It really is the worst thing that could happen, and every parent dreads it; coming home after a busy day and realising that a daughter hasn`t met her curfew, or turning one`s head for the split second it takes for a son to be snatched.
The number of missing children is on the increase, both in the UK and worldwide, and though police sometimes have closed circuit television to rely on for clues, resolution in a lot of cases relies on a mix of dogged perseverance from detectives and the scraps of information sometimes available from the public.
To my mind, this is one of the most positive steps taken in trying to resolve a serious social ill through the applied use of technology.
Basheera Khan, UK contributor, ITWeb
Now, Irish telecom software developer Cyantel has developed a technology that allows parents to pin down the location of their children using a mobile phone.
Parents register for the Family Guardian application on their mobile operator`s Web site. Entering the child`s phone number on the site triggers a text message to be sent to the child`s phone, requesting permission to be registered by the service. Once permission is granted, parents can locate their child`s position using SMS, WAP or online, at a password-protected site.
A child could in theory be tracked to the nearest mobile phone mast, which could indicate the location of the child to within 500m in urban areas, but might only be accurate up to 5km.
The product also includes features built-in to respect privacy. Children cannot be tracked without their permission and can disable the application or switch off their phone if they do not want to be found.
To my mind, this is one of the most positive steps taken in trying to resolve a serious social ill through the applied use of technology. It`s also somewhat pioneering, in that it is permission-based - but then, in this litigious age, I suppose that`s just as much a safety net as it is a consideration of children`s rights to privacy.
A vital link in the success of this venture is that of permission - with the right sort of introduction to a system like this, and when the parents` motives are well-intentioned, children would see a service like this as having only their safety and well-being at heart. Come at it the wrong way, and it`ll be like big brother (Orwellian, that is) all over again.
All its merits aside, one cannot consider a product like Family Guardian without thinking of those GSM-bereft in the developing world, or even in rural areas of the developed world - much as the GSM operators will hate to admit it, there are still massive tracts of land which remain unsullied by GSM coverage.
What happens when those who target children realise that they need to set their sights on children in these areas, or in lower income brackets? Much hype has been heard about the penetration of mobile phones into the kiddie consumer arena, but there are more children who have-not.
Nevertheless, there are a number of technology-based initiatives which have been introduced over the years, with the intention of circulating information relating to missing children, or keeping children`s fingerprints on file as a measure against the day that the unthinkable may happen. Computer Associates International`s contribution to the South African Police Service`s Missing Persons Bureau stands out as a prime example of successful public-private partnership in the fight for the safety of children.
Family Guardian is not a panacea, and neither is CA`s Global Missing Children`s Network - but they are all steps in the right direction. And though it is easy to grow despondent in the face of merciless statistics, it`s heartening to know that cooked books and crooked CEOs aside, the hi-tech sector is still able to make a difference where it counts.
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