SPRINGFIELD — State Senator Michael E. Hastings and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office are working to improve Illinois’ policy regarding missing persons investigations.

“In missing persons cases, every second and small piece of information is paramount,” said Hastings (D-Frankfort). “This legislation works to give law enforcement effective strategies and protocols to solve cases and save lives.”

Senate Bill 24 would eliminate any law enforcement policy requiring the observance of a waiting period before accepting a missing persons report. The bill would also require information from a missing persons report to be immediately entered into the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System upon reception of a report. Under the measure, law enforcement agencies must adopt a strategy regarding missing persons investigations, missing person reporting and follow-up action.

If a person remains missing for 60 days, law enforcement agencies would be required to obtain and enter their photographs, fingerprint records and dental or skeletal radiographs, and biological samples into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. The bill would require law enforcement to keep missing persons cases under active investigation until the person is located or returned and could not close a case due to exhaustion of leads.

The bill is an initiative of the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The Office runs the Missing Women’s Project to assist in locating women who have been missing for at least three years. Investigations on all of these cases are aided by the use of different databases, particularly the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Current law only requires law enforcement agencies to review and utilize criminal databases to find a missing or unidentified person. However, if someone has not gone through the criminal justice system then they would not be identified in these databases. In other words, current law does not require the use of or submissions to certain other databases that could be helpful in locating missing persons, like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

“The worst case scenario is when a missing persons case turns into a cold case,” said Hastings. “This will ensure that no stone goes unturned when the police are trying to track down a missing person.”

Senate Bill 24 passed the Senate Criminal Law Committee on Tuesday.