Missing Persons Recording and Investigation (PD 361)

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1. Introduction

The purpose of this procedure is to enable the effective investigation of missing person’s enquiries. The information held within the procedure will aid investigators by signposting them to the relevant section within this document.

Missing person investigations should be regarded as a high-risk area of policing and given appropriate levels of priority and resources.

The majority of persons reported missing to the police return soon after their disappearance without suffering harm. A small percentage however, will have come to harm or have been the victims of crime. A missing person report can therefore be the start of a major crime enquiry and can quickly escalate into a critical incident.

A person going missing should be treated as an indicator that the individual may be at risk of harm.

Many missing persons reports relate to children and vulnerable adults who go missing frequently. Effective joint working between agencies is essential to safeguard and promote the welfare of the most vulnerable. Where local agencies work together and ensure a coherent response to instances of missing, clear benefits have been seen in reducing the number of missing incidents.

Nottinghamshire Police continually seeks to improve both the recording processes and the quality of the investigations wherever missing persons are reported. The Force procedure is based on national guidance provided by the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP). Whilst we will attempt where possible to adhere to the guidance provided by the APP there are specific criteria that have been devised for Nottinghamshire Police. It is therefore imperative that any guidance available from the APP is read in conjunction with this procedure.

Nottinghamshire Police will aim to adhere to the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for more information refer to Missing Persons.

Nottinghamshire police Missing Person Team structure consists of:

• Locate Team
• Safeguarding and Prevention Team

For full details of the departments roles refer to Appendix I.

The Locate team:

The Locate team operate 7 days a week from 0600 hours to 1600 hours Monday to Thursday and to 1700 hours Friday to Sunday. The Locate team will work on current Missing cases where capacity allows, up to the point the Missing Person is located or allocated to the relevant investigation team to manage.

The Locate team priorities are:

Review current Missing Person cases on COMPACT and provide a verbal daily briefing to Demand Management Inspector and Senior Officers considering risk level and overall review of the missing investigations.

• Prioritise Missing Person investigations dependant on risk (particularly considering age and vulnerability)
• Ensure the quality of investigations to locate missing persons is of a high standard, including supervision and handover updates
• Progress investigations accordingly, capacity allowing and task Response Sergeants as and when required

The Safeguarding & Prevent team:

The Safeguard and Prevention team operates 7 days a week between the hours of 0700 hours and 1600 hours, the Safeguarding & Prevent Teams priorities are:

Highlight vulnerabilities and problem solve with Multi Agencies ensuring Safeguarding and prevent work is completed
Reduce missing episodes by taking proactive measures with partnership agencies where required to ensure safeguarding and preventative work is completed and policies are complied with
Share information with multi-agencies in accordance with joint protocols and attend multiagency meetings
Review Missing (Low Risk Incidents) to ensure the information is shared with partners, Policies are adhered to and any discrepancies are rectified, challenged or raised with the appropriate person or department
Prepare and attend Monthly Multiple Missing and Hotspots meetings addressing the most frequent and concerning children with partnership agencies
Maintain COMPACT carry-over tasks/trigger plans in relation to the most frequent and those at risk of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) or Criminal exploitation (CCE) missing persons
Provide briefing documents for repeat and CSE or County Lines missing persons and disseminate to the relevant departments within Nottinghamshire Police, requesting their interventions
Scrutinize all found reports and approve or re-assign tasks for completion

1.1. Aims / Objectives

Nottinghamshire Police’s aim is to effectively investigate incidents of missing persons and safeguard vulnerable people in Nottinghamshire. This will be supported by effective and clear structures.

The objectives are:

Reduce the number of people who go missing, including through prevention strategies, education work and early intervention in cases where children and adults repeatedly go missing
Reduce the risk of harm caused to those who go missing, including through a tailored risk based response and ensuring agencies work together to find and close cases as quickly as possible
Provide missing people and their families with support and guidance by referring them to agencies promptly and ensuring they understand how to access help
Prosecute those who perpetrate harm or pose a risk of harm when this is appropriate and supported by evidence
Protecting those at risk of harm or vulnerable

1.2. Information sharing, Quality Assurance and Compliance

It is the responsibility of Nottinghamshire Police officer’s and staff to ensure all detail on COMPACT is accurate and fit for policing purposes.

Many individuals, especially children will move across the country and may continue to go missing. It is important to ensure, where a pattern of missing episodes has been established, relevant information is shared with partner agencies in their new location. Consideration should be given to creating intelligence reports in relation to repeat and vulnerable missing individuals, using information from return interviews where available. It is also important that Nottinghamshire Police can ‘import’ and ‘export’ COMPACT records and/or produce a report to share information with other police forces.

A yearly audit will be conducted as per the HMIC recommendation regarding children who are reported missing for longer than 24 hours on the COMPACT system.

The audits will consist of 16 questions and will be completed by the Safeguard and Prevention Team. The results will be analysed for learning and development in accordance with the HMIC recommendation.

The Missing Persons Team will monitor compliance to improve standards and advise officers who fail to adhere to policy or do not complete required tasks satisfactorily. The areas compliance is monitored are;

G2109 completion – Prevention Interview
Found task completion
Supervision and Handover updates
Missing Investigation mandatory task completion

Nottinghamshire Police will share information in accordance with the joint protocol and national guidance. Refer to Appendix II.

In accordance with the Code of Practice, Nottinghamshire Police, will share information relating to their missing reports with the Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) on a quarterly basis. These figures enable the MPB to carry out analysis and identify trends and are used to create annual statistical bulletins.

Missing Persons Data Code of Practice: Guidance for the completion of quarterly returns

1.3. The Missing Person Investigation Cycle

To enable Nottinghamshire Police to work effectively with other agencies in the management of missing person incidents, the approach must be cyclical rather than linear.

The processes should result in problem-solving and a reduction in harm as opposed to dealing with each incident in isolation. This cyclical approach forms the basis for the procedures set out in this document – refer Figure 1.

Figure 1.

An indicator of harm

There is always a reason for a person to go missing. Understanding the circumstances will allow the police and other relevant authorities to tackle any potential causes of harm and identify intervention and safeguarding measures that can stop or minimise further episodes. Going missing may be a symptom that something is wrong in a person’s life. This can often be described in terms of push and pull factors that push people away or pull them towards something, e.g. being pushed away by abuse or financial problems, or being pulled towards exploitation.

1.4. Duty of Positive Action

The Human Rights Act 1998 places a positive obligation on police officers to take reasonable action, within their powers, to safeguard the rights of individuals who may be at risk.

Those rights that may be relevant to missing persons are:

The right to life (Article 2 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
The right not to be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment (Article 3 ECHR)
The right to prohibition of slavery and forced labour (Article 4 ECHR)
The right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 ECHR) – If engaged this can limit actions police should take
The right to freedom of expression, including freedom to receive information (Article 10 ECHR)

Failure to comply may leave an individual at risk and Nottinghamshire Police vulnerable to a legal challenge under either the Human Rights Act or the law relating to negligence.

It is also important to consider all issues that arise from dealing with a missing person who belongs to a minority ethnic group, has particular religious beliefs, issues relating to gender or sexuality or anything that may require a particular response or consideration.

1.5. Definitions

The APP definition of a missing person is:

Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established will be considered as missing until located, and their well-being or otherwise confirmed.

All reports of missing people sit within a continuum of risk from ‘Low risk’ (previously referred to as no apparent risk) through to high-risk cases that require immediate, intensive action.

Police Emergency Call Handlers (PECHs) in Contact Management will determine whether an incident should initially be deemed ‘Missing’ based on an assessment process outlined in Section 2.3.

Police officers will NOT be deployed to incidents classified as ‘Missing Low’.
Associated definitions relating to when a person’s whereabouts become unknown are shown at Appendix III.

2. The Assessment of Risk

The initial assessment of risk is undertaken at the first point of report to Nottinghamshire Police.

The initial risk assessment will identify the appropriate and proportionate police response to the report of a missing person and the appropriate incident grading.

2.1. The Risk Assessment Table

The following table should be used as a guide to an appropriate level of police response based on initial and on-going risk assessment in each case. Risk assessment should be guided by the College of Policing Risk principles, the National Decision Model and Police Code of Ethics.

2a. Missing Low risk

Definition

The risk of harm to the subject or the public is assessed as possible but minimal.

Essential criteria:

Are the circumstances out of character
Does the context suggest the person may be subject to crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another

Response

Actions to locate the subject and/or gather further information should be agreed with the informant and a latest review time set to reassess the risk.

An Officer will NOT be deployed to Missing Low risk. There must be regular contact with the informant in order to establish if there is any new information or factors affecting concern, risk. When the subject returns, a prevention interview will NOT be conducted unless there is information causing concern.

Missing Low risk will be managed by the force control room.

