Crime agencies create hub to dispel child abduction myths

The National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre has teamed up with the charity Parent and Abducted Children Together (PACT) to create a new website for professionals and parents aimed at dispelling child abduction myths.

Called the Child Abduction Hub, its aim is to replace slogans used for decades such as “stranger danger” and show that, according to latest police figures, 42 per cent of child abductors are known to the child.

In addition, PACT has launched a report Beyond Stranger Danger, which outlines ways children’s professionals can help children avoid being abducted and reduce their fear.

This includes the “yell, run and tell” technique of shouting for help, running away and telling a trusted adult.

The website and report also pushes the message that children should not go with anyone, whether a stranger or someone known to them, unless they know it has been agreed beforehand with their parents.

PACT chief executive and founder Lady Catherine Meyer said: “Our ambition for the Child Abduction Hub is to radically transform the way in which our society protects its children from abduction in all its forms.”

The website will be operated by PACT and supported by an advisory board including academics, government officials and police officers.

Charlie Hedges, manager of the NCA’s missing and abducted children team, said: “Thankfully, child abductions are relatively rare occurrences and the majority of children who go missing from home return safely. However, there is still a need for parents to understand how they can help keep their children safe.”