The Foundation We Give Children, she appealed to the services to establish guidelines on proceedings after the end of the Child Alert procedure. It is about protecting children from secondary victimization. The Police Headquarters explains that by formulating their press releases, the good of the wanted person has in mind.
Child Alert is a system of supporting the search for missing children. It includes the dissemination of the child's image through the media along with information about the search and contact options. The system has been maintained in the country since 2013. “The less time passes from the disappearance of the child to starting the system, the greater the chance to find it” – emphasize the officers.
Child Alert is a unique procedure that has been launched seven times by the Polish police. In order for this to be done, specific conditions must be met: a missing person must be less than 18 years old, and legal guardians must express their consent to launch the procedure. A factor is also necessary that shows that the child's health or life is at risk.
Last time – May 14 – the police launched a child alert while searching for 11 -year -old Patrycja. Hundreds of police officers, fire brigades and civilians participated in the search for a teenager. The girl Opole police found on Thursday, May 15 in the morning in Żory, in the apartment of 24-year-old Karol B., who was arrested, and the prosecutor's office in Strzelce Opolskie presented him with two charges.
The president of the Foundation We give children the strength of Renata Szredzińska in an interview with PAP assessed that procedures should be introduced after the Child Alert procedure. “As for the Child Alert procedure itself, we have no comments. However, we were very worried about the recently launched Child Alert, which happened after finding the child,” she explained.
The police informed then what circumstances accompanied the girl's finding.
“It would be enough that the girl was found, she was safe, she returned to her parents. However, the police revealed data where it was found that a man was detained. It already creates a field for guesses, what happened there” – she noted.
In connection with information about the circumstances of finding a teenager, Speculation has appeared in the media – including social networks. A hate wave spilled on the girl and her family. Therefore, FDDS appealed to the Police Commander -in -Chief to develop guidelines in such cases.
The Police Headquarters referred to the matter.
“The publication of a press release containing information about the possibility of being a minor in the company of an adult man was aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of exploration and the protection of the child's life and health” – said Aleksander Pradun from the KGP Social Communication Office.
As he explained, at the stage of implementing the Child Alert, the appearance in the announcements of KGP, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Opole and other police units of information about the possible stay of a girl with an unknown man was dictated by the operating arrangements and risk assessment. And these indicated the real circumstances of the threat to the life and health of the minor.
“Providing this information to the public has increased social vigilance and could significantly contribute to finding a child faster,” he emphasized. Already at a later stage, after finding a girl and arresting a 24-year-old man, messages and Child Alert were canceled.
Pradun emphasized that in connection with the conducted proceedings, further information – including those regarding the nature of the allegations – was covered by the information restriction and were provided only by authorized bodies, including the District Prosecutor's Office in Opole.
“The message, which on May 16, 2025, the prosecutor of the District Prosecutor's Office in Opole, Stanisław Bar posted on the website in which he presented the circumstances of determining the place of the minor's stay and informed about the presentation of the charges for a suspicious man was an official source of information regarding further course of proceedings and confirmed the legitimacy of previous operational and communication activities” – added a policeman.
FDDS does not agree with this assessment. In the president's opinion, When we are dealing with a child alert, i.e. in order to find a child it was necessary to make his data publicly, then neither the police nor the prosecutor's office should issue messages other than about finding a child.
“What is happening now is a secondary harm to this girl. This is an 11-year-old, a child. She is not responsible for what happened. According to Polish law, this adult is responsible. And hate spills on her and her family”-said Szredzińska.
The Foundation issued a letter to the Minister of Justice with an appeal to issue guidelines to the prosecutor's office, as in such situations it should proceed and what to inform public opinion. The point is all about cautious about the data from the conducted proceedings regarding children, especially when their data was revealed earlier.
The media action is also important. As Szredzińska explained, some of them wrote about the case of Child Alert for several days, giving further details. That is why FDDS asked the Media Ethics Council to develop guidelines in such situations.
“We will try to make such guidelines for all these services, but also for the media. These extensive relationships simply further hurt the girl. Unfortunately, we all remember what happened to the son of one of the deputies, when his data was disclosed, and then all of Poland commented on the matter under various articles in the press. We do not want another children's tragedy” – emphasized Szredzińska.
Kom. Aleksander Pradun assured that the superior goal of the police was and remains the safety of the missing person. All communication decisions were made with the utmost care, based on the current analysis of the situation and in cooperation with the prosecutor's office. “The police, formulating their messages, make every effort to protect the sought after minor people from secondary victimity. However, it has no influence on how these content is later published by the media” – he added.
Aleksandra Kiełczykowska (PAP)
AK/ Mark/ Amac/
