The Missing Persons Unit was established by legislation in 1984, is one of the few law enforcement units in the United States which comprehensively addresses the many facets of the missing persons problem.

Among its many roles, the Missing Persons Unit was legislatively charged with the responsibility of coordinating and investigating cases involving missing persons, unidentified living and deceased individuals.

The unit is responsible for authorizing all Amber Alerts and C.A.R.T. activities.

The unit also collects and maintains a centralized database on all missing and unidentified persons who are reported in New Jersey.

The Missing Persons Unit provides investigative and technical service to law enforcement agencies throughout New Jersey on various aspects of missing and unidentified person investigations.

The unit is also responsible for providing specialized training to law enforcement personnel and medical examiners throughout the state.

By virtue of their investigative activities, the Missing Persons Unit began to observe a strong correlation between runaway children and the sexual exploitation of these children either before or during the runaway episode.

In response to this tragic situation, a squad was created within the Unit to investigate the sexual exploitation of children in the state.