NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics for 2009

Pursuant to Public Law 101-647, 104 Statute 4967, Crime Control Act of 1990 Requirements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE
NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE REPORT FOR 2009
NCIC MISSING PERSON (MONTHLY TOTALS) 2009
NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE CATEGORY/ AGE/SEX/RACE 2009
NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE—YEARLY TOTALS AND PERCENT CHANGE
NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE
NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE REPORT FOR 2009
NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON (MONTHLY TOTALS) 2009
NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE—YEARLY TOTALS AND PERCENT CHANGE
NCIC MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED ENTRY COMPARISON CHART

NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE

The National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) Missing Person File was implemented in 1975. Records in the Missing Person File are retained indefinitely, until the individual is located or the record is canceled by the entering agency. The Missing Person File contains records for individuals reported missing who:

have a proven physical or mental disability (Disability—EMD),
are missing under circumstances indicating that they may be in physical danger (Endangered—EME),
are missing after a catastrophe (Catastrophe Victim—EMV),
are missing under circumstances indicating their disappearance may not have been voluntary (Involuntary—EMI),
are under the age of 21 and do not meet the above criteria (Juvenile—EMJ), or
are 21 and older and do not meet any of the above criteria but for whom there is a reasonable concern for their safety (Other—EMO).

As of December 31, 2009, NCIC contained 96,192 active missing person records. Juveniles under the age of 18 account for 44,349 (46.1 percent) of the records and 12,461 (13.0 percent) were for juveniles between the ages of 18 and 20.*

During 2009, 719,558 missing person records were entered into NCIC, a decrease of 7.5 percent from the 778,161 records entered in 2008. Missing Person records cleared or canceled during the same period totaled 726,130. Reasons for these removals include: a law enforcement agency located the subject, the individual returned home, or the record had to be removed by the entering agency due to a determination that the record was invalid.

The Missing Person Circumstances (MPC) field is optional and has been available since July 1999 when the NCIC 2000 upgrade became operational. Of the 719,558 records entered in 2009, the MPC field was utilized in 307,672 (42.8 percent). When the MPC field was utilized in 2009 entries, 304,580 (99.0 percent) were coded as Runaway; 2,598 (0.8 percent) as Abducted by Non-Custodial Parent, and 494 (0.2 percent) as Abducted by Stranger. In 2008, the MPC field was utilized in 306,657 (39.4 percent) of the 778,161 records.

*This fulfills requirements as set forth in Public Law 101-647, 104 statute 4967, Crime Control Act of 1990 stating the Attorney General is to publish a statistical summary of reports of missing children. This act was modified April 7, 2003, by "Suzanne's Law" that changed the age of mandatory missing person record entry from under 18 to under 21 years of age. [ref. 42 USC 5779(c)].

Contact Information:

The Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s (CJIS) NCIC Operations and Policy Unit (NOPU) NCIC Group distributes monthly NCIC extracts—the Missing Person Active/Expired Analysis and the Unidentified Person Active/Expired Analysis—to each CJIS System Officer and/or to the agency in the state that has been designated as a point of contact.

The NOPU routinely responds to requests for nationwide statistics from law enforcement agencies and the media concerning the NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Files for public release.

The monthly statistics are calculated to address the most frequently requested data. Archive statistics are available upon request.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact the FBI’s NOPU NCIC Group at 304-625-3000 or ioau@leo.gov.

NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE REPORT FOR 2009

MISSING PERSON
ACTIVE ENTRIES AS OF 12/31/2009		96,192
TOTAL FILE TRANSACTIONS		1,759,860
	ENTRIES	719,558
	REMOVED	726,130
	LOCATES	32,843
	MODIFIED	60,576
	MODIFIED SUPPLEMENTAL	157,115
	CANCELED SUPPLEMENTAL	3,062
	QUERIED MISSING PERSON FILE ONLY	60,576
	QUERIED NCIC SYSTEM-WIDE BY NAME	1,651,984,570

ENTRIES—Records entered do not include supplemental record entry messages which are used to add specific identifiers, including dental data, to a Missing Person Record on file in NCIC.

