The Bureau for Missing Person’s in S.A has regional offices in all of the nine provinces. Below you will find the contact details for both the national and regional offices:
- * Head office 012-393 2002
- * Gauteng /Limpopo 011-670 0716
- * Western Cape 021-467 8305
- * Free State / Northern Cape 051-503 2820
- * Eastern Cape 041-394 6715
- * Kwa-Zulu Natal 031-325 4756
- * Mpumalanga 013-759 1437
- * North West 018 299 7034
Now that you have this information, it doesn’t really help you if you do not know what to do when you need to report a missing person. Firstly, the SAPS suggest trying to contact the person you think is missing before you report them. As obvious as this may sound, many people overreact and report people that aren’t actually missing to the police. If you suspect that someone is missing contact them, people they know, and anyone else who you think may know where to find them. Only if you are unable to trace them, should you begin the process of reporting them missing.
How to Report Someone Missing
All you need to do to report a person missing is to go to your nearest police station or client service centre immediately. It is important that there is no waiting period for you to report a person missing. Should anyone tell you otherwise, demand to speak to someone more superior. Once you have found the right person to report the missing person to, you will need to provide basic information about the person. It is preferable that you take a recent photo with you in order to assist the police in their quest to find them.
You will also be required to fill out a SAPS 55 (A) form and sign an indemnity form. This indemnity form safeguards the police against false reporting or hoax reports. Should you once you have reported the missing person find them or they are found, it is imperative that you go back to the police station where you reported the person missing and notify the police or the official investigating the case. You will then need to complete a SAPS 92 form to effect the cancellation on the relevant circulation system.
The Bureau for Missing Persons in S.A is often inundated with missing persons reports and for this reason, a number of organisations have popped up in aid of finding the missing people. One such organisation that deals specifically with the cases of missing children is the South African Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (SACMEC).
This organisation has the following key objectives:
- To serve as an agency of excellence in the tracing and recovery of missing children. A recovery rate of 95% is aimed for and anticipated.
- To play a meaningful advocacy role in the protection of children’s rights on the continent.
- To assist other relevant agencies and organisations to improve capacity and service delivery in the protection of children.
- To significantly improve children’s awareness of safety issues, including knowledge and understanding of their rights and the procedures to follow when such rights are infringed.
- To raise public awareness of issues pertaining to missing and exploited children.
- To make a quality contribution to an international network of organisations dedicated to the protection of children.
As with any other country in the world, there is a high number of missing children and people reported yearly. It is for this reason that it is in your best interest to keep yourself safe. There are thousands of people reported missing every year and this means that the police are inundated with trying to get through the large amount of people. It is therefore outstanding that organisations such as SACMEC exist.