Concerns surrounding the Toronto Police Services (TPS) handling of missing persons occasioned the 2021 Independent Civilian Review into Missing Persons Investigations. This published 151 recommendations for improving police response to missing persons. Accordingly, the TPS Missing and Missed Implementation Team (MMIT) emerged to address these recommendations. One recommendation was establishing partnerships with researchers to generate evidence-informed practice and policy. While such partnerships are not new, they have not always generated anticipated outcomes. Historically, they have failed at the point of trust—the key to any successful collaboration. Nevertheless, MMIT formed valuable partnerships with academics, Elliott and Ferguson, specializing in missing persons and victimology. Together, the team led a study exploring the connection between missing persons and victimization to enhance police risk assessment. Informed by the study findings, the Review, and victimological theory, the team then developed a Response Assessment Tool that, monumentally, comprises evidence-informed vulnerability factors linked to missing persons, including human trafficking, 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, sex work, and beyond. This presentation outlines this Tool, detailing how it induces consistent and equitable policing, especially for vulnerable and marginalized groups. It focuses explicitly on how this Tool improves police response and case outcomes for missing persons linked to human trafficking, including the alliance between the MMIT and TPS Human Trafficking Unit’s Children at Risk of Exploitation (CARE). Attendees will leave this presentation armed with insights to improve policing with evidence-informed strategies, forge police-academic partnerships considering this positive representation, and advance scholarship on the areas needing attention regarding missing persons and human trafficking.
Melissa Elliott is a PhD student at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. Her research focuses on social inequalities relating to crime and victimization. With an emphasis on intersectionality, she investigates differences in victimization rates to advance victimological theory.
Lorna Ferguson is a PhD Candidate at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Founder of the Missing Persons Research Hub. Lorna’s area of specialization is police responses to missing person cases. She has a broad interest in policing research and developing evidence-based approaches to policing and crime prevention.
Sin Kim is a Detective Sergeant with the Toronto Police Service. His experience includes conducting complex criminal investigations, providing subject matter expertise, training investigators, and developing various police practices. He is currently leading a project team responsible for enhancing how police respond to missing persons.
Alicia Murray is a Detective with the Toronto Police Service, with 20 years of police experience. Alicia is currently a member of the Human Trafficking Enforcement Team, where she focuses on children at risk of exploitation. She is dedicated to developing intervention strategies aimed at preventing the victimization of youth.