REMOVED—Records removed are a total of the cancel, clear, and locate messages received by the NCIC computer. Excluded are counts of supplemental record cancellation messages which are used to remove specific identifiers, including dental data, from a Missing Person record.

LOCATES—Are transactions to remove entries when the subject has been found by an agency other than the entering agency.

MODIFIES—Modifies include base record modification messages, supplemental record entry messages, and supplemental record cancellation messages. Counts of supplemental dental entry messages and supplemental dental cancellation messages are not available.

QUERIED MISSING PERSON FILE ONLY—Records queried are when agencies inquire on a record for information purposes.

In January 1987, clears and cancels were combined on the statistical report.

NCIC MISSING PERSON (MONTHLY TOTALS) 2009

	EMJ	EMJ	EME	EME	EMI	EMI	EMD	EMD	EMV	EMV	EMO	EMO	TOTAL	TOTAL
	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL	ENTRY	CANCEL
JAN	44,836	46,668	6,897	7,042	1,654	1,705	2,386	2,518	35	33	3,127	3,117	58,935	61,083
FEB	43,182	43,604	6,211	6,490	1,580	1,617	2,460	2,415	31	33	2,893	2,972	56,357	57,131
MAR	51,106	51,534	7,074	7,257	1,703	1,743	2,720	2,712	49	42	3,368	3,321	66,020	65,160
APR	49,894	50,085	6,853	6,905	1,647	1,735	2,778	2,780	20	21	3,241	3,200	64,433	66,175
MAY	54,047	52,118	7,430	7,330	1,783	1,727	3,025	2,945	23	32	3,441	3,256	69,749	67,408
JUN	45,874	46,732	7,163	7,128	1,699	1,699	2,912	2,867	28	30	3,460	3,477	61,136	61,933
JUL	41,814	43,296	7,452	7,565	1,793	1,797	2,856	2,770	24	20	3,739	3,616	57,678	59,064
AUG	40,089	41,484	7,086	6,962	1,827	1,794	2,818	2,800	38	40	3,712	3,550	55,570	56,630
SEP	43,898	44,889	7,013	7,162	1,622	1,602	2,833	2,814	33	47	3,647	3,524	59,046	60,038
OCT	46,409	46,134	6,832	6,895	1,740	1,782	2,716	2,822	35	34	3,678	3,661	61,410	61,328
NOV	43,671	44,046	6,459	6,487	1,542	1,572	2,642	2,569	32	32	3,654	3,476	58,000	58,182
DEC	37,812	38,396	6,094	6,224	1,601	1,670	2,388	2,372	17	22	3,312	3,314	51,224	51,998
COL TOT	542,632	548,986	82,564	83,447	20,191	20,443	32,534	32,384	365	386	41,272	40,484	719,558	726,130

ENTRY—Number of records entered during the month.

CANCEL—Number of records canceled/cleared during the month but entered from any time period.

EMJ—Entry of a person under the age of 21 who is missing and does not meet any of the entry criteria set forth in the other categories.

EME—Entry of a person of any age who is missing under circumstances indicating that his/her physical safety may be in danger.

EMI—Entry of a person of any age who is missing under circumstances indicating that the disappearance may not have been voluntary, i.e., abduction or kidnapping.

EMD—A person of any age who is missing and under proven physical/mental disability or is senile, thereby subjecting him/herself or others to personal and immediate danger.

EMV—A person of any age who is missing after a catastrophe.

EMO—A person over the age of 21, not meeting the criteria for entry in any other category, who is missing and for whom there is a reasonable concern for his/her safety.