The Force Control Room Sergeant or above will review at 6 hours, the incident is then re-far’d for a further 5.5 hours.
This process repeats every 6 hours for up-to a maximum of 72 Hours.

The assessment of risk is ongoing, should new information alter the current risk assessment, the incident can be upgraded at anytime for officer attendance.

Missing Low risk will not be used in the following circumstances:

All children 13 years and under
Any person recorded on the ALWAYS MISSING list - The list is CONFIDENTIAL to Notts police

2b. Medium risk

Definition

The risk of harm to the subject or the public is assessed as likely but not serious.

Essential criteria:

Are the circumstances out of character
Does the context suggest the person may be subject to crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another
The Risk posed is likely to place subject or public in danger
Assessment of whether the risk is serious should be compared to the home office definition of serious harm as outlined below.

Response

This category requires an active and measured response by the police and other agencies in order to trace the missing person and support the person reporting.

The officer's initial assessment of risk on COMPACT should be reviewed and endorsed / amended by the appropriate Duty Demand Management Inspector (DMI) as soon as practicable. The DMI must ratify the initial COMPACT within 2 hours. If this is not achieved the DMI must add their rationale to the COMPACT Supervision and Handover task, explaining the reason for the delay in ratification of the risk.

2d. High risk

Definition

The risk of serious harm to the subject or the public is assessed as very likely.

Essential criteria:

Are the circumstances out of character
Does the context suggest the person may be subject to crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another
The risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the subject is in danger through their own vulnerability; or may have been the victim of a serious crime; or the risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the public is in danger

Response

This category almost always requires the immediate deployment of police resources - action may be delayed in exceptional circumstances, such as searching water or forested areas during hours of darkness. A member of the senior management team must be involved in the examination of initial lines of enquiry and approval of appropriate staffing levels. Such cases should lead to the appointment of an investigating officer (IO) and possibly an SIO, and a police search adviser (PolSA).

If identified there is a genuine need for specialist search advice, the Police Search Advisors (PolSAs) should be contacted, via the force control room, without delay by an appropriately briefed officer.

If the missing person is in crisis and threatening suicide, and has their mobile device with them, consideration should be given at an early stage to the use of a Force Negotiator (available 24/7 via FCR. Refer to Appendix VI). Consideration should also be given to referral to the Nottingham Samaritans.

There should be a press/media strategy and/or close contact with outside agencies. Family support should be put in place where appropriate. The MPB should be notified of the case without undue delay. Children’s services must also be notified immediately if the person is under 18.

Once a HIGH risk status has been approved by the DMI, a supervisor must notify the Detective Chief Inspector or on-call DI when they are in an informed position to be able to appropriately brief the DCI (refer Section 4.6 for guidance and when to contact a DCI or DI).

The DCI / on-call DI should:

Review ownership and management of the investigation
Review the circumstances
Ratify the level of risk
Set the parameters for the investigation
Ensure adequate resources are available
Consider the use of specialist resources such as SPOC or PolSA, as appropriate

A DMI or above, can lower the risk level should they deem it appropriate.

Risk of serious harm has been defined as (Home Office 2002 and OASys 2006):

‘A risk which is life threatening and/or traumatic, and from which recovery, whether physical or psychological, can be expected to be difficult or impossible.’

Where the risk cannot be accurately assessed without active investigation, appropriate lines of enquiry should be set to gather the required information to inform the risk assessment.

2.2. Factors that Influence Risk

A risk assessment must be conducted with every missing report and should be based on current risk levels and not be driven by previous assumptions or experiences. When a person goes missing, whether for the first time or repeatedly, it may indicate that there are underlying issues and this should be considered when undertaking the risk assessment. These issues should be explored and may be relevant to the police investigation, future safeguarding and care planning regardless of whether the person is frequently missing, or their disappearance is out of character.

Certain factors about a person’s disappearance need to be considered when determining the level of risk that is appropriate to the investigation. These will include pre-disposing factors that may have caused them to go missing in the first place e.g.

Child Sexual Exploitation (Refer to the Intranet for definitions, policy or contact Public Protection)
Financial problems
Bullying
Family breakdown
Suicidal thoughts
Mental Health
Criminal exploitation (Refer to the Intranet for definitions, policy or contact Public Protection)

Other factors encountered during the missing episode should also be considered e.g.:

Inability to cope with weather conditions

Being the victim of crime
Risks presented by the people they are with, or the places they frequent
Medication
Health Issues
Mental Health

It is also important to consider whether the person has a particular vulnerability that may increase their risk, such as:

Having a disability or illness
Being a looked after child or at risk of exploitation
Having any other protected characteristic (defined by the Equality Act 2010) which may require a particular response or consideration

2.3. Joint Responsibility and Initial Report to Police

The police are entitled to expect parents and carers, including staff acting in a parenting role in care homes or those involved in the care of vulnerable adults to accept normal parenting responsibilities and undertake reasonable actions to try and establish the whereabouts of the individual. Children who are breaching parental discipline should not be dealt with by police unless there are other risks. For example, a child who is late home from a party should not be regarded as missing until the parent or carer has undertaken enquiries to locate the child. Once those enquiries have been completed, it may be appropriate to record the child as missing.

Parents or carers may need police support if they are very distressed, incapacitated or otherwise unable to undertake enquiries. In such circumstances, it may be appropriate to make a referral to the local authority so that the standard of care for the missing person can be reviewed.

Individuals whose whereabouts are known will not be considered as missing, but may require other police activity in order to ensure their welfare.

Parent and Carer responsibilities

It is expected that parents and care providers, both for children and adults take reasonable steps to locate the missing person prior to making a report to the police. This should include:

Attempts to contact the child or adult
Search the person’s home – including bedroom/garden/outbuildings and any vehicles the person may have access to
Contact friends and relatives
Visit areas that the child or adult is known to frequent
Visit the place where the child or adult was known to be attending, e.g. a friend’s house, Family member’s address or a party
Check to see if any items are missing from the home
Seek information from any social media used by the missing person, their friends or associates

The responsibilities of care providers should be outlined in Joint Protocols.

It is reasonable and appropriate the police become involved if there is concern that the parent or care provider could be put at risk when attempting to gain access to an address where the person is believed to be and they should complete a risk assessment. This needs to be appropriately reported with clear justification for the concerns provided if Police assistance is required.

When the initial report of a person’s whereabouts becoming unknown is made to Nottinghamshire Police, the member of police staff in control room or on front counter should consider whether the incident meets the classification of a missing person in the first instance (Refer to Section 2.4) and create a SAFE incident using the appropriate opening incident type.

Detailed and accurate information must be recorded about the circumstances of the disappearance and the reasons for making the report including completion of the 25 risk assessment questions.

If an initial report is graded ‘Missing – Low by the PECH, this will be ratified by the Control Room Supervisor, Sergeant or above within one hour of the call time.

All other missing reports (Low/Medium/High) will be graded in accordance with Force Policy and appropriately resources allocated.

NOTE: It is mandatory to check the ‘Always Missing List’ and this list can be located within the control room. Any person listed on the ‘Always Missing List’ MUST ALWAYS be classified as ‘Missing-Low/Medium/High’. The ‘Always Missing List’ can be found on the SAFE system. All relevant internal systems checks should also be completed to establish background and risk.

It is mandatory that all children aged 13 years and under MUST ALWAYS be classified as ‘Missing-Medium/High’ but NEVER ‘Missing – Low’.

The below questions will be asked by the initial person obtaining details of a potential missing incident in order to illicit relevant information to make an initial assessment of ‘Missing-Medium/High’ or ‘Missing-Low’.

2.4. Control Room/Enquiry officers

The below mandatory questions are asked to assist decision making regarding all ‘missing’ incidents. These questions can be accessed by adding the form to the SAFE incident.

Missing and Missing – Low risk Assessment Questions:

Forename
Surname
Date of Birth
Ethnicity
Gender
Contact number
Description (Including Clothing)
Last seen date, time and location?
What is the specific concern in this instance?
What has been done so far to trace this individual?
List Information about any person who might have contact with the missing person, e.g. estranged parents, partners, and friends
Is this significantly out of character?
Absent from care
Disability
Any concerns/history of mental health or self-harm?
Are they likely to attempt suicide?
Are there any specific medical/ medication needs?
Any drug or alcohol abuse concerns?
Do they pose a danger to other people?
Are they likely to be a victim of crime/ abuse/ hurt or harmed?
Are they currently at risk of sexual exploitation?
Does the person have access to a vehicle?
Social media accounts and username/passwords?
Has the subject lived in another Force area?
Is there any other information relevant to their absence?
Is the child accommodated by social service’s?

2.5. Initial Response to ‘Missing Low’ (Formerly known as No apparent risk) incidents

Reports of ‘missing-Low risk’ will be recorded entirely on the SAFE incident.
Officers will NOT be deployed to incidents identified as ‘Missing Low’.
The PECH will advise the reportee/informant that this is being treated as missing low risk.

