Law Enforcement's Response To Missing People

Something I discovered when researching the missing is the lax way law enforcement treats a missing person case. They have a blase attitude and quickly want to sum it up as a runaway or an adult who just wants to get away. 

Most states take their missing person's cases seriously but in Texas it appears that is the opposite. Of course there is the inevitable excuse "no resources", or not enough manpower. In a city as big as Houston, one would think they would be a little more motivated. One the news and on the scanner there are people reported missing daily here in Houston, and unless one is from a well to do family, chances are the case wont even get mentioned on the news.  I suggested to the news stations in Houston they need to feature a missing person at the end of every news cast. However if they did that, it would make visitors to this city look at Houston in a negative way.  All I can say is WOW.

Even as the family tells law enforcement here that it is out of character for the person to vanish, police here just file their reports and stick it in the bottom of the huge pile of other cases. It does have have drawbacks. Sometimes the person is found dead somewhere, whether by suicide, natural causes or murder and meanwhile, police have had the case file the whole time. 

The southern "good ol boy" attitude law enforcement has here is what determines how and when that person is going to be found. God forbid it's a poor girl or a girl with a history of arrests. They are second class citizens and those cases are rarely investigated. 

This is where the missing person advocates come in. They are generally a loved one that was missing and murdered or someone who actually cares about what goes on. I admit, when I first started tackling this problem of the missing, I was flabbergasted and disappointed at law enforcement's attitude. I was first thinking this is no use since law enforcement wont cooperate. One of the main reasons they wont cooperate is because they dont want a civilian solving the case, they want the glory and recognition for solving the case. This is why they dont want civilian involvement in a missing person case. They are very arrogant ans so sure of themselves. It was then my attitude changed. I thought "Hey, these guys work for me, they are public servants and they are not higher than me".  It is our tax dollars that pay their salaries and they get an attitude like they are doing us a favor by looking into a case. They are paid to "Protect and to Serve". They are public servants paid for by the citizens. When I had that revelation they knew right away that I wasnt intimidated by them or their badge and gun. We are paying these guys people, time to make sure they are doing what they are paid to do, period.

There are other's too that take advantage of the parents of the missing and   I will most definitely be getting into that soon. I am talking about investigators in the private sector. First and foremost you must make sure that these "investigators" are licensed by the state you live in. Here in Texas you can find out if a private investigator is licensed by going to the Texas DPS website. You can search an individual by name or company name. If a persons license is expired and they present themselves as a PI, they have just committed a crime. Please follow the steps to report that person so they can face the charges outlined in the code. Remember PI's care only when they see money at the end of the story or if there is money involved. Be wary if they want to hold the classic "fundraiser" scheme. Trust me, they are not looking out for your best interest. If you know of anyone that has introduced themselves as a PI, please email me at researchtexas@comcast.net. I will assist you step by step in how to report them. Make sure to keep a business card of the person as evidence. I will be more than happy to help you with this, I cannot stand these types of "ambulance chasers", technically its barrotry.  A felony.

Jim