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Missing Person Analysis Report

NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE CATEGORY/AGE/SEX/RACE 2009

	UNDER 18	18 AND OLDER	ALL AGES

TOTAL	558,493	161,065	719,558

JUVENILE	534,974	7,658	542,632
ENDANGERED	11,494	71,070	82,564
INVOLUNTARY	5,901	14,290	20,191
DISABILITY	3,710	28,824	32,534
CATASTROPHE	98	267	365
OTHER	2,316	38,956	41,272

FEMALE	309,089	67,268	376,357
MALE	249,385	93,790	343,175
UNKNOWN	19	7	26

ASIAN	11,313	4,380	15,693
BLACK	194,515	44,332	238,847
INDIAN	7,694	1,631	9,325
UNKNOWN	12,799	4,438	17,237
WHITE *	332,172	106,284	438,456

	UNDER 21	21 AND OLDER	ALL AGES

TOTAL	591547	128,011	719,558

JUVENILE	542,078	554	542,632
ENDANGERED	22,993	59,571	82,564
INVOLUNTARY	10,055	10,136	20,191
DISABILITY	6,787	25,747	32,534
CATASTROPHE	138	227	365
OTHER	9,496	31,776	41,272

FEMALE	326,490	49,867	376,357
MALE	265,037	78,138	343,175
UNKNOWN	20	6	26

ASIAN	11,944	3,749	15,693
BLACK	207,897	30,950	238,847
INDIAN	7,978	1,347	9,325
UNKNOWN	13,752	3,485	17,237
WHITE *	349,976	88,480	438,456

* Includes Hispanic

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Missing and Unidentified Analysis Reports

NCIC MISSING PERSON FILE—YEARLY TOTALS AND PERCENT CHANGE

YEAR	FILE TRANS	RECORD ENTERED*	RECORD REMOVED**	CLEARS	LOCATES	MODIFIED ***
1990	1,454,029	663,921	661,945	641,543	20,615	82,764
% CHG	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1991	1,552,896	705,175	701,811	680,520	24,250	92,946
% CHG	(+) 6.7	(+) 6.2	(+) 6.0	(+) 6.0	(+) 17.6	(+) 12.3
1992	1,785,653	801,358	810,483	737,876	26,970	119,424
% CHG	(+) 15.0	(+) 13.6	(+) 15.5	(+) 8.4	(+) 11.2	(+) 28.5
1993	1,951,842	868,345	858,730	824,348	31,716	169,137
% CHG	(+) 9.3	(+) 8.4	(+) 6.0	(+) 11.7	(+) 17.6	(+) 41.6
1994	2,179,932	954,896	944,685	906,662	39,985	216,080
% CHG	(+) 11.7	(+) 10.0	(+) 10.0	(+) 10.0	(+) 26.1	(+) 27.8
1995	2,238,503	969,264	964,343	922,576	42,009	237,150
% CHG	(+) 2.7	(+) 1.5	(+) 2.1	(+) 1.8	(+) 5.1	(+) 9.8
1996	1,908,696	955,252	953,444	913,940	42,733	254,533
% CHG	(-) 14.7	(-) 1.4	(-) 1.1	(-) 0.9	(+) 1.7	(+) 7.3
1997	1,965,657	980,712	984,945	933,081	45,397	281,197
% CHG	(+) 3.0	(+) 2.7	(+) 3.3	(+) 2.1	(+) 6.3	(+) 10.5
1998	1,861,335	932,190	929,145	913,416	47,313	287,792
% CHG	(-) 5.3	(-) 4.9	(-) 5.7	(-) 2.1	(+) 4.2	(+) 2.3
1999	1,733,691	867,129	866,562	816,198	38,704	272,197
% CHG	(-) 6.9	(-) 7.0	(-) 6.7	(-) 10.6	(-) 18.2	(-) 5.4

