52:17B-221 Development, dissemination of best practices protocol to law enforcement.
10. In implementing the provisions of this act and prior to the effective date, the Superintendent of State Police shall develop and disseminate to all law enforcement agencies in the State a best practices protocol for State and local law enforcement agencies to follow when addressing reports of missing persons, which protocol shall set forth uniform investigative standards for missing persons cases and any other procedures, practices and standards that the superintendent deems appropriate for handling missing person cases. The protocol shall include specific procedures, practices and standards applicable to cases involving high risk missing persons or missing children. The Superintendent of State Police shall develop and make available to each law enforcement agency in this State a training program on the procedures, practices and standards for the handling of high risk missing persons, missing children and missing persons cases set forth in the protocol adopted pursuant to and consistent with this act and section. Each law enforcement agency in this State shall comply with this protocol when the agency is notified of a missing person.
To assess the effectiveness of this protocol, the Missing Persons Unit annually shall review a sample of open missing persons cases from the immediately preceding year. Based upon its assessment, the Missing Persons Unit may recommend to the superintendent that the protocol be revised or amended and whether the training programs currently available to law enforcement agencies are adequate.
L.2007, c.279, s.10.