The Norwegian Police Directorate (POD) has reviewed 62 missing persons cases involving unaccompanied asylum seekers under the age of 18, who have disappeared in the last eight years. They have uncovered several serious findings: In the vast majority of cases, basic investigations and documentation of information are missing. There is great variation in the time from when the child disappears until the person concerned is reported missing to the police. Insufficient search for the missing nationally and internationally. Need for routines when the unaccompanied minor asylum seeker is settled. The background for the review is news’s survey of the 432 asylum children who have disappeared in the last eight years, and who still have not been found. The Norwegian Police Directorate’s findings: There is great variation in the time from when the child disappears until the person concerned is reported missing to the police. Delays occur both at reception and at the police. Requirements for personal attendance and the absence of routines for electronic notification are one of the reasons why the delays occur. The police’s follow-up with basic investigations and documentation of information is lacking in the vast majority of cases. Insufficient search for the missing nationally and internationally. Need for routines for registration when the unaccompanied minor asylum seeker arrives. In several cases, it is seen that missing persons are not actually missing, as there is information about missing persons in the police’s systems linked to other matters after the missing persons report has been registered. The missing person is not, however, registered as a person in the missing persons case. Need to define what a missing person is. Comments: The specialist group that has recently reviewed these cases has prioritized reviewing all missing persons cases involving unaccompanied minor asylum seekers under the age of 15, as well as a number of cases where unaccompanied minor asylum seekers were between 15 and 18 years of age in the period 2015 – 2022. Of the 62 cases, no information that the minor may have been exposed to something criminal. This does not mean that it has not occurred, but that the risk is to be considered low based on the information available in the cases reviewed. The review shows that in the reporting form that reception and care centers fill in when a missing person is reported to the police, there is often information that the minor has probably left voluntarily. The reasons why the children and young people leave are probably complex, but often seem to be related to the processing of asylum cases. UDI and Bufdir learn that many of those who leave have been in contact with staff or other residents at reception/care centers after they have left, often with information that they have traveled to another country where they have heard that the chances of getting a stay is greater. In a small number of the cases, there is no contact or information about where the minor may have gone. It is also these issues that are the most worrying. – A failure of legal certainty In the wake of news’s revelations, Egil Hove Olsvik, Ph.D. in philosophy and associate professor at the police academy, a research project to look at what is actually done when asylum children disappear from reception and care centres. Egil Hole Olsvik has started a research project called SAMBA (Together we make Norway safer for asylum children) Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news He has so far analyzed 49 missing persons cases involving unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, and is shocked by what he characterizes as frightening findings: In only two of In these cases, the police have turned up at the place where the child disappeared from. The police have not collected physical or electronic traces, have not conducted interviews with possible witnesses and have not carried out extensive searches in international police registers. Notifications about human trafficking and prostitution are not followed up. Adults have collected children from reception without identifying themselves. Physically and mentally ill children are reported, some of whom are assessed as a danger to themselves and others. Nevertheless, the police have dropped all the cases without further investigations. Egil Hole Olsvik teaches police students in scientific theory and ethics. He has lectured on investigative methods for 12 years. Photo: Phillip Hofgaard / news Olsvik believes that the findings are unambiguous and show low-quality police work. – It is a failure of legal certainty that we should not be aware of. These are the weakest of the weakest in society, and these children are very vulnerable to exploitation, he says. news has previously told about Agathe (16), who disappeared when she was going to take the bus between two receptions in Western Norway on New Year’s Eve seven years ago. Despite her asylum lawyer raising the alarm and fearing that the girl was being trafficked, she was not reported missing until 57 days later, and the police dropped the case without conducting any investigations. – You are at a loss for words – It is extra serious when children disappear from reception as we do not know whether these are children who are being exploited by cynical backers or others, says Storting representative Erlend Wiborg (Frp). Storting representative Erlend Wiborg (Frp) believes that closed asylum reception centers will prevent disappearances. Photo: Kristoffer Steffensen Lenes / news He believes it is important to ensure that the police take these cases seriously and have a real and good investigation. Storting representative Grete Wold (SV) shares Wiborg’s concern. Storting representative Grete Wold (SV) demands an investigation into what has happened to the asylum children who have disappeared. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – Here there are children who have gone missing, they have not been looked for, and on top of it all we have received indications that cruel acts have taken place without it being followed up. You are at a loss for words. After news’s asylum disclosure in December, SV together with several other parties asked the Storting for an investigation to get to the bottom of how so many children could disappear – without being looked for. The case will be brought before the Storting in May. Have set up a working group – The aim has been to investigate the cases in order to gain more knowledge about how we can improve, says John-Magnus Brekken Løkenflaen, section leader at the Norwegian Police Directorate, about the review they have now carried out. Both the police and the reception centers have potential for improvement, the review shows. John-Magnus Brekken Løkenflaen, section leader in the Norwegian Police Directorate, says that the agencies are now working to better handle missing persons cases with unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. Photo: Julie Marie Naglestad In addition, it appears that the various agencies follow the guidelines differently. A working group has now been established together with the Directorate of Immigration (UDI) and the Directorate of Children, Youth and Families (Bufdir) which is in the process of strengthening cooperation, adjusting and coordinating the routines for when an asylum child disappears. The Ministry of Justice received the results from POD on Friday last week, and does not wish to comment on the findings until they have had a closer look at the case. They refer to the working group that has now been set up. – It is important to continue the work to prevent young people from disappearing and to improve the routine when they have disappeared, says State Secretary Geir Indrefjord (SP)
ttn-69
The Norwegian Police Directorate acknowledges routine failures in the cases of disappearance of asylum children – news Vestland
