NASSAU, Bahamas -- Every parent’s nightmare is the loss of a child. With international statistics on abduction growing at an alarming rate, the simple act of having a kit with personally identifying information such as fingerprints and DNA on the child could make a big difference in ensuring the loved one’s safe return.
U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service special agents used their time off from training partner nation Defence Forces with Exercise Tradewinds 2009, at Woodcock Primary School providing the ID opportunity to more than 200 children between 9 and 11-years-old, Tuesday.
Though hesitant at first, the children soon grew relaxed as Florida-based Special Agents Brad Crews, Marc Avalos, Dennis Guthinger and Mitzi O’Neal encouraged them to talk about sports, family – anything of interest to the child – as they fingerprinted the children and explained why it is valuable for their families to have the information.
“It’s very important,” said Kevin, an 11-year-old student at Woodcock Primary. “If we get lost or they cannot find us, and someone finds us, they can use our fingerprints.”
Though child abduction is rare in Nassau, according to Fanola Wilkinson, Senior Mistress for Woodcock Primary, she was excited that the service was being provided to the families, and was thankful to Catherine Stuart-Gibson, of the U.S. Embassy, Nassau, for helping to arrange the event.
“It’s very nice for (NCIS) to provide the personal ID,” said Wilkinson.
According to Wilkinson, with the kits being provided at no cost, many families who would otherwise be unable to afford to have identification provided, would now have the service available to them.
Once they completed the ID process and cleaned the ink from their hands – much to the dismay of several, who seemed thrilled with the prospect of sharing it with their peers – the students were treated to a presentation at the major case response team van, by Special Agent Rick Fitzpatrick.
The opportunity to examine the evidence collection articles in the van, with Fitzpatrick’s description and explanation, was a big hit with the students. Crowding closely to the agent, they asked dozens of questions and “really seemed to like the fingerprint kit with its glow-in-the-dark powder.” Several of the students asked if he and the other agents were on the television show, NCIS, and seemed slightly disappointed when he laughingly said no.
Though a day of fun for the children, Fitzpatrick emphasized how crucial the kits could be for identification.
“Unfortunately, in the world we live in, you never know what will happen,” said Fitzpatrick. “If anything were to happen in the future, the kits created today could be referenced.”
The event, though not a part of Tradewinds ’09, supports one of the premiere goals of the exercise – fostering positive relationships between all the entities working toward the common goal of maritime security in the Caribbean Basin. The NCIS agents, all from the NCIS South East Field Office, Jacksonville, Fla., are providing training such as evidence identification and collection, for Caribbean nation Defence Forces. These skills will allow for more effective law enforcement practices on and off the water, and allow for the best case scenario for prosecution.
The nations participating in Exercise Tradewinds 2009 include Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Tradewinds ‘09 includes personnel from the U.S. Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, JIATF-S, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Drug Enforcement Administration. Additionally, partner nations’ maritime security forces, Royal Marine Commandos and the personnel from the Caribbean Regional Security System will participate.