The PECH will agree tasks with the reportee/informant that they can complete to assist in locating the individual. The PECH will advise the reportee/informant to re-contact the police when tasks agreed are completed and/or new information but the member of staff will agree with the informant any tasks that they or others may be able to undertake to find person.

The Force Control Room Incident Supervisor, Sergeant or above in the Control Room will ratify the ‘Missing – Low’ decision within ONE hour of the initial call.

Missing – Low incidents will be subject to 6 hourly reviews conducted by the Control Room Sergeant or above, for a maximum of 72 hours. The PECH will call the informant back at 5.5 hourly intervals prior to Supervisors reviews.

Missing – Low incidents can be escalated to ‘Missing – Low/Medium/High’, at any time if new information comes to light or by the Control Room Sergeant or above upon their review.

If the person is still ‘Missing – Low’ 72 hours after the initial call, the incident will be escalated to ‘Missing – Low/Medium/High’ by control room and a police officer deployed.

Working practice documents detailing the actions that Contact Management and Duty Management Inspectors MUST take in ‘Missing – Low risk’ incidents can be accessed on the Missing Persons intranet page: https://theintranet.npf.internal/force/missing-from-home

2.6. Initial response to ‘Missing – Low/Medium/High’ incidents

Following assessment by the PECH if the incident meets the criteria for ‘Missing – Medium/High’. The PECH will update the SAFE log, an officer should be deployed in line with Nottinghamshire Police’s Graded Response and Deployment Policy. If a MPT briefing document is available for the missing person, RTIU are to save it to SAFE for officer information. The incident will continually be updated and remain open until an Officer has attended and completed the risk assessment on COMPACT.

The Officer must ensure the SAFE incident is updated with the COMPACT case number. At this point; the incident can be closed. There will be some incidents that require the SAFE log to remain open due to the amount of information provided, coordination of officers or due to the type of missing person report.

Closed incidents may need to be reopened for a period of time in certain circumstances such as calls from members of the public with updates regarding the missing person investigation or to advise of a MISPERS return. This information MUST be passed immediately to the Missing Person Team or relevant on duty area Sergeant. The SAFE log will be endorsed with who has been updated with the new information and then closed.

The SAFE incident log should not routinely remain open to record investigative enquiries.

Duty Demand Management Inspectors should ensure all enquiries are tasked through COMPACT.

Cases deemed to be ‘immediate’ response must be identified as soon as possible and immediately drawn to the attention of a Force Incident Supervisor in the Control Room.

If child abduction is suspected, consideration should be given to implementing Child Rescue Alert. See https://theintranet.npf.internal/force/child-rescue-alert for more details. (Refer to Appendix VI)

Nottinghamshire Police will record all reports of missing persons on the SAFE system, on the COMPACT missing person management system, on PNC and SISII.

3. Priority Assessment – Risk Factors, Classification and Response

An officer’s judgment should be guided by the COMPACT risk assessment questions (Refer to Appendix VIII). These questions are however, only a guide and other grounds for suspicion or concern, even if intuitive, must be recorded by the investigator. The officer's initial assessment of risk on COMPACT should be reviewed and endorsed / amended by the appropriate Duty Demand Management Inspector (DMI) as soon as practicable. The DMI must ratify the initial COMPACT within 2 hours. If this is not achieved the DMI must add their rationale to the COMPACT Supervision and Handover task, explaining the reason for the delay in ratification of the risk.

The attending Officer must also contact the DMI on the telephone or in person immediately for high risk cases or as soon as practicable for low and medium. The DMI is responsible for assessing, endorsing or ratifying the attending officer’s initial COMPACT risk assessment of the incident. The enquiry can then be tasked and resourced in line with the agreed level of risk. Supervisor review of the risk level of the enquiry is required on an on-going basis. Refer section 4.2.

3.1 Dealing with Critical Incident and Major Investigations

A critical incident is defined by APP as ‘any incident where the effectiveness of the police response is likely to have a significant impact on the confidence of the victim, their family and/or the community’.

The factors that may make an investigation a critical incident may include the age of the missing person, their public profile or status, or the circumstances of their disappearance.

Any missing person investigation could become a critical incident if the circumstances warrant it and a Community Impact Assessment should also be considered in such cases.

Nottinghamshire Police officers will refer any incident that may become “critical” to the DMI at which point the DMI will brief senior colleagues appropriately.
For further information on the management of critical incidents see Critical incident management APP.

If, during the course of an investigation, it is deemed that the case is going to develop into a major enquiry, consideration should be given to moving the incident record to the relevant case management system (eg, HOLMES) see Major investigation and public protection APP.

3.2 Use of Action Management System

All missing person investigations should be recorded and managed on COMPACT in the first instance. However, in HIGH risk cases, the SIO (Detective Chief Inspector) may decide that an investigation should no longer be managed on COMPACT, and should be run on a manual or computerised action management system. This is likely to be in complex or protracted cases. The rationale to manage the enquiry on actions, and not on COMPACT, should be recorded on the COMPACT log by the SIO.

In such cases, the SIO must ensure an individual is allocated to update COMPACT on a regular basis throughout the life of the investigation with the action log and key documents that can be uploaded and stored on the missing person’s record. This is needed for organisational memory and could prove vital if the person is found and subsequently goes missing again in the future.

In such situations, the SIO is responsible for ensuring the quality and completeness of the action log that is uploaded onto COMPACT. As a minimum, the log should include:

Time and date when actions are created
Time and date when actions are allocated, and to whom
Status of completed / outstanding actions
Relevant linked documents and further actions

The interval of these regular uploads to COMPACT may vary at the discretion of the SIO but the action log must be maintained at all times to accurately reflect the current status of the investigation. Uploads can be sent to the Missing Person Team to add to the COMPACT record.

If a decision is taken to run an investigation on Holmes (major investigation system) the COMPACT record should be ‘locked’ by the system administrator so existing logs can be viewed but no further entries can be made on the COMPACT system.

3.3 Dealing with HIGH risk cases

High-risk cases must be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

Risk may be associated with:

Immediate and present danger e.g. a lost and vulnerable child or adult, or the commission of a serious criminal offence such as murder or abduction
Longer-term harm that can occur as a result of frequent absences, e.g. affecting the development of young people

Risk must be assessed on a continuing basis. There may also be benefits from making an assessment in conjunction with other agencies, particularly in relation to children in the care of the local authority. See:

Children and Young People who Run Away or go Missing from Home or Care - Joint Protocol2018.

http://intranet/Departments/CrimeJustice/PublicProtection/Documents/JointProtocolChildrenMissingHomeCare.pdf

When a Missing Person investigation is assessed as High Risk, an on duty DCI should be notified and an initial review of the case conducted.

Where a Missing Person enquiry is reported and assessed as High Risk outside of normal working hours (0800-1600) an on duty DCI will conduct an initial review no later than the commencement of the following tour of duty and in all cases within 24 hours.

DCI’s will not routinely be notified of Medium and Low Risk investigations.
The initial review and any advice given or actions set should be recorded on COMPACT as soon as is practicable using the ‘Review’ task function.

High Risk Missing Person enquiries should be raised in the daily Force DMM to ensure DCI oversight and an appropriate level of resourcing to the investigation.

If it is suspected that the Missing Person may have been the victim of a crime, for example abduction, kidnap, homicide etc., the on call Detective Inspector should be called without delay.

If the missing person is under 18 years of age and abduction is suspected the Force Control Room Supervisor and on call Detective Inspector should be contacted immediately.

In High Risk cases, where Communications Data may lead to the location and recovery of the missing person, an officer of Inspector rank can authorise an approach to the force SPOC to apply for the relevant data.

In High Risk cases, further DCI Reviews will take place at the 24 hour, four day and seven day intervals. Reviews should be documented fully on COMPACT using the ‘Review’ Task.

In conducting a review, as a minimum, the DCI will:

• Ratify the level of risk
• Review ongoing and completed actions
• Set the parameters for the investigation, new lines of enquiry and actions in order to bring the investigation to a successful conclusion
• Make recommendations about the management and ongoing ownership of the investigation
• Set future review date(s) as appropriate
• Ensure that sufficient and appropriate resources are allocated to the investigation
• Consider the use of specialist resources such as SPOC or PolSA, as appropriate

If the DCI makes the decision that CID will be managing the investigation, the Detective Inspector will be responsible for the reviews and can refer to the DMI guidance in relation in the specified review dates.

3.4 Dealing with Medium and Low risk cases

Initial enquiries must be completed to ascertain the risk to the missing person. Once completed, if the missing person remains outstanding, the case must be subject to on-going monitoring and reviews by a supervisor who will allocate proportionate enquiries.

