TTPS demands removal of video showing missing 13-year-old girl in Trinidad

Trinidad police have ordered the Hunters' Search and Rescue Team to remove a widely shared video identifying a missing child. Publishing the footage may constitute a criminal offence.

TTPS orders takedown of viral video identifying missing child

The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service has formally called on the Hunters' Search and Rescue Team (HSRT) to remove a video depicting a 13-year-old girl who had previously been reported missing, trinidadexpress.com reports.

The HSRT, led by national awardee Shamsudeen Ayube, located the child and filmed her in the company of an adult. In the footage, Ayube addresses the girl directly: "You know you have been missing for days and you were with this fella, this kinda hardback man." The video had accumulated more than half a million views, along with thousands of likes and shares, before the TTPS intervened.

In a statement, the TTPS acknowledged the role of community organisations such as the HSRT in helping to locate missing persons. It said, however, that it was deeply concerned the video had identified the child in a way that could expose her to stigma, trauma and further harm.

The Service also cautioned that publishing or sharing material linked to an active police investigation may constitute a criminal offence. "Images of missing children are shared with the public for one purpose only: to help locate them," the TTPS stated. "The identity of any child who is the subject of a police investigation is protected by law. Publishing or sharing any material that may lead to the identification of that child may constitute a criminal offence, whether by traditional media, social media users or any person who reposts such content."

The matter is now under investigation by the TTPS Special Victims Department. The Service has called on individuals, organisations and online platforms to remove all existing posts featuring the video and to refrain from sharing it further.

Members of the public with relevant information are asked to contact the police at 555, 999 or 911, or the Special Victims Department's Regional Offices at 612-0102.

The TTPS said it values its partnerships with community search-and-rescue groups and intends to continue working alongside them.

Source: Google News TT — Crime