2000	1,758,376	876,213	882,163	825,969	40,714	294,707
% CHG	(+) 1.4	(+) 1.0	(+) 1.8	(+) 1.2	(+) 5.2	(+) 8.3
2001	1,702,197	840,279	861,918	803,599	40,844	313,822
% CHG	(-) 3.2	(-) 4.1	(-) 2.3	(-) 2.7	(+) 0.3	(+) 6.5
2002	1,658,591	821,975	836,616	779,721	42,033	329,741
% CHG	(-) 2.6	(-) 2.2	(-) 2.9	(-) 3.0	(+) 2.9	(+) 5.1
2003	1,661,853	824,699	837,154	777,854	44,252	353,805
% CHG	(+) 0.2	(+) 0.3	(+) 0.6	(-) 3.0	(+) 5.3	(+) 7.3
2004	1,670,848	830,325	840,523	782,283	46,665	379,952
% CHG	(+) 0.5	(+) 0.7	(+) 0.4	(+) 0.6	(+) 5.5	(+) 7.4
2005	2,167,892	834,536	844,838	781,430	48,639	397,452
% CHG	(+) 29.7	(+) 0.5	(+) 0.5	(-) 0.1	(+) 4.2	(+) 4.6
2006	2,203,363	836,131	851,940	785,412	51,518	421,478
% CHG	(+) 1.6	(+) 0.2	(+) 0.8	(+) 0.5	(+) 5.9	(+) 6.0
2007	2,296,793	814,957	820,212	770,282	51,638	549,981
% CHG	(+) 4.2	(-) 2.5	(-) 1.9	(-) 1.9	(+) 0.2	(+) 30.5
2008	2,068,262	778,161	745,088	731,727	50,559	457,451
% CHG	(-) 9.9	(-) 4.5	(-) 9.1	(-) 5.0	(-) 2.0	(-) 16.8
2009	1,759,860	719,558	726,130	637,308	32,843	358,356
% CHG	(-) 14.9	(-) 7.5	(-) 2.5	(-) 12.9	(-) 35.1	(-) 21.7

* Records entered do not include supplemental record entry messages which are used to add specific identifiers, including dental data, to a missing person record on file in NCIC.

** Records removed are a total of the cancel, clear, and locate messages received by the NCIC computer. Excluded are counts of supplemental record cancellation messages which are used to remove specific identifiers, including dental data, from a messing person record.

*** Modifies include base record modification messages, supplemental record entry messages, and supplemental record cancellation messages. Counts of supplemental dental entry messages and supplemental dental cancellation messages are not available.

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Missing Person Analysis Report

NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE

NCIC's Unidentified Person File came online in 1983. Records are retained indefinitely, unless removed by the entering agency. The Unidentified Person File contains records of:

unidentified deceased persons (Deceased—EUD),
persons of any age who are living and unable to determine their identity (Living—EUL), and
unidentified catastrophe victims (Catastrophe Victim—EUV).

As of December 31, 2009, there were 7,302 unidentified person records in NCIC. During 2009, 1,040 unidentified person records were entered into NCIC, a decrease of 8.2 percent from the 1,133 records entered in 2008.* The records entered in 2009 consisted of 790 (76 percent) deceased unidentified bodies, 27 (2.6 percent) unidentified catastrophe victims, and 223 (21.4 percent) living persons who could not ascertain their identity. In 2009, 871 records were canceled or cleared by the entering agency for reasons such as the remains being identified or the record being invalid. This was a 2.0percent decrease over the 889 records canceled in 2008.

*Use of the Unidentified Person File is not mandated by law.

Contact information:

The Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division’s NCIC Operations and Policy Unit (NOPU) NCIC Group distributes monthly NCIC extracts—the Missing Person Active/Expired Analysis and the Unidentified Person Active/Expired Analysis—to each CJIS System Officer and/or to the agency in the state that has been designated as a point of contact.

The NOPU routinely responds to requests for nationwide statistics from law enforcement agencies and the media concerning the NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Files for public release.

The monthly statistics are calculated to address the most frequently requested data. Archive statistics are available upon request.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact the FBI’s NOPU NCIC Group, at 304-625-3000 or ioau@leo.gov.

NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE REPORT FOR 2009

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON
ACTIVE ENTRIES AS OF 1/1/2010		7302
TOTAL FILE TRANSACTIONS		1,911
	RECORDS ENTERED	1,040
	RECORDS CANCELLED	871

NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON (MONTHLY TOTALS) 2009

	DECEASED ENTRY	DECEASED CANCEL	CAT VICENTRY	CAT VICCANCEL	LIVING ENTRY	LIVING CANCEL	TOTAL ENTRY	TOTAL CANCEL
JAN	53	42	6	4	17	17	76	63
FEB	35	34	1	0	22	19	58	53
MAR	69	60	1	1	21	23	91	84
APR	105	67	0	0	12	14	117	81
MAY	66	53	0	2	17	12	83	67
JUN	61	57	8	7	38	38	107	102
JUL	77	64	3	1	21	21	101	86
AUG	67	60	2	3	14	10	83	73
SEP	48	50	2	2	18	14	68	66
OCT	65	56	1	2	11	13	77	71
NOV	65	51	1	0	17	10	83	61
DEC	79	45	2	2	15	17	96	64
COL TOT	790	639	27	24	223	208	1,040	871

ENTRY—Number of records entered during the month.

CANCEL—Number of records canceled/cleared during the month but entered from any time period.

DECEASED—Human remains for whom the identity cannot be ascertained. This category also includes body parts.

CATASTROPHE VICTIM—A person who is a victim of a catastrophe for whom the identity cannot be ascertained or body parts when a body has been dismembered as the result of a catastrophe.

LIVING—A person who is living and unable to ascertain his/her identity, e.g., amnesia victim, infant, etc. he information on unidentified living persons should only be included if the person gives his/her consent or if they are physically or mentally unable to give consent.

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Unidentified Person Analysis Report

NCIC UNIDENTIFIED PERSON FILE—YEARLY TOTALS AND PERCENT CHANGE

YEAR	RECORD ENTERED	RECORD CANCELS	DECEASED ENTRIES	DECEASED CANCELS	CAT VIC ENTRIES	CAT VIC CANCELS	LIVING ENTRIES	LIVING CANCELS
1990	1,567	1,394	1,226	1,054	20	19	321	321
% CHG	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
1991	1,805	1,615	1,198	1,015	10	9	597	591
% CHG	(+) 15.2	(+) 15.9	(-) 2.3	(-) 3.7	(-) 50.0	(-) 52.6	(+) 86.0	(+) 84.1
1992	1,637	1,484	1,331	1,183	31	26	275	275
% CHG	(-) 9.3	(-) 8.1	(+) 11.1	(+) 16.6	(+) 210.0	(+) 188.9	(-) 53.9	(-) 53.5
1993	1,629	1,155	1,162	993	37	37	130	125
% CHG	(-) 0.5	(-) 22.2	(-) 12.7	(-) 16.1	(+) 19.4	(+) 42.3	(-) 52.7	(-) 54.5
1994	1,829	1,204	1,632	1,010	24	24	172	170
% CHG	(+) 12.3	(+) 4.2	(+) 40.4	(+) 1.7	(-) 35.1	(-) 35.1	(+) 32.3	(+) 36.0
1995	1,143	954	965	775	22	23	156	156
% CHG	(-) 37.5	(-) 20.8	(-) 40.9	(-) 23.3	(-) 8.3	(-) 4.2	(-) 9.3	(-) 8.2
1996	1,391	1,196	1,182	1,001	22	11	187	184
% CHG	(+) 21.7	(+) 25.4	(+) 22.5	(+) 29.2	0	(-) 52.2	(+) 19.9	(+) 17.9
1997	1,608	1,176	1,395	964	11	10	202	202
% CHG	(+) 15.6	(-) 1.7	(+) 18.0	(-) 3.7	(-) 50.0	(-) 9.1	(+) 8.0	(+) 9.8
1998	1,326	1,005	1,039	732	31	29	256	255
% CHG	(-) 17.5	(-) 14.5	(-) 25.5	(-) 24.1	(+) 181.8	(+) 190.0	(+) 26.7	(+) 26.2
1999	1,241	842	921	544	17	17	303	281
% CHG	(-) 6.4	(-) 16.2	(-) 11.4	(-) 25.7	(-) 45.2	(-) 41.4	(+) 18.4	(+) 10.2

