Missing person legislation could backfire, warn police

B.C.'s new missing persons legislation is going to add a significant amount of work to the thousands of cases officers handle each year and it could end up backfiring, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

Currently, if a parent reports a teen missing, when the child comes home the parents can just call police and the file would be closed.

But starting next September officers will be required to do a "safe and well check" before they can close a file, to verify the person has been found with face-to-face contact.

Detective Const. Raymond Payette of the VPD says the new law will be difficult to manage.

"[The] pending legislative change is in some ways the largest challenge we're going to face in the new year," he said.

The new regulation is a result of the 2012 Missing Women's Commission of Inquiry by Wally Oppal.

B.C.'s Attorney General Suzanne Anton says police forces should be able to manage the increased workload. 

"They've got good judgement," said Anton. "They can make priorities about when they need to get to a place."

Six officers in Vancouver's missing persons unit will investigate about 4380 missing person reports this year, an average of 12 per day. Payette says 99.9 per cent of the people reported missing are located.

Reports to police may stop

Speaking before the Vancouver Police Board, Payette also explained that the new "safe and well check" could backfire in the cases of high-risk missing people, especially if they also have a warrant for a petty crime like shoplifting.

Currently phone confirmation from a social service group or staff at supportive housing unit is all that's needed for police to cancel their investigation. But with the new face-to-face check policy, police would be compelled to take a person with a warrant into custody.

"Does that mean the supportive housing unit will not call us that she's back, because they don't want her arrested, which means we'll keep working a file," asked Payette.

"Or, I will be honest, this is my biggest fear — they won't call her in at all?"

Payette believes the safety of the missing person should be paramount in such cases.

The VPD has identified 10 people  — all women with drug or mental health issues— who will account for 250 missing person reports this year alone.

"In the Downtown Eastside, if we get back into a situation where supportive housing units aren't calling them in as missing because they're worried we're going to arrest them when they come back, that's something we don't want to go back to."