3.5 Review of Risk

Risk assessment is a dynamic and ongoing process which requires further assessments to be made as the investigation progresses and new information and evidence comes to light. The passage of time can increase the risk grading and this must not be overlooked.

The assessment of risk should be reviewed and monitored by divisional supervisors at every point of handover and discussion, for example, at the beginning and end of a tour of duty and at Daily Management Meetings.

If the case is managed by an individual or an investigation team and there is no handover, the risk level should be reviewed at intervals as determined by the nature of the case.

Any decision to vary the level of risk should be endorsed by a supervisor of Inspector level or above.

4. Investigation

The investigative process

All reports of missing people sit within a continuum of risk from ‘Low risk’ through to high risk cases that require immediate, intensive action.
The following minimum actions should be taken as an initial response to all missing person reports:

The incident will be recorded
A risk assessment will be conducted
An agreement will be made on the initial steps which should be taken to trace the missing person
A time will be set to review the decisions which have been taken

Every possible reason/scenario for their absence should be considered, keeping an open mind.

4.1 Actions of First Officer to Attend

The key roles of the first officer to attend a report of a missing person are to:

Investigate
Search
Identify the initial level of risk

Judgements made at this point will have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the investigation. Consideration must be given to the nature of the report being taken and, where appropriate, the needs of individuals or relevance of their being from a particular group, for example, black minority ethnic (BME), faith, sexuality, gender or other group, as this can affect the nature of the investigation.

Consideration should be given to the needs of the missing person and their families, including being sensitive to religious or lifestyle issues. While the police will take reasonable steps to be sensitive to cultural, religious or other needs, these do not have priority over the requirement for the police to make the missing person as safe as possible.

The attending Officer should tell the informant:

If the missing person is under 18 years or considered to be vulnerable, advise the person making the report information will be shared with other agencies
Provide the person making the report with control room contact details and incident number so they can provide further updates should new information be obtained
Advise that the Locate Team will make regular contact with informants and provide information about what to expect during the investigation

A missing person report may be the first report of a serious crime or of a person being at significant risk of harm. If this is believed to be the case, a supervisory officer should be contacted immediately.

Although most missing person enquiries do not lead to a major crime investigation, where they do, early identification is crucial to the investigation. How this is conducted in the first few hours (Refer to Appendix IX – Golden Hour) after the report is made to the police can affect the outcome.

Risk assessment not only places a priority on the efforts to locate the missing person but includes a judgement about the likely reason for their being missing. In some cases where there is no obvious reason for the person going missing, suspicion may be aroused. If immediate enquiries do not satisfy those concerns, the appropriate divisional Duty Demand Management Inspector should be contacted as a matter of urgency. The services of Crime Scene Investigators must be sought at an early stage if potential crime scene(s) are identified.

Responsibilities

The first officer deployed to attend a report of a missing person should consider the following, ensuring all immediate enquiries and actions are completed to locate the missing person and appropriately recorded as soon as practicably on COMPACT:

Establish detailed facts and accurately record what was said and by whom. Obtain as much information as possible from informant(s), family and associates of the missing person, considering further associates, friends, family and any premises, vehicles, etc the missing person may have access to. Ensure the ‘Informant’ task on COMPACT is completed
Undertake a full assessment of risk. The officer must make an initial assessment of the circumstances of the disappearance in order to make a judgment regarding the risks to which that person or the community are likely to be exposed. The decision, the evidence supporting it and where the information came from, should all be recorded. (The initial level of risk assigned will be reviewed and endorsed/amended on COMPACT by the recording officer’s Duty Demand Management Inspector)
The attending Officer must contact the DMI on the telephone or in person immediately for high risk cases or as soon as practicable for low and medium
Conduct initial searches of relevant premises/area including home address and the area the missing person were last seen, the extent and nature of the search should be recorded on COMPACT (Refer to Appendix X - Search)
Consider seizing electronic devices, computers and other documentation, (e.g. diaries, financial records and notes) to assist the investigation (Refer to Appendix XI)
Consider taking a full statement from the person reporting, as well as any other key individuals (e.g. the last person to see them). E.g. In instances whereby the missing person is high risk
Consider obtaining any physical evidence of identity such as fingerprints or DNA samples in accordance with Code of Practice (2009) Collection of Missing Persons Data (Refer to Appendix XII)
Establish a specific point of contact i.e. family member, care worker providing them with reference details and agreeing schedule of regular updates
Consider any relevant support for family/ relevant person(s) of the missing person
An assessment must be made of the level of support required for the family, residential worker or foster carer and consideration should be given to appointing a family liaison officer in consultation with a senior Officer. Information should then be provided regarding additional organisations that may be able to assist or support them
Obtain GP’S details / details of medication
Obtain passport details and confirm if the person is in possession of their passport, (consider prompt circulation if it is deemed likely the individual may leave the country. This is particularly important where there are concerns that an individual has been radicalised and is intending to travel abroad, see National Ports Office – Heathrow). Refer to Appendix XIII
Consider the need for specialist officers or resources, e.g. Force helicopter/drone, dogs, financial investigation officers
Circulate details of the missing person on local information systems and to relevant local partners, e.g. Local Officers, BTP, taxi and bus firms, CCTV Units
Consider the need for a multi-agency response involving police and partner organisations in the investigation. Ensure information is shared and any risk factors to be considered
Consider the use of intrusive telephone or social media enquires via SPOC officers in line with their guidelines. In high risk cases the DMI can authorise for a SPOC officer to be contacted and for medium risk cases an officer can submit an application on SYCOMMS which is located via the intranet. Officers should be aware of the use of SPOC officers regarding mobile telephone data and mapping. In relation to social media applications SPOC intrusive enquires can be conducted to see if the MISPER has logged onto a social media account. The results of these SPOC checks can direct officers to a specific address. Therefore we can conduct SPOC enquires on telephones for high risks but we can additionally trace MISPERS by conducting enquires on social media accounts. Officers need to obtain user names for the social media accounts and/or any other reference numbers or names available to them

The attending Officer/ OIC must complete the thirteen mandatory COMPACT Tasks as a minimum but all lines of enquiry should be progressed proportionately and in line with the designated risk level:

Update the informant task with all information prompted within the task heading
Search of home address
Search of area last seen
Call MISPERS mobile phone. If the missing person has a mobile phone arrange for a TextSafe© to be sent by the charity, Missing People
Obtain a photograph of the MP; ideally current likeness and in a digital format
Social media – obtain all details for all accounts. Are they on WhatsApp?
Obtain list of associates, friends, family and places frequented. Create separate tasks for each as required
Travel / Transport – If MP has a vehicle add to hotlist and an ACT report – seek guidance where required
Check intelligence systems / Request RTIU check and transfer updates from incident to COMPACT. Review COMPACT person notes
Identify any other premises which MISPER has access
Custody checks
Hospital checks
Contact social services – Extracting the information they hold and any risk factors to be considered

Other investigative enquiries can include:

Passive data enquiries (CCTV/ANPR) (Refer to Appendix XIV)
Financial and telephone enquiries (Refer to Appendix XV)
Proof-of-life enquiries (Refer to Appendix XVI)
Media Appeals (Refer to Appendix XVII)
British Transport Police (Refer to Appendix XVIII)
International Enquires (Refer to Appendix XIII)
Seek advice and guidance from Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) (Refer to Appendix XIX)
Contact the missing person on Social Media (Refer to Appendix XX)
SPOC enquires (Refer to section 10.1)

4.2 The Supervision and Review Process

All cases must be subject to active and proportionate investigation with intrusive direction and control by a supervisory officer. All high, medium and low investigations are reviewed daily as part of the DMM processes. High and Medium cases will be brought to the Daily Management Meeting (in accordance with the National Intelligence Model). This is an appropriate forum for determining the level of resources and supervision that cases require.

4.3 Sergeant Responsibility

The initial supervision will be by sergeants and their responsibilities are as follows:

In most cases, responsibility for continuous supervision of missing person enquiries will lie with the response Sergeant, although the term ‘supervisor’ is used here to encompass those situations when other sergeants, or inspectors, undertake this role.

Review the COMPACT record and the outgoing Sergeant’s ‘Supervision and Handover’ task for current missing persons
For all ongoing and new missing persons, review current risk level and complete ‘Supervision and Handover’ task as soon as practicable
Ensure the ‘Supervision and Handover’ is endorsed with ideally the incoming Sergeants details advising that the case will be handed to this person. Allocation of the ‘Supervision and Handover’ is preferable
Ensure 13 mandatory tasks are updated, completed or handed over to the oncoming shift for progression
On day shifts - liaise with Missing Persons Sergeant or Officers to confirm allocation of tasking for the duration of the shift
Consideration must be given to the allocation of sufficient resources to pursue an effective investigation
Receive briefing from attending officer and ensure appropriate actions are taken
Ensure that relevant tasks are generated and officer actions are recorded on COMPACT
Ensure cases are brought to the attention of the Demand Management Inspectors where required
Quality assure completed tasks and re-task as necessary

The on-duty response sergeant should update the COMPACT Supervision and Handover task (Refer to Appendix XXI) with:

The name of the OIC for the shift
Review the current level of risk and endorse or amend the assessment if required
Check for any outstanding and incomplete actions
Quality-assure actions already taken
Set new actions and enquiries
Prioritisation of enquiries and provide a rationale for that decision-making process
Ensure provision of resources to manage the enquiry

Supervisors are required to check ‘completed pending approval’ tasks on COMPACT to ensure that they have been adequately undertaken and either approve them, or direct further action (Refer to Appendix XXII).

