A private investigator working with the family of missing Bathurst man Andrew Russell has called for change in the reward scheme for missing persons.
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George Maloukis, supported by the family of missing Bathurst man Andrew Russell, said there should be minimum reward, and is also calling for change which would enable private investigators and the family of missing persons to have access to police files after a reasonable time frame.
"We have currently sent this to the Police Commissioner and other government departments and are wanting as much support as possible to get the change made sooner rather then later," he said.
He called for the community to get behind "The Andrew Russell Change" and help in the fight to change the current scheme that offers in some cases rewards as low as $1000.
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Mr Maloukis wrote a letter that was drawn up and sent to the Police Commissioner, and he is asking for the community to support the petition which is online at change.org
Titled "The Andrew Russell Change" the letter calls for change in the minimum reward offered to a missing person's case and the file access.
"Currently there does not appear to be a minimum reward and in some cases such as missing Andrew Russell the initial reward offered was $1,000 and it took a lot of work to have this increased to something more respectable.
"It would be better to offer a minimum of $25,000 and to then increase from that point based on circumstances surrounding the missing person.
"Every person life should be valued the same, everyone wants to bring their family member home and find out what happened to them," he said.
Mr Maloukis said the changes could be such as the following within 48 hours of an individual going missing.
1. $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest
2. $10,000 additional for finding the remains of a person with a conviction
3. $15,000 for providing the location of the remains of a missing person.
4. $10,000 additional for providing information that leads to the conviction of a family member/friend or related person.
"The initial information is the key to solving a missing persons case. We believe it is imperative to offer a reward immediately for any missing person.
"Currently we need to wait months if not years to have a reward offered which allows the case to go cold and people to forget crucial information," he said.
He also said private investigators, and families of missing people should be given access to police files, after a period of time has passed.
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