App to Help Find Missing Children Launched by Australian Police

Named 'Police Child ID app', the free app will allow Australian parents to store photos and vital information about their children.

"The disappearance of children greatly affected families and investigators alike. Parents should download this app that also features tips on keeping kids safe," Andrew Colvin, Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner, was quoted as saying in media reports.

In case of a missing kid, first 12 to 24 hours are fundamentally critical.

"Information like photographs, dates of birth, habits of these children, friends, places they like to frequent can give police a good start," Colvin said.

In India where a child goes missing every eight minutes, such an app can come handy.

According to latest data from India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), nearly 40 percent of missing children have never been found.

Children are kidnapped for human trafficking, illegal organ transplantation, prostitution, child porn, child labour in factories and unpaid domestic help.

Many children are forced to beg; some are mutilated to evoke sympathy for more earning potential, and a small percentage for ransom, NCRB data revealed.