Toronto police to no longer publicly share surnames, genders of missing persons
Posted February 3, 2023 10:55 am.
Last Updated February 3, 2023 11:12 am.
Toronto police announced on Friday it’s changing the approach to how public information on missing persons is shared and will no longer provide the individual’s surname or gender.
The police service said the modification, made in consultation with the homicide and missing persons’ units, is effective immediately.
Nicole Corrado, Community Representative with the Missing and Missed Implementation Team, said the purpose is to better protect the person’s privacy “while still disseminating information that is necessary and effective in locating them, including the individual’s image.”
“When full names are used in missing bulletins, the missing person may be found, but their privacy remains missing,” she said.
“No one wants to be defined by their worst day. By posting only the first name, Missing Persons can still be found, but their full name is not forever associated with the event.”
On Friday Toronto police shared the details of a missing person named Mohammed and only shared their age (16) along with an image provided by the family.
MISSING:
Mohammed, 16
– Last seen on Friday, January 27 in the Brimley Rd + Lawrence Ave East area @TPS41Div
– Mohamed is described as 6'0", medium build and has black hair#GO254924
^lb pic.twitter.com/PkxnkCK2JE— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) February 3, 2023
On behalf of Toronto police, spokesperson Ashling Murphy said the change would help protect the privacy of individuals while also maintaining the integrity of missing persons’ investigations.
“When releasing information to the public, the service relies on the sharing of images in the community to assist in successfully locating missing people,” Murphy said as part of a news release.
“…There may be circumstances in which this information could assist in locating the missing person, for instance, if a photograph of the individual is not available.”
Toronto police said each situation would be evaluated individually by the investigator.
