go to Orleans, it is the office that is seized”, specifies Philippe Guichard. The commissioner adds that OCRVP can also be seized if the case stalls, “always in support of the local service”.
“In a case of disappearance, it is always necessary to study the family context, the environment of the minor as well as the conditions of the disappearance”, underlines Philippe Guichard, who recalls that there are in France – on average – 50,000 declarations of runaways and numerous kidnappings due to family disputes. In 2018, 53,349 minors were registered in the File of Wanted Persons (FPR), managed by the technical and scientific police. Of these registrants, 614 minors were reported as “kidnapped or hijacked”, 51,925 declared “runaway” and for 900 minors, the disappearance was considered “worrying”.
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Many runaways are repeat offenders
However, these figures should be taken with caution because, as recalled by 116,000, a number dedicated to the families of missing children, the same child can be reported several times during the same year. “It’s quite common with runaways. The young person is registered with the RPF, then he leaves when he is found or if he returns on his own. If he runs away again, he will again be reported and registered with the RPF. There will therefore be two reports recorded for the same child during the year”, specifies the 116,000. Of the 50,000 runaways recorded on average each year in France, “many are repeat offenders”, adds the director of the OCRVP. Hence the importance of very quickly analyzing the context of disappearances, which are the hardest cases for the police to manage.
“The disappearance is not like a homicide, there is no crime scene, no body. You have to make an effort of the imagination, open all the doors”, insists the commissioner. So, the sooner the report is made, the better. Then, it is up to the police – or the gendarmerie – depending on the elements in their possession to decide whether or not to alert the public prosecutor’s office, which is responsible, for its part, for seizing specialized services. If the disappearance is considered worrying, the specialized services – departmental security or judicial police – can implement significant means of investigation. “They have reflexes, immediately treat the case as criminal with techniques such as freezing the telephone or precise research on social networks. They also have more substantial excavation resources,” explains Philippe Guichard. In the event that the judicial police are seized, this means that the case is immediately considered as criminal, and not as accidental.
Telephony and social networks, two precious aids
In the case of the disappearance of a minor, the local police or the gendarmerie can also decide to issue a call for witnesses in the local media, with the agreement of the prosecution. Since 2006, another device has also been available to the police. This is the Abduction Alert, which must however meet certain criteria. To broadcast this alert, you must be sure that there is “a proven kidnapping or subtraction of a minor”. It is also necessary that there is an obvious danger for the life of the child and elements of signaling to entrust to the public by the means of a message. Since its creation, this system has had a 100% success rate, with 23 alerts triggered and as many minors found safe and sound. The decision to launch this alert depends entirely on the public prosecutor, who must first have obtained the approval of the chancellery, and more precisely of the DACG (the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons).
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While the traditional investigation remains – working on the victim’s environment and recent schedule – new techniques for studying telephones and social networks are now valuable tools for investigators, especially in cases of disappearances of victims. minors, who have a significant use of social networks. “In all cases of disappearances, telephony is a priority”, indicates the commissioner.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, as of April 30, 2019, searches by the police and the gendarmerie were underway to find 17,355 minors. The 116,000, which has a partnership agreement with the OCRVP, indicates that, in 30% of cases, children reported missing are found within 48 hours. To date, the OCRVP, which works exclusively on criminal cases, is seized of a dozen disappearances.
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