4.4 Duty Demand Management Inspector Responsibility

The initial supervision will be by Duty Demand Management Inspectors (DMI) their responsibilities are as follows:

The officer's initial assessment of risk on COMPACT should be reviewed and endorsed/amended by the appropriate DMI as soon as practicable. The DMI must ratify the initial COMPACT within 2 hours. If this is not achieved the DMI must add their rationale to the COMPACT Supervision and Handover task, explaining the reason for the delay in ratification of the risk
The DMI must record their decision making on the COMPACT record regarding their assessment of risk. In cases where the Missing report is added and then a found report soon after, there will be occasions when the DMI update is not required as the person is already found. It would not be best use of time to review a missing report when a person is found and in the majority of cases there is no further risk
In high-risk cases, supervision should be immediate. Once a HIGH risk status has been approved by the DMI, a supervisor should notify the Detective Chief Inspector or on-call DCI when they are in an informed position to be able to appropriately brief the DCI (Refer to Section 4.6 as to when a DCI should be contacted). The MP team may provide the DCI the briefing
Assume responsibility for the investigation when notified
If it is suspected that the Missing Person may have been the victim of a crime, for example abduction, kidnap, homicide etc., the On Call Detective Inspector should be called without delay
Ensure appropriate resources are allocated to the investigation
Ensure escalation and use of specialist resources in line with current risk level
In High Risk cases, where Communications Data (Phone or social media applications) may lead to the location and recovery of the missing person, an officer of Inspector rank can authorise an approach to the force SPOC to apply for the relevant data
Ensure all current missing person investigations are brought to the Daily Management Meeting
Morning shift DMI - Conduct thorough review of investigation within 24 hours, at 4 days and at 7 days and document fully on COMPACT. However, the DMI will make a decision on how often the case will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The ‘Review’ template on COMPACT should be populated by the officer conducting the review once it has been undertaken

These reviews should consider:

Level of risk and level of resourcing
Quality assurance of completed tasks
Outstanding, incomplete and new tasks
Management and ownership of investigation
Setting of future review date, in line with procedure

Liaise with Locate Missing Persons Sergeant regarding capacity of officers to assist with investigations
Ensure robust handover of low and medium risk investigations over 7 days to named DMI via tasking on COMPACT
Ensure we work within the missing person definition. If any case falls outside of this definition, after enquiries have been progressed or information has come to police attention that the person is in fact not missing. The DMI can review and authorise closure of the investigation

Initial Review within 24 hours

Missing person enquiries should be subjected to initial review within 24hours as follows:

High Risk Cases > Review by Detective Chief Inspector

Medium and Low Risk Cases > Review by Duty Management Inspector

Ongoing Review from 24 hours to 7 days

If the missing person is not found within the first 24 hours, the enquiry should be subject to ongoing review at 72 hour intervals for the first 7 days:

The DCI after 7 days should decide how frequently the case will be reviewed.

4.5 Ongoing Ownership Of The Missing Enquiry (Medium/Low risk) After 7 Days

If the missing person has not been found within 7 days, the enquiry will be allocated to a DMI for ownership, risk assessment review, set investigation plan and allocation of future tasks. If the person is still missing after 14 days, the DMI must consider obtaining detailed witness statements.

The task management will be the responsibility of the Locate Sergeant to supervise. The appropriate resources/department will be utilised to undertake the tasks as directed by the Locate Sergeant.

Subsequent reviews, as a minimum must be undertaken on or before the following days of the missing report being entered onto COMPACT.

Day	Medium risk - Review conducted by	Low risk – Review conducted by
Day 14	DMI	DMI
Day 28	DCI	DCI
Day 56	DMI	DMI
Day 84	DCI	DCI
Day 126	DMI	DMI
Day 168	DCI	DCI
Day 252	DMI	DMI
After 12 months	DCI	DCI

After the 12 month review, the DCI will dictate the future necessity and proportionality of future reviews. A DCI will undertake annual reviews of all missing people.

After 7 days of the missing person being entered onto COMPACT the Locate Team/Sergeant is responsible for supervision and task management.

Supervisory reviews must be undertaken on or before every 14 days for the first three months, thereafter monthly reviews.

4.6 Detective Chief Inspector/ Detective Inspector Responsibility

When a Missing Person investigation is assessed as High Risk, the on duty Complex Crime DCI should be notified and an initial review of the case conducted.

Where a Missing Person enquiry is reported and assessed as High Risk outside of normal working hours (0800-1600) an On Duty DCI will conduct an initial review no later than the commencement of the following tour of duty and in all cases within 24 hours.

Complex Crime DCI’s will not routinely be notified of Medium and Low Risk investigations.

The initial review and any advice given or actions set should be recorded on COMPACT as soon as is practicable using the ‘Review’ task function.

High Risk Missing Person enquiries should be raised in the daily Force DMM to ensure DCI oversight and an appropriate level of resourcing to the investigation.

If it is suspected that the Missing Person may have been the victim of a crime, for example abduction, kidnap, homicide etc., the On Call Detective Inspector should be called without delay.

If the missing person is under 18 years of age and abduction is suspected the Force Control Room Inspector and On Call Detective Inspector should be contacted immediately.

In High Risk cases, further DCI Reviews will take place at the 24 hour, four day and seven day intervals. Reviews should be documented fully on COMPACT using the ‘Review’ Task.

In conducting a review, as a minimum, the DCI will:

Ratify the level of risk
Review ongoing and completed actions
Set the parameters for the investigation, new lines of enquiry and actions in order to bring the investigation to a successful conclusion
Make recommendations about the management and ongoing ownership of the investigation
Set future review date(s) as appropriate
Ensure that sufficient and appropriate resources are allocated to the investigation
Consider the use of specialist resources such as SPOC or PolSA, as appropriate

If the missing person is under 18 years of age and has been missing previously, supervisors must ensure that multi-agency working is progressed, as outlined in the Joint Protocol for Missing Children.

5. Sightings

People will contact the police with sightings of missing persons. In all cases, full details of sighting reports should be entered onto the appropriate section of the COMPACT system by the officer receiving the information, or by control room personnel who will record it on an incident log and notify the relevant person.

Professional experience has shown the public will contact the police with sightings of persons who are being sought, particularly when there has been significant media interest. For a number of reasons, however, they are often mistaken and rarely, but occasionally, deliberately wish to mislead the investigators. This is an issue that can present difficulties, and investigations in high-profile cases can become overwhelmed by the volume of sightings.

The officer managing the MP may need to develop a sightings policy or strategy, where they would articulate their approach to the prioritisation of approach to sightings. They may wish to set criteria which could include the following:

Plot sightings geographically as this may provide some corroboration
Evaluate sightings against known factors relating to the missing person
Seek corroboration from other sources to validate the information
Establish the motive of the witness
Verify the quality of the witness’s eyesight and their ability to recognise people in similar circumstances to those in which they allege they saw the missing person
Consider taking a statement or a recorded interview
Research the person giving the sighting to assess their credibility

Enquiries should be undertaken to determine if there are any means of corroborating the sightings, such as CCTV, financial transactions or telephony which also place the missing person in that area. Adding sightings to a map with the date and time the person was seen can highlight where a cluster of sightings have been reported, which can be further investigated.

As a guide it is suggested that the recommendations of the R v Turnbull’ ruling (1976) 3 All ER 549 may be usefully applied to validate any such sightings. These recommendations can be used as the following aide-memoire, ADVOKATE.

It is not possible to respond immediately to all sightings and no promises should be given to families of missing persons that this will be done. In all cases, decisions about the type of police response which will be made must be considered alongside the existing investigation and search strategy.

6. Cross-border cases

Difficulties can arise when a person reported missing resides outside the area where the report is being made, e.g. a looked after child believed to have returned to the area they originate from. The police area that receives the report must record it and carry out all necessary initial actions. If the responsibility for a case is subsequently transferred to another force area, the rationale for doing so must be recorded. Written acknowledgement from the receiving force should be obtained.

There must be ownership and responsibility for the investigation. The focus should be on achieving a satisfactory outcome for the missing person and making this decision promptly. It is not appropriate to have ongoing arguments about who should own the investigation.