2000	1,091	866	646	434	8	9	437	423
% CHG	(-) 12.1	(+) 2.9	(-) 29.9	(-) 20.2	(-) 53.0	(-) 47.1	(+) 44.2	(+) 50.5
2001	973	840	563	433	15	15	395	392
% CHG	(-) 10.8	(-) 3.0	(-) 12.8	(-) 0.2	(+) 87.5	(+) 66.7	(-) 9.6	(-) 64.1
2002	947	785	557	382	16	14	374	389
% CHG	(-) 2.7	(-) 6.5	(-) 1.1	(-) 11.8	(+) 6.7	(-) 6.7	(-) 5.3	(-) 0.8
2003	1,214	808	734	367	13	12	467	429
% CHG	(+) 28.2	(+) 2.9	(+) 31.8	(-) 3.9	(-) 18.8	(-) 14.3	(+) 24.9	(+) 10.3
2004	1,335	964	878	493	33	35	424	436
% CHG	(+) 10.0	(+) 19.3	(+) 19.6	(+) 34.3	(+) 153.8	(+) 191.7	(-) 9.2	(+) 1.6
2005	1,383	1,258	960	792	19	19	404	447
% CHG	(+) 3.6	(+) 30.5	(+) 9.3	(+) 60.6	(-) 42.4	(-) 45.7	(-) 4.7	(+) 2.5
2006	1,413	1,185	1,043	818	7	2	363	365
% CHG	(+) 2.2	(-) 5.8	(+) 8.6	(+) 3.3	(-) 63.2	(-) 89.5	(-) 10.1	(-) 18.3
2007	1,788	1,051	1,448	712	23	11	317	1,788
% CHG	(+) 26.5	(-)11.3	(+) 38.8	(-) 13.0	(+) 228.6	(+) 450.0	(-) 12.7	(-) 1.4
2008	1,133	889	918	681	16	14	199	194
% CHG	(-) 36.6	(-) 15.4	(-) 36.6	(-) 4.4	(-) 30.4	(+) 27.3	(-) 37.2	(-) 89.2
2009	1,040	871	790	639	27	24	223	208
% CHG	(-) 8.2	(-) 2.0	(-) 13,9	(-) 6.2	68.8	71.4	12.1	7.2

ENTRY—Number of records entered during the month.

CANCEL—Number of records canceled/cleared during the month but entered from any time period.

DECEASED—Human remains for whom the identity cannot be ascertained. This category also includes body parts.

CATASTROPHE VICTIM—A person who is a victim of a catastrophe for whom the identity cannot be ascertained or body parts when a body has been dismembered as the result of a catastrophe.

LIVING—A person who is living and unable to ascertain his/her identity, e.g., amnesia victim, infant, etc. The information on unidentified living persons should only be included if the person gives his/her consent or if they are physically or mentally unable to give consent.

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Unidentified Person Analysis Report

NCIC MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED ENTRY COMPARISON CHART

YEAR	MISSING PERSON ENTRIES	UNIDENTIFIED PERSON ENTRIES

1990	663,921	1,567
1991	705,175	1,805
1992	801,358	1,637
1993	868,345	1,629
1994	954,896	1,829
1995	969,264	1,143
1996	955,252	1,391
1997	980,712	1,608
1998	932,190	1,326
1999	867,129	1,241
2000	876,213	1,091
2001	840,279	973
2002	821,975	947
2003	824,699	1,214
2004	830,325	1,335
2005	834,536	1,383
2006	836,131	1,413
2007	814,967	1,788
2008	778,164	1,133
2009	719,558	1,040

Source: NCIC Active/Expired Missing and Unidentified Analysis Reports

Sections

NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics for 2009