Today, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and Flock Safety, the all-in-one technology solution that keeps communities safe, announced a partnership to help keep kids safe throughout the United States. This partnership will build upon NCMEC and Flock Safety’s efforts to build safer communities and help locate and recover missing children safely.

Statistics show that 74% of AMBER Alert cases were recovered within six hours and 93% were recovered within 24 hours. When time is of the absolute essence, equipping police with tools like a License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera system can mean the difference between recovery and loss.

In May of 2021, Flock Safety announced an official distribution partnership with the NCMEC, engaging its nationwide network of LPR cameras to broadcast those time-sensitive AMBER Alerts to local law enforcement. Since then, over 100 missing children cases have been solved with the help of Flock LPRs, including:

• The recovery of two children in Wichita, KS, who were kidnapped by a noncustodial parent later charged with domestic battery, attempted aggravated battery, and criminal threat. The AMBER Alert was resolved in less than an hour.
• The safe return of an endangered 14-year-old girl kidnapped by a 36-year-old man in Casper, WY and transported across state lines to La Paz County, AZ.
• The resolved case of a kidnapped 3-week-old newborn in Canton, OH, who was taken by an individual posing as an agent for Child Protective Services. The suspect’s vehicle was identified on LPR cameras and she was apprehended.

NCMEC’s mission is to recover missing children with a 24-hour hotline (1-800-THE-LOST or 1-800-843-5678), AMBER Alerts and social media posts.

"At the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, our mission is to ensure the safety and recovery of missing children,” said John Bischoff III, VP Missing Children Division. “The advanced technology provided by Flock Safety, such as their License Plate Recognition camera system, has already played a crucial role in reuniting over 100 missing children with their families. We are grateful for this collaboration and remain committed to leveraging every tool at our disposal to protect children and bring them home safely."

Founded in 2017, Flock Safety now partners with 5,000+ law enforcement agencies and cities across the country. According to a study of case clearance rates, Flock technology is helping law enforcement solve 10% of reported crime in the U.S.

“As a father, I can’t imagine a more important mission than that of the NCMEC. This work is exactly why we started Flock Safety — to work together and build strong partnerships that help make communities across the country safer, together,” said Garrett Langley, founder and CEO of Flock Safety. “Just one incident of uniting a child back with her family means everything, and I’m confident that this partnership will continue to help bring missing children home over and over again.”