Who can forget the cozy relationship between Enron and Andersen Consulting? Certainly none of the 4,000 terminated Enron employees out more than $1 billion in pension holdings. Government prosecutors wove tales of the lack of accountability, checks and balance systems, and a corporate culture shrouded in secrecy. Few, if any foresaw its collapse until it was too late to save.
So I was surprised to see this bullet point on Canon’s website about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
NCMEC is unique. It is the only nonprofit organization with access to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person, Wanted Person and Unidentified Person Files; the National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS); and the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS).
The NCMEC does not actively investigate missing children cases. Why does it have access to the FPLS (the system used to collect child support) or the NLETS (serves as an interface to search each state’s criminal and driver records as well as the License Plate Reader (LPR) records)?
Do they compile a dossier on each missing child for Law Enforcement?
Is it realistic for the NCMEC which receives $35 million annually from the Department of Justice to ensure there is compliance with Law Enforcement entering missing children into the NCIC? Would you expect them to offer any hard line criticism of policies or procedures?
What if you wanted to find someone not registered at the NCMEC? If they decide not to post a missing child what is your recourse as a parent? As the only nonprofit organization with access to the information, what would you do?
They openly admit they don’t keep “old” records so it is impossible to dispute the reported statistics as to recovery rates or status of the missing child. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) not the NCMEC currently takes statistical information from the NCIC and sends it to each state. There is no mandate the States share information with the public.
Though no one would suggest the NCMEC is the next Enron, there is no public checks and balance system, and no public accountability.
There also is no alternative should your child go missing.
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