Privacy & Safeguarding

Our Commitment

UCS Africa is committed to protecting the dignity, privacy and safety of people affected by missing-person cases and unresolved crimes, particularly children.

We aim to collect only the information needed for a clearly defined purpose and to avoid unnecessary disclosure of personal or sensitive information.

Preliminary Enquiries

Families and others directly affected may contact UCS to request preliminary case review or enquire about free documentation support.

Confidential case documents must not be submitted unless UCS has expressly authorised an appropriate submission process.

Please provide only your name, a contact email address and a brief, non-sensitive description of the reason for your enquiry.

Information You Should Not Send

Unless UCS has expressly provided an appropriate and authorised submission process, please do not send:

• Children's identity numbers or residential addresses

• Confidential police or court records

• Medical, psychological or forensic records

• Photographs or identifying details of children

• Information identifying witnesses or other vulnerable individuals

• Passwords or access credentials

Do not share personal or case details in public social media comments.

How Preliminary Enquiries Are Used

Preliminary enquiries are intended to help UCS understand the nature of a request, determine whether a response or referral is appropriate, and assess whether further engagement may be possible.

Submitting an enquiry does not automatically mean that UCS has accepted the matter for substantive review or agreed to provide documentation support. UCS will first consider eligibility, appropriate authority, safeguarding requirements and available capacity.

Public-Record Reviews

UCS reviews information that has already been published by identifiable sources.

The fact that information is publicly available does not automatically mean it is appropriate to reproduce or republish it.

We apply additional caution when material concerns children, vulnerable people or individuals whose status may have changed.

Corrections and Privacy Concerns

If you believe UCS has published incorrect, outdated or unnecessarily identifying information, please contact:

verification@ucsafrica.co.za

Use the subject PRIVACY OR CORRECTION REQUEST and identify the relevant publication without including additional sensitive information.

Safeguarding and Emergencies

UCS is not an emergency-response service and does not conduct criminal investigations.

If a child or another person is in immediate danger, contact SAPS or the appropriate emergency authority directly.

Organisational Identity

UCS Africa is a public-facing identity associated with Unsolved Crimes Specialists – UCS (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2022/348333/07, South Africa.

This page explains UCS's public-facing safeguarding approach. It does not replace a complete legal privacy notice.