RESEARCH BLOG.

As some children/youth do, sometimes without much thought, I would run away from home. These bouts of running off were not rebellious, but were, at times, moments when I was overwhelmed by my home environment or, in one case that I can recall, when I wanted to go swimming at the local swimming pool, even when that trek involved crossing the highway. In hindsight, I consider it fortunate that a neighbour found me stuck in a wrought-iron fence alive and well, though not surpris

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have watched in horror as harrowing outcomes have been documented in long-term care across Canada, reminding us that our social programs to support the aged need to be strengthened, revamped, and even reimagined. Equally revealing is that in the early days of the pandemic, we witnessed countless evasions to public health restrictions, with people refusing to wear masks or hosting large gatherings because “the virus only aff

Does TikTok have untapped potential for locating missing people and/or in missing person investigations?...

Think of the last time you saw a missing person poster. Not an emergency AMBER Alert sent to your phone, but an actual photo, description, last known location poster. Was it stapled to a telephone pole? In your mailbox? On a Walmart wall? Maybe, but there is a greater chance it was on social media. Over the past few years, social media has become an increasingly useful resource for police when trying to track down missing persons. In 2019, 73,184 Canadians were reported missi