South Yorkshire Police supports campaign to help save lives of missing children

South Yorkshire Police is backing a national campaign aimed at helping to save the lives of missing children.
Lincolnshire PoliceLincolnshire Police
Lincolnshire Police

The force is helping to promote a national campaign, led by actor and writer Stephen Fry, urging people to register for alerts when a child has gone missing and police believe their life is in imminent danger.

Fry appears in a short animation and major advertising campaign, where a comic-book version of the star reminds members of the public that you don’t need to be a superhero to save the day - simply having eyes and ears on the ground after a child goes missing may help save their life.

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Similar systems around the world have helped in the search for hundreds of children.

Child rescue alerts have been issued three times in the UK, with 315,000 people currently registered to receive information from the charity Missing People on the request of police forces around the country.

Missing People charity patron Stephen Fry said: “I am delighted to be the animated face of this campaign. I believe that Child Rescue Alert should be a national institution – something for everyone to find out about and sign up to. It reminds me of a fire extinguisher – everyone should have one ready to use at a moment’s notice but we all hope that we will never need it.”

Child Rescue Alert is a partnership by the National Crime Agency, Missing People and education technology company Groupcall. It has been available as a national policing tool since 2008 and was enhanced in 2014 to allow the public to get involved thanks to funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund.

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In 2016, the service is being funded by Royal Mail, which has registered the handheld devices of 123,000 postmen and women across the UK to receive alerts.

Jo Youle, Chief Executive of the charity Missing People, said: “Time and again at the charity we see communities rally together when a local child goes missing.

“Child Rescue Alert is thankfully not issued often – it’s for the most vulnerable of children going missing. We are asking everyone to join us and register to be alerted as soon as possible if a child goes missing in their communities.”

To register text HERO and your postcode to 85080.