In order for Nottinghamshire Police to take ownership of a foreign force missing person investigation the Demand Management Inspector (DMI) for that area must agree transfer with a senior officer from the foreign force on every occasion. If the decision has been made to accept the transfer of the investigation the rationale is to be recorded on the relevant system.

All Forces wishing to transfer a missing investigation to Nottinghamshire Police, must complete the National Missing Persons Transfer document.

In order for Nottinghamshire to accept a missing person investigation from a foreign force, the COMPACT report must have:

All initial enquiries relevant to that force area completed
Detailed supervision and ownership
Tasks which have been quality assured
An Initial risk assessment that has been approved by a divisional inspector

Nottinghamshire Police should request a copy of the missing investigation to ensure the record is satisfactory. If the record is not adequate based on the circumstances of the case, length of time missing and risk level then Nottinghamshire police will advise the relevant force and refuse ownership.

Nottinghamshire Police’s missing persons safeguarding and prevent coordinators must liaise with the foreign force to ensure that their PNC missing circulation is cancelled, in order for Nottinghamshire to circulate on PNC as missing.

If the foreign force does not have access to COMPACT Nottinghamshire Police should be supplied with the full missing enquiry and an officer should be allocated to create a COMPACT record (Refer to Appendix XXIII).

When deciding where ownership of the investigation lies, the principal issue is to consider where the majority of the enquiries are and who has the greatest opportunity of locating the missing person. It is probable that the place where the person was last seen would generate the majority of the initial enquiries (although this is not always the case, see also Out-of-area placements – Appendix XXIV).

Ownership and responsibility for cases

There must be clear and unambiguous ownership and responsibility for the investigation.

In cases where the appropriate ownership is not clear, the matter should initially be referred to a senior supervisor within each force to determine who should own the investigation. In extreme situations where it cannot be resolved at this level it should be referred to a senior officer, who will discuss the matter with a senior officer of the other force. If the dispute is within one force in relation to internal boundary issues, it should be referred to the assistant chief officer, who has territorial responsibility.

Transferring cases should be done in a timely manner using an auditable process. An investigation should not be closed without clear confirmation that the other force has taken ownership of the case.

Foreign Force enquires

There will be cross border cases whereby the missing person will have links to other areas. In cases such as these Officers are to email the relevant Force control room with details of the enquires required including sufficient information to aid their Officers. Officers should ensure there is a task created on COMPACT for this and copy their email into this task so their request can be viewed and progressed by others if required.

7. Management of the Return

Effectively managing the return of the missing person should be considered as part of the investigation in line with the prevention interview (G2109). The investigation cannot be concluded until the full circumstances of the missing episode are explored and appropriate safeguarding measures put in place. Understanding the reasons why they went missing can help to reduce future missing episodes and/or provide information to assist their location, should they go missing again. Effective management of a person’s return is important because the person:

May have been the subject of crime or otherwise been at risk of harm
May have gone missing in order to harm themselves or take their own life
May have been unsafe or at risk owing to their inability to look after themselves properly due to age, incapacity or other reasons
May have been the perpetrator of crime

The approach to managing the return will be determined by the risk assessment but the following points may need consideration:

Should a multi-agency consultation or strategy meeting be held to decide what will happen next?
What is the best engagement process when the person is found and who should talk to them?
Where will they be accommodated?
Are any further interventions or support needed?
Who is the person best suited to conduct the return interview and when?

Upon the return of someone being classified as missing Low risk, an officer will not be deployed to complete a prevention interview unless there is information causing concern.

The PECH should ask the informant the following questions and record their answers in detail:

Date and Time the person returned
Where has the person been whilst missing and who have they been with?
Did the person suffer any risk of harm whilst missing? Consider their appearance, behaviour etc
Was the person involved in any criminal activity as the offender whilst they were missing?
Have you got any cause for concern?
Is there any other relevant information?

For low, medium or high missing persons, an officer will be deployed to complete a prevention interview for the majority of cases.

7.1 Indication of exploitation or harm

Any indicators that the individual has come to harm or may be the victim of crime should be noted and escalated for further investigation as relevant.

Where evidence is identified that the person may have been exploited, radicalised or otherwise harmed by a third party, referrals should be made to the appropriate specialist team for investigation and pursuit of suspects.

Additional concerns

The following guidance has been developed to support investigators in cases where it is suspected that a child may be at risk of abuse, neglect, exploitation, abduction, forced marriage or radicalisation:

Indicators of concern for a child
Risk identification
Action in urgent or serious cases
Child sexual exploitation APP (Definition of CSE, Risk factors, Warning signs)
Forced marriage and honour based violence APP
Kidnap and extortion APP (GPMS Official)

7.2 Accommodation

Early consideration must be given to whether it is appropriate to return the missing person to their home address or other place they went missing from. Consideration of what actions will be taken when the missing person is located should take place before they are found. Waiting until they have returned may lead to lost opportunities to prevent them going missing again. Strategy discussions should include alternative accommodation where necessary and appropriate levels of supervision put in place as necessary.

7.3 Children and young people

Finding suitable emergency accommodation for children can be difficult, however police stations are not appropriate places to accommodate children. Where a child or vulnerable adult is in care, there should be a risk assessment on the care setting.

For looked-after children, the local authority will be responsible for making the decision about whether they should be returned to their placement, although in some instances they will do that following consultation with police officers and other professionals.

7.4 Confidentiality

Be mindful that when an adult missing person is located, their whereabouts must not be disclosed to others if this is against their wishes. The police should inform the person who reported them missing that they have been located. It is possible that the person making the missing person report has an ulterior motive for submitting a report.

7.5 Interviews

The Prevention Interviews and Return Interviews can provide an important opportunity to identify ongoing risk factors that may affect the likelihood of the individual going missing again.

Prevention interviews are conducted by the police and are different to return interviews which are provided by the Local Authorities.

7.6 Prevention interviews (Previously known as safe and well checks)

The police have a duty under common law to protect life and investigate crime and therefore have a responsibility to ensure the returning person is safe and well as soon as is practicable.

The purpose of the prevention interview is to:

Identify any ongoing risk or factors which may contribute to the person going missing again
The interview provides a valuable opportunity to find out useful information that may indicate harm suffered by the returning person
It can identify details that may help trace the person in the event of a future missing episode
Where and with whom they have been (consider if the person has been harboured)
Establish whether they have been a victim or perpetrator of crime before or while missing
Where evidence is identified that the person may have been exploited, radicalised or otherwise harmed by a third party, referrals should be made to the appropriate specialist team for investigation and pursuit of suspects
Put in place support and preventative measures to avoid such a recurrence – including referral to social care where there are safeguarding concerns

Professional experience suggests missing persons, especially children, may be unwilling to engage in this process however, every effort must be made to encourage the person(s) to do so. If this is the case, it is important to record their demeanor, physical state, clothing and any other factors that may be relevant to any ongoing investigation of a crime, their care and safeguarding plans.

Further investigation may be needed to identify and address risks. Where it is identified that the person is likely to go missing again, automatic COMPACT carry-over tasks are to be reviewed and set which act as a ‘trigger plan’.

ATTENDING OFFICER Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

Officers will complete the G2109 ‘Prevention Interviews’ and record the information on the COMPACT found report circumstances/full debrief section on each occasion (unless otherwise directed by supervisor). This information will be shared directly with external services
Ensure a recent photograph of the person is uploaded
Provide the ‘Help When you Return after Being Reported Missing ‘information. This is mandatory and a found report task will be created to record compliance
Investigate any offences disclosed or suspected. Make Safeguarding referral if appropriate
Ensure Response Sergeant is briefed and update COMPACT fully
Complete all found tasks on Compact and update accordingly
If an investigation has an element of self-harm or suicide documented, the officer must complete a PPN. The Missing Person Coordinators will monitor this via the found report tasks and advise accordingly

RESPONSE SERGEANT Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

Assess circumstances of person being found report when briefed by officers
Ensure G2109 form is pasted to the found report circumstances section
Liaise with DMI to ensure that appropriate safeguarding and investigative actions are taken if required

DUTY MANAGEMENT INSPECTOR Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

In all cases ensure that appropriate safeguarding and investigative actions are taken at the time the person is found or brought to the attention of the Missing Team

7.7 Frequency of checks

Every effort should be made to visit young people on every occasion that they have been missing. Where a person goes missing frequently, particularly from a care setting, it may not be practicable to see them every time they return. Young people missing from care are likely to have other people responsible for their welfare and there can be an understanding between the professionals involved on how this is managed. Checks should be taken to ensure that a child is not going missing to avoid something that may be happening in their care setting. A decision can be made by the control room, MP Sergeants or above regarding an officer attendance. This is to be reviewed in accordance with the NDM and relayed to those responsible for their care regarding the frequency of prevention interviews.

However, caution should be taken if there is any suggestion that the child is running away from something that is occurring within the care setting.

