More B.C. police drop surnames in missing person alerts to avoid 'negative lasting impact'

It could be a weekend teenage runaway. An elderly loved one, lost and disoriented. Or it could be the first indication of murder.

It could be a weekend teenage runaway. An elderly loved one, lost and disoriented. Or it could be the first indication of murder.

The first call to a police department to report a missing person sets in motion a series of investigative and public actions to find them, then, once found, protect their identity from becoming part of a permanent public record, said Insp. Drew Robertson of the Saanich Police Department.

The department that polices Greater Victoria's largest municipality recently moved to exclude surnames from public alerts requesting help finding missing people, in a bid to avoid causing them future harm. In so doing, it joins a growing number of law enforcement agencies across Canada, and has drawn praise from British Columbia's privacy commissioner.

Others, including the RCMP, continue to publicize surnames, citing a need for clarity.

"The vast majority of people reported missing to us, they come back to their lives and they carry on with school, with work, with family life, with new relationships," Robertson said.

"We don't want to create a permanent record for them that has a negative lasting impact."

He said since Saanich police stopped including surnames in alerts last month, they have issued three requests for public assistance.