A missing person’s gender and surname will no longer be routinely shared, according to a news release from Toronto police Friday morning.
Starting immediately, Toronto police will still share images of the missing person, but will not include their gender or last name in the description.
“The goal of these changes, which were made in consultation with the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit… is to better protect the missing person’s privacy in the future, while still disseminating information that is necessary and effective in locating them,” the release said.
However, if a missing person’s image is not available, police said they might list gender and surname to help find them.
Each situation will be evaluated on an individual basis by the investigator in consultation with the Homicide and Missing Persons Unit and with support from the Corporate Communications Unit, according to police.
Missing and Missed Implementation Team representative Nicole Corrado said this will help protect people’s privacy.
“When full names are used in Missing bulletins, the Missing Person may be found, but their privacy remains missing. Persons can still be found, but their full name is not forever associated with the event,” she said.