7.8 Local authority Return Interviews for Children (Refer to Appendix XXV)

For young people who go missing, the return interview is the responsibility of the Local Authority and should not be confused with the Prevention Interview conducted by police. It is the responsibility and discretion of the Local Authority to ensure a Return Interview is completed within 72 hours to understand the reasons why the person went missing and therefore take action to help prevent future missing episodes. Any information for police attention should be shared as soon as practicable.

7.9 Other considerations

APP guidance states that there are two scenarios where a ‘Prevention interview’ is NOT required on each occasion:

Children Under 18 years – Missing from Care

When a young person frequently goes missing from care in a short period of time, e.g. several times in one day, it is no longer necessary for police officers to undertake a safe and well check on every occasion. In these cases, officers can take a full telephone debrief from the person responsible for the child’s care (residential unit manager or foster carer) and update the COMPACT ‘found’ report accordingly.

However, caution should be taken if there is any suggestion that the child is running away from something that is occurring within the care setting.

In all cases where a child has been reported missing on 3 occasions within 90 days, Missing Person Coordinators should request that a multi-agency strategy meeting is convened by the case-owning social worker so that problem solving approaches can be identified.

Adults Missing from Mental Health Wards within Nottinghamshire

Officers DO NOT need to attend in person to undertake a ‘prevention interview’ in every case, but may do so at the clinical team’s request or if there is concern regarding the episode. A full telephone debrief should be taken from the nurse in charge of the shift and the COMPACT ‘found’ report updated accordingly.

8. Review and Closure

Missing person cases should not be closed without the missing person first being verified by the police. The only exception to this is for children in residential care (Refer Section 9.1) and certain cases regarding Adults Missing from Mental Health Wards within Nottinghamshire (Refer Section 9.2).

8.1 Long-Term Case Management

Where the missing person has not been found, the case must remain open and be the subject of review. Long-term cases will be reviewed by a senior officer who has been trained as an SIO and the rank of the reviewing officer should be no less than that of Detective Chief Inspector.

Reviews should be completed at the latest after twenty-eight days, three months, six months, and twelve months, then annually thereafter. Should any significant information come to light, this should trigger an immediate review.

DCI’s should complete the DCI review template (Refer to Appendix XXVI), upload the template onto COMPACT and complete the COMPACT ‘Review’ task.
Consideration may also be given to cold case reviews of outstanding missing persons.

A referral to the EMSOU Regional Review Unit for a full review to be undertaken can also be requested by a DCI at any stage during a missing person investigation.

8.2 Long-Term Case Reviews - Supporting Family and Carers

Family and carers should be:

Given reasonable expectations about ongoing contact in longer-term cases
Given details about the review process and when the next review is due
Contacted and updated with the outcomes of any review
Consulted about their feelings regarding ongoing contact
Consulted about their concerns in order that their hopes or expectations can be managed including potential outcomes of the enquiry

8.3 Case Closure When The Person Has Been Located But Not Seen

In cases where the missing person has been located but it is impractical to see them due to their present circumstances, e.g. gone abroad or making themselves unavailable to the police, the case can be closed provided authority has been sought from the Duty Management Inspector in relation to low and medium mispers and DCI approval for high risk mispers.

The rationale will be recorded on COMPACT and will demonstrate reasonable lines of enquiry have been exhausted. In addition, they will ensure, where possible, identification samples are obtained and submitted to the UK Missing Persons Bureau, in line with established procedures, before a case is closed on this basis.

8.4 Case Closure When The Person Is Found Deceased

If the missing person is found deceased, a full located report needs to be entered onto COMPACT and a NCA Form G completed and submitted to the PNC Bureau.

In the event of locating a missing person deceased or having sustained a serious injury, contact should always be made with PSD or the on call Detective Inspector.

The decision on whether to refer a matter to the IOPC will be taken by PSD in consultation with the senior officer in charge of the missing enquiry and based on the available information at the relevant time.

Not all circumstances which have resulted in a death or serious injury will result in a referral to the IOPC, as PSD will make an assessment on the “indication that the contact may have caused”.

The IOPC will conduct its own assessment and respond with a decision as to “Mode of Investigation”. From the available options the IOPC will either:

Declare an “Independent investigation” of the circumstances of police management leading up to the death/serious injury
“Supervise” an investigation by Nottinghamshire Police
Remit the investigation back to Nottinghamshire Police as a “Local Investigation”

For each decision, terms of reference will be agreed between the IOPC and Nottinghamshire Police including primacy for any aspects which may not be subject of the investigation.

If a matter is determined as Local Investigation, then agreement between PSD and local Senior Management will agree lead responsibility. Options for investigation can include:

Local Investigation by PSD
Local Investigation/Review by a Public Protection senior officer in accordance with this policy
Local Investigation by the Regional Review Team

In all cases a report outlining findings will be required by PSD which will share with the IOPC at the outcome of a review/investigation.

Refer to Appendix XXVII

The Public Protection DCI will undertake an ‘Initial Assessment of a Missing Person Investigation with a Fatal Outcome’. This initial assessment will consider the Force’s compliance with procedure throughout the enquiry and any areas of good / weak practice will be identified. These learning points will be shared if required, and any necessary actions agreed through the public protection meeting, chaired by the Head of Public Protection. This may include a recommendation for referral to the EMSOU Regional Review Unit for a full review to be undertaken. No direct referrals should be made outside of this process. Any EMSOU recommendations will be reviewed and progressed and implementation of these are scrutinised at the Force Review panel Meeting chaired by the ACC. In cases where there may be organisational learning for the Police or partner agencies, the Detective Chief Inspector Public Protection may submit a referral for a Serious Case Review to the LSCB/LSAB for their consideration.

Refer to Appendix XXVIII

8.5 Deliberate Absence

Nottinghamshire Police is obliged to fully investigate all reports of missing persons from other agencies and members of the public. Information should be clearly recorded on the relevant incident log or on the COMPACT missing person system.

However, where information or the investigative process leads officers to conclude that the disappearance is intentional and there is no evidence of actual harm to the individual, the case may be considered as a ‘deliberate absence’ providing that the following criteria are met:

The individual is an ADULT (18 years of age or over)
There are NO significant suspicious circumstances
The individual HAS deliberately absented themselves
It is NOT difficult to explain why the individual has gone missing
There are NO grounds to believe that the individual may have already come to significant harm
There are NO grounds to believe that the individual is at risk of significant harm (i.e. they are capable of independent living)
The individual DOES NOT pose an apparent risk of significant harm to others

The ‘deliberate absence’ status should NOT be assigned to children or young people who can be extremely vulnerable and should always remain as ‘missing’.

The ‘deliberate absence’ status can only be assigned by an Inspector who has responsibility for ensuring that the individual’s eligibility in respect of the above criteria are fully recorded on the incident log or on COMPACT.

Once an individual has been classified as a ‘deliberate absence’ an Inspector or above may assign them as ‘Closed’ on the incident log or on COMPACT.

8.6 Cold Cases ‘inactive’

In unsolved missing person cases that are over a year old, Nottinghamshire Police will seek to process and retain records of as many of the available forensic identification samples as possible.

Where the missing person has not been found, and the there are no new lines of enquiry the case can be set as ‘inactive’ on COMPACT by a DMI or above.

No further investigative procedures will be undertaken unless new information comes to Police attention, although routine checks should be conducted, as directed by the original owning team. Notes may be added every 5 years to state if any there are any new lines of enquiry. If there are no new lines of enquiry the owning team may not update the records and this will only be the responsibility of the team who originally dealt with the investigation.
The informant/family of the missing person will be advised of any investigative updates.

If not already done so, details will be passed to the national ‘Missing People’ charity who are able to support the informant/family and arrange publicity, as appropriate.

The Missing Person will still remain circulated via PNC and if required Interpol diffusion form completed (seek advice from FIB regarding this & see policy appendix XV).

8.7 Unconfirmed / Doubted Identity

Nottinghamshire Police may have several reports of missing persons that do not relate to an identifiable individual. This occurs where a person absconds and is reported as a missing person but their true identity is not known and there is no identification material that could identify them if found. In these cases, where there is no likelihood of matching the person against a found person or body, the case should be put before members of the Senior Management Team for a decision as to whether to close the missing person report.

Prior to closure, the full circumstances of the missing episode must be recorded on COMPACT. This will assist with any future repeat episodes and considerations for prevention measures.

In accordance with the NDM if all of the enquiries have been completed, and the person is not traced the investigation can be set to ‘inactive’ with the person remaining as circulated on PNC. If the person is over the age of 18 a decision will be made as to whether the person will remain on the system as ‘inactive’ or ‘closed’.

9. Specific Investigations

9.1 Missing Children

Safeguarding young and vulnerable people is a responsibility of the police service and partner agencies (see Children Act 2004). When the police are notified that a child is missing, there is a clear responsibility on them to prevent the child from coming to harm. Where appropriate, a strategy meeting may be held.

