Private individuals who publish their own wanted persons on social media, without reporting to the police, are becoming more and more common.
But now Missing People is appealing together with the police not to spread the wanted information further.
– There may be people who have put out these wanted notices for reasons other than that the person is missing, says Christina Hjalmarsson at Missing People.
The persons reported as missing may be someone living under a protected identity, fleeing violence in a close relationship or similar situations. It can also be about children who have found themselves in the middle of a custody dispute.
– As a private person, you should therefore be very careful about sharing these private wanted requests, says Christina Hjalmarsson.
– In the worst case, a person’s identity can be revealed.
“Everything but okay”
Among other things, Missing People has been involved in a private person illegally taking a picture of a wanted person and the organization’s logo in order to make their own wanted request.
– We contacted the person and said that it is anything but okay. This person was not after this woman for the right purpose, so to speak.
In this particular case, it was about a post that was later withdrawn by Missing People as the person was no longer considered missing.
Today, the organization receives a lot of help from the public, who have become more aware of these types of wanted information.
– We receive screenshots of private wanted requests where it says that the police and Missing People are in contact, but as a private person you cannot verify that, says Christina Hjalmarsson.
Close dialogue with the police
If you want to report someone missing and issue a search warrant, it should always be done through the police.
– If you have someone you are missing, you must of course report this to the police and file a missing person report. Missing People does not act to help with a disappearance if there is not a police report drawn up, says Christina Hjalmarsson.
Missing People has a close dialogue with the police.
– You can always feel safe sharing Missing People’s wanted information. They are well checked with the police so that the person does not have a protected identity and they also have to approve that we publish a wanted picture with a picture.
The police: Can be directly life-threatening
Even the police state that there are great risks in sharing private wanted information on social media – and even if it is not illegal, it can be directly life-threatening for the person who lives in hiding to have their identity revealed.
“And even if no one lives with a protected identity, you don’t know why this particular person has disappeared. He/she may have chosen it to escape an impossible family situation. You must always keep in mind that it is not forbidden to be missing,” says Anna Ullman, criminal inspector for serious crimes in the Stockholm region, in an email to TV4 Nyheterna.
She also says that children under 18 should preferably be with their guardians, something that sometimes doesn’t work.
“Then the social authorities can decide whether the child is to be cared for according to the LVU. If the police put out a wanted list, it is safe to share. Although Missing People does”.