<\/b>The Australian Federal Police and NSW Police Force have launched the 2015 National Missing Persons Week campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons.<\/p>\n
Acting Australian Federal Police Commissioner Michael Phelan and NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Peter Barrie officially launched the week-long campaign in Sydney today (Monday 3 August 2015), where they reminded Australians you don\u2019t have to wait 24 hours before reporting someone missing.<\/p>\n
In 2015, the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) is urging people to \u2018Follow Your Instincts\u2019 if you suspect someone you know is missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no minimum timeframe associated with reporting someone missing. The very definition of a missing person is where there are \u2018concerns for the safety and welfare of a person\u2019, and \u2018their whereabouts are unknown\u2019,\u201d acting Commissioner Phelan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA colleague that fails to turn up to work without notice; a parent that doesn\u2019t return from a walk; a son that misses a birthday dinner… If a person\u2019s disappearance is out of character and you have concerns for their safety and welfare, follow your instincts and report to police immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long-term missing persons from each State and Territory are being profiled as part of the campaign, including NSW missing person Ursula Barwick, who was last seen in Kings Cross in December 1987. Her father Peter Barwick, and cousin, Melissa Pouliot, spoke at the launch, together with Assistant Commissioner Barrie.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hope is that today\u2019s appeal will help bring closure to Ursula\u2019s family after nearly 30 years of not knowing what\u2019s happened,\u201d Assistant Commissioner Barrie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2014, almost 12,000 people were reported missing in NSW, and while the majority were located safe and well, 57 still remain missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational Missing Persons Week therefore gives us an opportunity to remember those who are still lost, and garner new leads that could help bring them home,\u201d Assistant Commissioner Barrie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cKings Cross police have formed Strike Force Hemingway as they continue inquiries to establish the exact circumstances surrounding Ursula\u2019s disappearance, and they\u2019re keen to hear from anyone who may be able to shed new light on the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
An age-progressed image of Ursula, which was created by the AFP NMPCC, has been released to media to illustrate what she may look like today.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone knows something about Ursula\u2019s disappearance, so no matter how insignificant it may seem, I urge them to contact police immediately,\u201d Assistant Commissioner Barrie said.<\/p>\n
As part of this year\u2019s campaign, the AFP has also launched a partnership with the Outdoor Media Association (OMA) to profile long-term missing persons on billboards, taxi backs, bus shelters and digital out-of-home channels Australian wide.<\/p>\n
The out-of-home advertising will complement media and social media efforts, along with community service announcements on free-to-air television and long-time partners, Foxtel\u2019s Criminal Investigations network.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank all our corporate supporters\u2014Chemist Warehouse, McDonalds, the OMA, and Foxtel\u2014who continue to profile missing persons cases in support of our coordinated efforts,\u201d acting Commissioner Phelan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis combined exposure of missing persons may trigger someone to provide information to police, bringing resolution to families and friends who long await news.\u201d<\/p>\n
The OMA have also been working in partnership with the NSW Police Force to help promote the profiles of missing persons around the state.<\/p>\n
OMA CEO, Charmaine Moldrich, said the Out-of-Home industry is committed to contributing to, and supporting, the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are proud to continue our longstanding relationship with the New South Wales Police Force \u2013 our support of their National Missing Persons Week campaign now spans seven consecutive years \u2013 and taking the campaign to a national audience in partnership with the AFP is a natural progression,\u201d Ms Moldrich said.<\/p>\n
Our audiences keep growing and our digital reach is increasing \u2013 using this unique position to broadcast critical information that could bring solace to people in need is very important to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Missing Persons Week runs from Sunday 2 August to Saturday 8 August 2015.<\/p>\n
Profiles of missing persons can be viewed at www.missingpersons.gov.au.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Australian Federal Police and NSW Police Force have launched the 2015 National Missing Persons Week campaign to raise awareness of the issues and impacts surrounding missing persons. Acting Australian Federal Police Commissioner Michael Phelan and NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner Peter Barrie officially launched the week-long campaign in Sydney today (Monday 3 August 2015), … Continue reading “National Missing Persons Week urges Australians to 'Follow Your Instincts'”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,9,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hume","category-radio16","category-tcrn","category-zfm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.onradio.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}