Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Oct. 24, 2024 – The Jonesboro E-911 Center now has enhanced training and new protocols allowing for faster response times to missing children’s cases, thanks to a partnership with the Missing Kids Readiness Program (MKRP).
The program is hosted through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and trains emergency communications agencies on the best practices for responding to calls of missing, abducted, or sexually exploited children. The E-911 Center began the certification process about six months ago, receiving the certification in October.
When a child is determined to be missing, by law they must be entered in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database within two hours. With the new training, communications officers can have a child in the database in as little as 30 minutes.
“Two hours, if it’s an abducted child, a lot of things can happen,” said Ronnie Sturch, Director of E-911. “What we’re seeing now is our communications officers process and obtain that information and they’re actually getting that information entered into the NCIC within probably 30 minutes of receiving that call. There’s a chance of a lot quicker apprehension of the suspect and recovering that child.”
Sturch added that the old policy put a greater emphasis on the arriving officer to gather information to put in the NCIC database. With this new policy, a communications officer keeps the caller on the line, immediately dispatches an officer, and continues collecting and relaying information to responding officers.
In addition, the training provides specific guidelines for different cases. For example, in sexual exploitation cases, a communications officer will have different protocols to follow if it is a child pornography, sex trafficking, or molestation case. Or, in missing children’s cases, communications have different guidelines to follow based or whether or not the child is special needs.
This additional training for communications officers, supervisors and executives was provided free by NCMEC. In addition to receiving the communications officer training, supervisors were trained in best practices for supervising and evaluating telecommunicator performances in such cases.
All current E-911 communications officers have been trained in the new protocols. Any new hires will be trained with these specifications as well.
The Jonesboro E-911 Center is one of now eleven communications centers in Arkansas to be certified by the NCMEC.
“There’s not a lot of agencies that have this partnership, so we’re excited to obtain it,” Struch said. “We want the public to realize that we are trying to do our part, no matter what, to make everyone safer in the city and county.”
