HOLBROOK — Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center Director Steve Hooke and Chief William Smith of the Holbrook Police Department are pleased to announce their departments’ continued partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Tuesday, May 25 is National Missing Children’s Day. HRECC telecommunicators and HPD officers underwent training last year through the NCMEC’s Missing Kids Readiness Project, in order to be better prepared in the event of an incident involving a missing child.
HRECC telecommunicators also complete the training as part of their initial training requirements.
More than 300 law enforcement agencies and communication centers nationwide are recognized by the Missing Kids Readiness Project. As part of the program, NCMEC staff provide training, technical assistance and resources to law enforcement personnel and others who investigate crimes against children.
Through a variety of online training modules, the program promotes best practices for responding to calls of missing, abducted and sexually exploited children. Agencies will be recognized by the NCMEC for meeting essential training and policy elements demonstrating preparedness for responding to a missing child incident.
The Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center has been a partner with the Missing Kids Readiness Project since 2017. All HRECC telecommunicators are required to take the online courses through NCMEC relative to their role within the center, with supervisory-level staff taking additional courses.
“The last call you ever want to receive is one involving a missing or abducted child, but all HRECC telecommunicators are trained to be ready for any situation,” Director Hooke said. “Every second counts in the case of a potentially missing child, and thanks in part to this NCMEC training our staff have the skills needed to assist our law enforcement partners in their investigations.”
The Holbrook Police Department completed the initial certification process with the Missing Kids Readiness Project last year. Patrol officers, sergeants, detectives and command staff all became certified.
“Certification through the Missing Kids Readiness Project gives our officers much-needed training in this area,” Chief Smith said. “We thank the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for all they do to help prepare our officers for these types of cases.”
In addition to the online training modules, police chiefs and directors are also required to attend the Missing Children’s Chief Executive Officer training course at the NCMEC headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, which Director Hooke, Chief Smith and HRECC Deputy Director Lauren Mielke have all completed.
For more information on the NCMEC’s Missing Kids Readiness Project, click here.
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