Young People and Risky Behaviour

Children and young people often do not have the same levels of awareness or ability to keep themselves safe as adults. Going missing may indicate that something is wrong in their lives. However, these children may not understand the risk they are exposing themselves to and should not be treated as low risk simply due to their apparent willingness to comply.

Children may find themselves in dangerous situations because they may have been abused, neglected or rejected by their families or others and, as a result, they may engage in further risky behaviours, such as:

Misusing substances
Committing crimes through their own choice or being criminally exploited
Having risky sexual contacts
Living on the streets
Mixing with inappropriate adults

Nottinghamshire Police will comply with the agreed Joint Protocol in relation to young people who go missing and implement interventions to safeguard and reduce further missing episodes (Refer to Appendix II).

In conjunction with partners agencies Nottinghamshire Police is implementing the Philomena Protocol; this allows a more integrated safeguarding process with care placements especially when they have come from out of county. (Please refer to Appendix XXX).

9.2 Missing Adults

The vulnerability of adults may arise from age, infirmity, mental or physical health issues, or a combination of factors. Adults who are accommodated in residential care situations, are day patients at hospital, or have attended or have been taken to accident and emergency departments, or those experiencing personal problems, e.g. financial, mental health or relationship difficulties can be especially vulnerable.

Elderly individuals may be at risk of wandering (eg, those with dementia/Alzheimer’s). Proactive measures to safeguard individuals may include commercially available tracking systems, used by carers that can assist in locating people if they are missing. Adults who are accommodated in residential care situations should agree to the Herbert Protocol. Refer to Appendix XXIX.

Missing from Hospital Emergency Departments

It can be challenging to determine the level of risk to persons who go missing from emergency departments, particularly when assessing their medical needs.
It is important that full details of the individual’s medical conditions are obtained, including the impact of not taking any medication, to make the risk assessment and decide on actions to be undertaken. Where relevant, advice should be sought from qualified medical staff on the likely outcomes of a vulnerable adult not receiving treatment and their ability to look after themselves or to survive.

G:\POLICY\Joint Protocol Hospitals\Joint Protocol Missing Service User (Hospitals A&E).docx

Absconders from Mental Health Units (Sectioned and Voluntary Patients)

The detention at hospital of patients for the purposes of assessment or treatment is provided for under various sections of the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended 2007). Any report of an absence in breach of these powers must be risk assessed and appropriate action taken to safeguard the wellbeing of the individual and the public at large.

AWOL patients APP for responses to patients missing from mental health inpatient settings throughout Nottinghamshire. This protocol can be accessed via the below links:

G:\POLICY\Joint Protocol Hospitals\Joint Protocol Missing Service User Inpatient Wards & Units.pdf

G:\POLICY\Joint Protocol Hospitals\Missing Patient Policy - Doncaster & Bassetlaw.docx

G:\POLICY\Joint Protocol Hospitals\Missing Person Policy and Procedure NHS Trust.docx

Further information

Vulnerable adults APP

Mental vulnerability and illness APP

10. Specialist Departments

10.1 Communications Data in Missing and Vulnerable Persons Investigations

Access to Communications Data

In missing persons investigations it may be necessary to gain access to data in relation to their mobile device or social media accounts. This is provided for in s.60A(7)(e) and s.61A(7)(c) of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. The purposes that are most likely to be relevant to missing persons are:

An immediate threat of loss of human life, or for the protection of human life, such that a person’s life might be endangered if the application procedure were undertaken in writing from the outset; (This may include safeguarding the welfare of vulnerable people, including children at imminent risk of being abused or otherwise harmed). In an emergency, of preventing death or injury or any damage to a person’s physical or mental health, or of mitigating any injury or damage to a person’s physical or mental health – covered by S.61A(7)(c).
In the interests of public safety (Subscriber checks only)
For the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder
For the purpose of assisting in identifying any person who has died otherwise than as a result of crime or who is unable to identify himself because of a physical or mental condition, other than one resulting from crime (such as a natural disaster or an accident), and
In relation a person who has died or is unable to identify himself, for the purpose of obtaining information about the next of kin or other connected persons of such a person or about the reason for his death or condition

For further information regarding Access to Communications Data contact force SPOC team for further advice.

http://intranet/Departments/BusinessFinance/corporatelibrary/ProceduresGuides/Policing/EvidenceAndIntelligence/PD_657_Use_of_Communications_Data_in_Missing_and_Vulnerable_Persons_Inve....doc

10.2 Police Search Advisors

Police Search Advisors (PolSAs) provide expert advice and assistance in relation to search related matters. Their advice should be sought in any missing person investigation where the divisional supervisor identifies that there is a genuine need for specialist search advice. DMIs and DCIs should ensure that their rationale for seeking search advice is fully documented and that contact with the PolSA is made by an appropriately briefed officer without delay.

PolSAs are available 24 hours a day and can be contacted via the Force Control Room Supervisor.

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PD 361
Missing Persons Recording and Investigation Procedure

Type of Document:
Procedure

Version:
4.1

Registered Owner:
Supt Verma – Head of Missing Persons & Contact Management Senior command

Author:
PS2762 Ian Birkin & PS3253 Vanessa Wake

Effective Date:
December 2021

Review Date:
December 2024

Replaces Document (if applicable):
V3 (3.5) PD 361 Missing Persons Recording and Investigation

Linked Documents:
PD 037 Critical Incident procedure
PD 117. Forensic Submissions Procedure
PD 255 Sexual Exploitation of Children procedure
PD 494 Child Rescue Alert procedure
PD 554 Forced Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Based Violence procedure
PD 599 Child Abduction Warning Notices
ACPO Code Of Practice 2009 on the Collection Of Missing Persons Data
Circulation of MISPERS outside of the UK, contact FIB for advice & see policy appendix XV.

Cookies

Missing Persons Recording and Investigation (PD 361)

1. Introduction

The Locate team:

The Safeguarding & Prevent team:

1.1. Aims / Objectives

1.2. Information sharing, Quality Assurance and Compliance

1.3. The Missing Person Investigation Cycle

An indicator of harm

1.4. Duty of Positive Action

1.5. Definitions

The APP definition of a missing person is:

2. The Assessment of Risk

2.1. The Risk Assessment Table

2a. Missing Low risk

Definition

Response

2b. Medium risk

Definition

Response

2d. High risk

Definition

Response

2.2. Factors that Influence Risk

2.3. Joint Responsibility and Initial Report to Police

Parent and Carer responsibilities

2.4. Control Room/Enquiry officers

2.5. Initial Response to ‘Missing Low’ (Formerly known as No apparent risk) incidents

2.6. Initial response to ‘Missing – Low/Medium/High’ incidents

3. Priority Assessment – Risk Factors, Classification and Response

3.1 Dealing with Critical Incident and Major Investigations

3.2 Use of Action Management System

3.3 Dealing with HIGH risk cases

3.4 Dealing with Medium and Low risk cases

3.5 Review of Risk

4. Investigation

The investigative process

4.1 Actions of First Officer to Attend

Responsibilities

4.2 The Supervision and Review Process

4.3 Sergeant Responsibility

4.4 Duty Demand Management Inspector Responsibility

Initial Review within 24 hours

Ongoing Review from 24 hours to 7 days

4.5 Ongoing Ownership Of The Missing Enquiry (Medium/Low risk) After 7 Days

4.6 Detective Chief Inspector/ Detective Inspector Responsibility

5. Sightings

6. Cross-border cases

Ownership and responsibility for cases

Foreign Force enquires

7. Management of the Return

7.1 Indication of exploitation or harm

Additional concerns

7.2 Accommodation

7.3 Children and young people

7.4 Confidentiality

7.5 Interviews

7.6 Prevention interviews (Previously known as safe and well checks)

ATTENDING OFFICER Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

RESPONSE SERGEANT Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

DUTY MANAGEMENT INSPECTOR Key Actions and Responsibilities – when Found

7.8 Local authority Return Interviews for Children (Refer to Appendix XXV)

7.9 Other considerations

Children Under 18 years – Missing from Care

Adults Missing from Mental Health Wards within Nottinghamshire

8. Review and Closure

8.1 Long-Term Case Management

8.2 Long-Term Case Reviews - Supporting Family and Carers

8.3 Case Closure When The Person Has Been Located But Not Seen

8.4 Case Closure When The Person Is Found Deceased

8.5 Deliberate Absence

8.6 Cold Cases ‘inactive’

8.7 Unconfirmed / Doubted Identity

9. Specific Investigations

9.1 Missing Children

Young People and Risky Behaviour

9.2 Missing Adults

Missing from Hospital Emergency Departments

Absconders from Mental Health Units (Sectioned and Voluntary Patients)

Further information