The Victim Support Unit (VSU), an arm of the Ministry of Justice, has developed a risk-assessment tool for children who are likely to be abducted and is in the process of testing the instrument.

The Missing Child Risk Assessment instrument is primarily a self-report tool designed to solicit information that will allow the VSU to assess the vulnerability of a child who might be at risk of abuse, sexual violence or abduction.

Julian Harris, clinical psychologist at the VSU, said the instrument was designed in response to the large number of crimes that have been perpetrated against the island's children. He noted that the VSU was a member of the task force on child-abuse prevention and was given the mandate to design a risk-assessment tool which would be able to identify children who are at risk.

Osbourne Bailey, senior coordinator at the VSU, said the unit was in the process of ensuring that the tool accurately reflects the level of risk that exists.

"In terms of its capacity to capture the indicator that a child is at risk, we believe that the form does capture those indicators. For us, there is no such thing as a no-risk child," Bailey said.

He noted that every child is at some level of risk and the form is able to identify the level of risk, whether it is low, medium or high.

"Even if the child scores at low risk, it doesn't mean that you throw up your hands and say your child is safe," said the senior coordinator.

The VSU, which was established in 1998, assists persons against whom certain offences have been committed. The unit is committed to the best interests of victims of crime by actively supporting them, identifying their needs and advocating their rights.

At-risk child

Bailey said the unit was in the process of taking the instrument to schools and other areas where children congregate, for them to fill out the forms.

He said if it was found that a child is at risk, the parents would be called in.

"If it is a pattern in a particular school, then schools have to be the focus. If it's a parent, then the parent has to be spoken to," Bailey said.

The instrument examined, among other things, how the child is transported to school, parenting structure, employment or economic status of the parents, social conditions at home, medical condition of parents and truancy.