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Welcome to the National Association for Child Abduction Prevention
(N.A.C.A.P.) website! We are excited and honored to have you visit our website
and to take part in a national campaign to mitigate and eventually eliminate child
abduction and child abuse in this country.
As
you visit the many links and points of interest on our site, I want to remind
you that child abduction sadly effects millions of lives each year and that your
own children or grand children live in a world much different than the one you
grew up in! The fact is, over 800,000 children were reported missing last year
and even though most were recovered within a few days or weeks, thousands were
not.
If
you have ever lost your child, even for a minute, you know the sheer panic and
anxiety associated with those moments of uncertainty. Last year, over 117,000
children were estimated to have disappeared due to family related abductions and
another 33,000 fell victim to stranger or non-family abductions. At N.A.C.A.P.
we believe one child lost to abduction is too many and that most of these case
are largely avoidable with proper education and preparation. Our
organization is centered on empowering parents with the tools, resources and knowledge
to properly and comprehensively safeguard their child from the possibility of
becoming missing. We teach and use technology to prevent and recover missing children. When
a child falls victim to abduction, especially a stranger abduction, the first
few hours are most critical to survival. In fact, the F.B.I. claims that 72% of
stranger abductions end in homicide if the child is not recovered in the first
two to three hours. Simply put, an abductor can easily travel more than a mile
a minute in an automobile and can take your child out of state and even out of
the country in a matter of hours! Therefore,
it is essential to understand "time can be a worst enemy in a critical situation
where a child's life is at stake". All parents need to learn to prepare and
respond to such a situation by first learning how to avoid circumstances that
can compromise the safety of their children. Conversely, children need to understand
how to identify and avoid situations that can lead to abduction and other forms
of vulnerability. The
key to being safe is to be prepared. Realistically, "the time to learn child
safety is not when your child becomes missing"! Many parents fall into the
mental trap of believing there will be "adequate" time to gather pictures
and medical records if their child ever becomes missing. The fact is, there simply
is no time to waste when your child's life is at stake! Also, as incredible as
it may seem, when a child becomes missing today, every parent is a suspect before
being cleared for questioning. The reason? Most abductions are carried out by
non-custodial parents and related family members. Simply put, the little time
you would have had to react to such a horrible event, is lost to a debriefing
session on the part of law enforcement, rescue teams and media. This
website is designed to inform visitors about child abduction and offer practical
guidance on the subject of child abduction prevention. It is our sincere wish
that you never need to utilize this information first hand and that the knowledge
you will gain will help shape a safer environment for your children at home, play
and at school. Please
take the time to enroll in our free newsletter mailing and let us know what you
think about our site. We are constantly adding new articles and points of interest
and encourage you to visit us often. When you visit, check out our "What's
New" section. This way you are always kept abreast of any current changes
and important announcements.
We are here if you need us and wish you and your family a safer tomorrow! Enjoy
and thanks again for visiting us! And please, share this site with your friends
and family members as they will inevitably have much to gain by its content and
related safety links! Thank
you for your support and interest! Sincerely, Andrew
Mitchell Meltzer
Executive Director
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