MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced that her groundbreaking program to help law enforcement get quick and accurate information on missing children will be coming to Long Beach’s Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 27.
Operation Safe Child – which will also be at community events in Garden City and Floral Park in May – provides parents with an identification card for their children containing pertinent physical information to give law enforcement officials a head start on finding a missing child.
“When a child goes missing, every minute is precious,” DA Rice said. “This program gives parents and caregivers valuable peace of mind that when the unthinkable happens, law enforcement will have the tools that they will need to find a child.”
Using equipment that contains the latest digital fingerprinting technology and high resolution photography, DA Rice’s program works with schools and other groups to provide free Safe Child ID Cards for parents.
At the event, parents can register their children and receive a free ID card on the spot. No documentation is necessary. The program is open to children up to 17 years of age.
The cards contain a child’s name, biographical information, fingerprint images of both index fingers and a high resolution digital photo. Parents also have the option of storing their child’s data in a New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services database. This will link them to the AMBER alert and LOCATER programs in the event that the child goes missing. In addition, the fingerprints of that child will be included in a special search file and compared against all incoming fingerprints submitted to the agency.
DA Rice's office has successfully produced over 10,000 cards for children in Nassau County and is looking to bring this program to all interested parents and schools. The service is free. For more information, email Maria.Ploth@nassauda.org.
Here are the details on forthcoming Operation Safe Child events:
Long Beach Youth & Family Services, Earth Day Celebration, Sunday, April 27th 12pm - 4 pm
650 Magnolia Blvd., Long Beach
Garden City Library, Thursday, May 15th 3 – 6 pm
60 Seventh Street, Garden City
Hance Family Foundation’s “Family Fun Day,” Saturday, May 17th 11 am – 4 pm
251 Floral Parkway, Floral Park (Centennial Gardens)
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