Not every case is as serious or as tragic as that of Gino, the nine-year-old boy who disappeared while playing outside in Kerkrade in 2022, and was later revealed to have been abducted and murdered by Donny M. The police, family members and volunteers spent days searching for him. “Thankfully, such cases are limited,” says Gijs van Dijck, Professor of private law, who is taking the lead in the collaboration on behalf of the Faculty of Law. “But in a sense, every disappearance is serious. And from the moment one is reported, the immediate question is, how are you going to tackle this?”
In missing persons cases, an Amber Alert can be sent out, a notification from the police on TV, radio, and phones when a child's life is feared to be at risk. The collaboration between the university and Amber Alert Europe (AAE) does not focus on this. "We no longer play a role in that, those notifications have been fully handled by the police for several years," says AAE project leader Julie Bellinkx. The foundation, founded in 2013, strives to return missing or abducted children in Europe home safely and prevent disappearances. It uses tools such as prevention and awareness campaigns (such as the #DontBeAnEasyCatch campaign, a video with tips for teenagers to arm them against online groomers).
Knowledge is spread
“The open borders in Europe mean it is very easy to take children and just disappear”, says Bellinkx, who calls it remarkable that despite an astonishing number of people reported missing each year, so little research has been done.
Maastricht researchers will now play a part, particularly in consolidating the existing expertise. “Knowledge is rather spread out at the moment. In part, because there are so many different disciplines involved, such as the actual search efforts and the impact on those involved. But also the legal side of things. For example, are you allowed to look through a missing person’s phone? Or is that a breach of privacy?” says Van Dijck, pointing out that some people disappear deliberately and don’t want to be found.
“There are many different cases that can be investigated in many different ways. Things like tips, how do you filter those, and on the technical side, what do you do with data, such as security cameras, are they reliable? There are plenty of examples, but they are rarely evaluated, at least not scientifically. We try to make sure things are evidence based,” says Van Dijck, who leads the Maastricht Law and Tech Lab, a group of legal experts and computer researchers whose work lies at the intersection of data and law.
Policies and legislation
In an ideal world, that would lead to a blueprint that can be used for missing persons, and which can help speed up the process, Van Dijck hopes. “What sort of policy do you create? How do ensure that everything works smoothly across borders? What would you have to set out in the legislation? And who is responsible for doing that? Those are all questions that we hope to tackle.” AAE is also focused on revising policies and legislation to protect children.
The collaboration will begin to take shape over the coming period. For example, the professor is thinking of groups of researchers and students who will first have to consolidate their expertise. “There are, of course, all sorts of rules already laid out, but how can you make it easier?” Furthermore, there is still the question how easily that information might be released. That might actually be quite a challenge, Van Dijck says. “You can’t just walk into police stations and demand they hand over their data or cases. On the other hand, nobody can object to finding missing persons.”