Volunteer Safety Rules

1. Purpose of These Rules

Intertrace is a digital platform designed to help organize, preserve, and share information about missing person cases. Volunteers may receive notifications about approved public cases where volunteer awareness or support may be helpful.

These Volunteer Safety Rules are intended to reduce risk, protect missing persons and their families, preserve the integrity of cases, and prevent unsafe or unlawful actions.

Intertrace does not authorize volunteers to act as law enforcement, investigators, private security, emergency responders, or official search commanders.

2. Core Volunteer Principles

• Always prioritize personal safety over search activity.
• Do not act alone or outside lawful boundaries.
• Respect the dignity, privacy, and rights of missing persons, families, witnesses, and the public.
• Report information responsibly and accurately.
• Follow instructions from local authorities, emergency services, and lawful search coordinators.
• Do not interfere with police, rescue, medical, or official investigative operations.

3. Search Safety Rules

3.1 Do Not Search Alone

Volunteers should not participate in search activity alone. Any physical search activity should be coordinated with other responsible adults, local organizers, official search teams, or authorities where appropriate.

3.2 Prepare Before Participating

Volunteers should carry appropriate basic safety items, including a charged mobile phone, power bank, water, flashlight, visible clothing, weather-appropriate clothing, identification, emergency contacts, and a basic first aid kit.

3.3 Do Not Enter Unsafe Locations

Volunteers must not enter abandoned buildings, construction sites, forests, water areas, caves, tunnels, private land, restricted facilities, conflict zones, disaster zones, or any other unsafe location without lawful authorization and proper coordination.

3.4 Stop Immediately if Unsafe

If a situation becomes unsafe, unclear, threatening, or physically dangerous, volunteers must stop participation, leave the area if safe to do so, and contact local authorities or emergency services.

4. Law, Authorities, and Private Property

4.1 Follow Local Law

Volunteers are responsible for complying with all applicable laws, regulations, property rules, curfews, emergency orders, and official instructions in the location where they participate.

4.2 No Trespassing

Volunteers must not enter private property without clear permission from the property owner, lawful occupant, or appropriate authority.

4.3 No Interference with Investigations

Volunteers must not obstruct, interfere with, contaminate, or disturb any potential evidence, crime scene, accident scene, or official investigation.

4.4 Intertrace Is Not Law Enforcement

Intertrace does not grant police powers, investigative authority, search authority, detention powers, or any right to enter property or compel cooperation from others.

5. Privacy, Dignity, and Data Protection

Volunteers may encounter sensitive information about missing persons, families, witnesses, locations, medical conditions, minors, vulnerable individuals, or alleged sightings.

• Do not publish unverified sightings online.
• Do not share private addresses, phone numbers, documents, medical data, identity documents, or personal details.
• Do not photograph or record private individuals without lawful permission.
• Do not publicly accuse any person of involvement in a disappearance.
• Do not disclose sensitive information outside Intertrace or appropriate authorities.
• Respect the dignity of missing persons and their families at all times.

6. Reporting Sightings and Information

Volunteers must report sightings carefully, accurately, and responsibly. A report should include date, time, location, description, and any relevant context.

If the situation may involve immediate danger, injury, crime, child endangerment, trafficking, abduction, violence, or urgent risk, volunteers must contact local emergency services immediately before or in addition to submitting information to Intertrace.

Volunteers must not exaggerate, fabricate, modify, or knowingly submit false information.

7. Prohibited Conduct

Volunteers must not engage in:

• Harassment, stalking, intimidation, threats, or coercion.
• Vigilantism or public accusation campaigns.
• Confronting suspects, witnesses, family members, or strangers.
• Using force, detaining anyone, blocking movement, or attempting arrests.
• Carrying weapons for Intertrace-related search activity.
• Entering restricted or private areas without permission.
• Impersonating police, emergency workers, Intertrace staff, or official investigators.
• Publishing sensitive personal data or unverified claims.
• Using Intertrace alerts for personal gain, publicity, fundraising abuse, or exploitation.

8. Minors and Vulnerable Volunteers

Volunteers under 18 must not participate in search activity without a parent, guardian, or legally authorized adult supervisor. Intertrace may restrict or deny volunteer participation where safety, legal capacity, or vulnerability concerns exist.

9. Emergency Situations

If a volunteer believes a person is in immediate danger, injured, being followed, held against their will, trafficked, abducted, or exposed to life-threatening conditions, the volunteer must contact local emergency services immediately.

Intertrace is not a substitute for police, emergency medical services, fire services, rescue services, or official missing person reporting channels.