Sen. Patty Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, wants police to have easier access to child protection records in the event of kidnappings.

The state Senate recently approved a bill that would provide such access.

Under current state law, authorities are often stalled in their investigations when trying to obtain records from child protective services, Ritchie says.

The measure (S.3520-A) was sparked by a recent case in the Albany region, where 5 year-old Kenneth White was reported missing and later found dead. While investigating the case, authorities were stopped from accessing Kenneth’s child protective records, which could have provided them with additional persons of interest. A cousin was later arrested and charged with the crime.

“When a child goes missing, it goes without saying that time is of the essence,” Sen. Ritchie said.

“Often times, law enforcement are required to jump through hoops in order to gain access to the information they need to bring children quickly to safety. This legislation closes a glaring loophole when it comes to safeguarding our kids by providing law enforcement with necessary information in a timely manner and also will help to prevent future tragedies by providing an additional level of protection for children across the state who might come into harm’s way.”

According to the most recent available statistics available from a study by the U.S. Department of Justice, 797,500 children younger than 18 were reported missing in a one-year period of time, resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.