Postal workers to receive missing people alerts

[Stormproof]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30024121" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail is to join forces with the charity Missing People by distributing alerts with information on vulnerable people to its 124,000 postal workers.

Descriptions and photographs of missing children and adults will go to hand-held scanners which are usually used to track and sign for deliveries.

Alerts will be sent on a geographical and, where relevant, a national basis.

Royal Mail said the move would double the number of people who were receiving alerts and looking for missing people.

The initiative will begin on 1 December and marks the first time an organisation has made its business-wide communication channels available to the national charity.

The child rescue and high risk missing people alerts will also be placed on the Royal Mail's employee website and on 1,800 television screens in its offices, reaching an estimated 148,000 members of staff.

'Eyes and ears'
Jo Youle, chief executive officer of Missing People, said: "When someone goes missing and is at risk, every minute after a disappearance is crucial to bringing them home safely.

"Our partnership with Royal Mail is a truly inspired way to spread an alert quickly and to the very people who are the eyes and ears of their local communities."

Sue Whalley, chief operations officer at Royal Mail, said postmen and women were in a "unique position" to offer help.

Missing People is the only UK charity specialising in reuniting missing children and adults with their families.

About a quarter of a million people go missing in the UK every year, with 140,000 of those under the age of 18.

Charlie Hedges, of the National Crime Agency, said: "It will now be possible for thousands of postal workers to be on the lookout for vulnerable missing children and adults, and that can be of real value to efforts to find them.

"Partnerships like this utilise the strengths of different organisations for the ultimate benefit of our work to make children safer."

[rhino49]

They could start each day by sending out descriptions of missing managers with suggestions to look near the coffee machine or in a locked office.
Seriously though, laudable as such an idea might be, do they actually have think that posties have time to look around them or up from broken pavements and pathways when they are being harried to work ever faster every day. Is the next step giving out parking tickets and reading meters just because they happen to be "in the vicinity"?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Postal workers helping the community

http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/postal- ... unity.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personal digital assistant (PDA) devices could soon be used to assist police and emergency services in the search for missing persons thanks to an idea from east London postman Vince Micallef.

Vince Micallef PDA Vince (pictured far left with colleagues), a CWU unit rep at Bow Delivery Office, explained that the idea had come to him a few months ago when he had been out on his round.

"I was delivering mail to a children's nursery and a member of staff told me one of the children had gone missing, so I asked them for a description and contacted all the posties in my area asking them to keep a look out.

"Thankfully the child was later found by the police, but I thought to myself, wouldn't it be good if we could get a proper system going through our PDAs to help the police by sending missing child alerts out to all our morning delivery workers and afternoon collection drivers," said Vince.

The potential geographic coverage of such an initiative is very high, he continued, pointing out that at the Bow office alone, there are 51 postmen and postwomen serving 25,000 delivery points, while across London there are tens of thousands of postal workers out on every street of the city every day.
"We can potentially get a message of a sighting to police quickly," he pointed out.

"I mentioned this suggestion to a couple of colleagues here and I got in touch with Royal Mail senior management and with the Met Police and I've also been supported by the union. There's been positive feedback from everyone and there are now plans to introduce this facility."

Bob Gibson Paying credit to Vince for suggesting such an "excellent" idea - which is supported by the CWU on a voluntary basis - Bob Gibson, the CWU's national officer for delivery workers, said: "If our postmen and postwomen members can assist the police and emergency services in this way, then that's got to be a great help to local communities.

"This reinforces the fact that our members - Royal Mail employees - provide more of a community service than just parcels, letters and packets, more than any other competitor."

[5plusbonusball]

They could start each day by sending out descriptions of missing managers with suggestions to look near the coffee machine or in a locked office.
Seriously though, laudable as such an idea might be, do they actually have think that posties have time to look around them or up from broken pavements and pathways when they are being harried to work ever faster every day. Is the next step giving out parking tickets and reading meters just because they happen to be "in the vicinity"?

Good post , we havn't time to read messages, maybe get rid of the 12 o'clock specials message now, all we get is the occasional "take care out there in the hurricane" message from a laughing boss .

[saddlerposty]

good idea but how are they going to send us photographs to PDA's

[janitor]

Sounds like a good idea, but unfortunately staff are under so much pressure just to complete, that most wouldn't notice if lord Lucan and elvis walked by while on delivery, they wouldn't notice.

[Surreypostie]

It is a good idea but I don't read the messages they send now and switch my PDA off between uses as it dies about 2 hours into the duty if I don't. They could always send us a whatsapp message, although I switch my mobile web off to save battery. How about franking photo's of missing people onto each D2D we deliver? At least then the public might stop chucking them straight in the recycle bin before you are out of the gate.

[wookie]

124,000? There isn't that many postmen out on delivery surely. Unless people in mail centres are going to search the office.

[SpacePhoenix]

124,000? There isn't that many postmen out on delivery surely. Unless people in mail centres are going to search the office.

PDAs are used in MCs for Tracked and collections (battery life is just as sh*t for our PDAs)

[k979aaa]

They must at the top think we can be policemen as well for what is becoming of this country next they will suggest we do the school run as well and day care with the HCT'S with baby on top showing them the world of work!

[5plusbonusball]

A few people ask me if i've come to read their meter ! No love i'm a postman with a similar gadget in my hand to a meter reader . What next - have you got my tesco shopping?

[PHARRY]

Not a good idea at all posties are too busy on round

[GoingRoundTheBend]

I can only just about get mine to scan between battery low warnings let alone look at a picture..........

Can just see it now you think you have just seen someone but are unsure so you look at your pda to confirm the sighting to be met with a beep, beep

great idea if they could provide us with decent pda's

[Keenzy]

Had to laugh at the bloke on BBC News this morning explaining that the technology we use can't display a photograph. Nice idea but posties are being flogged to death and literally don't have a spare minute in the day. Not surprised that RM have jumped all over the idea as its good PR but sadly not going to save any missing children.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I know I am going against the crowd on this one, but I think its a good idea.

It won't cost us any work time, well beyond a few seconds reading the alert, and as I already look out for stray dogs and cats on my round when asked, I think keeping an eye out for a lost person is no biggy. As to the number alerts there are usually very few major UK wide ones, and locally I think we have 2 major cases in the last year, they turned up safe.

The real benefit, and the reason RM are backing backing is it reinforces the claim that we are part of the community.