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Have you seen these children?

The UK Missing & Exploited Children Web Site has linked with Tesco to raise awareness of the issue of missing children. The man behind the website, Chief Inspector Tim Bonnett, speaks to iVillage

The young, smiling faces are heartbreaking. Looking out from dozens of photographs, they recall a happier time, a moment lost in history. Few could have known that their pictures would soon grace the pages of a missing children website. Many of those featured have been abducted by an estranged parent; others have left home over arguments or conflict. Many will now be involved in prostitution, drugs or crime.

They are all featured on the police-led UK Missing & Exploited Children Web Site - http://uk.missingkids.com. The good news is that half of them will eventually be found. And attempts to find the rest will continue.

The background
Based on an idea from America, the UK missing children's website is dedicated to reuniting missing children with their families. Using the site's technology, posters of missing children can be produced quickly and easily for distribution by police forces around the country and abroad, as well as concerned members of the public.

Supported by the charity Parents & Abducted Children Together (PACT) and hosted by Computer Associates, it is the only UK site of its kind approved by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office.

Pioneering
The importance of the website should not be underestimated. Before the site was launched, it was impossible to move pictures of missing children quickly and easily from one police force to another - the police national computer for England and Wales has no image capability. By the time the original force could print and courier the photographs to the next force, the child may have been taken out of the country or have gone to ground.

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