Young children in Russia will be searched using a signal from a mobile phone
The Russian State Duma today passed in its first reading a bill allowing police to quickly search for missing children using mobile phone geolocation data, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent . Currently, obtaining geolocation data requires court approval. This leads to a loss of time in the search for missing children.
“Think about it: over the past 5 years, 40 thousand minors have been searched in Russia, of which 13,5 thousand are young children who are in a helpless situation. In 2017, 8000 reports of missing children were filed, and already 40% of them concern minors. We propose to give law enforcement officers the opportunity to act immediately, because when searching for a child, it’s not the day that matters, but the hours and minutes,” said Deputy Speaker Irina Yarovaya, one of the developers of the bill.
The bill proposes to allow the police to request geolocation data without court permission, but with the consent of the child’s parents or guardians. In this case, the police will have to notify the court about the search work that has begun.
Law enforcement officers are given the right to use geolocation data for 48 hours. In the future, operational-search activities will either be extended or stopped.
Young children in Russia will be searched for using cell phone signals.