197 Main St.
Maynard, MA 01754
For Immediate Release
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 978-841-9948
Email: john@jgpr.net
Maynard Police Department and Communications Team Become Missing Kids Readiness Program Members
First Law Enforcement Agency in the State to Become Member
MAYNARD — Chief Mark W. Dubois is pleased to announce that the Maynard Police Department and its Public Safety Communications team have completed the necessary criteria to become members of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) Missing Kids Readiness Program.
The Maynard Police Department is the first law enforcement agency in the Commonwealth to achieve this status, and the communications team, which oversees the town’s dispatch center, is just the sixth public safety answering point to become a member in the state.
The program was developed by NCMEC to promote best practices for responding to calls of missing, abducted and sexually exploited children. To meet the requirements of the program, Maynard Police and the Public Safety Communications team worked with NCMEC on the department’s missing child policy to ensure it met the critical elements of the model policy for call center agencies.
Sarah Finnerty, Maynard’s Communications Supervisor, traveled to NCMEC headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia last May to complete the necessary classroom training for the program. Since then, she has ensured that all department members have completed the necessary online training required for membership. Additionally, Maynard had to create a department policy and procedure for responding to missing children, which had to be approved by NCMEC.
“I am so proud to be the first law enforcement agency in Massachusetts to achieve this status and for our dispatch center to be one of the few 911 call centers to accomplish this training,” Chief Dubois said. “I would like to specifically thank Sarah for all of her hard work in making this possible. We are now equipped to respond more quickly, comprehensively and effectively when a child’s life may be at stake.”
Membership to the Missing Kids Readiness Program is valid for five years.
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