Article

Missing persons: The processes and challenges of police investigation

Taylor & Francis
Policing and Society
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Abstract

Responding to reports of missing persons represents one of the biggest demands on the resources of police organisations. In the UK, for example, it is estimated that over 300,000 missing persons incidents are recorded by the police each year which means that a person in the UK is recorded missing by the police approximately every two minutes. However, there is a complex web of behaviours that surround the phenomenon of missing persons which can make it difficult to establish whether someone's disappearance is ‘intentional’ or ‘unintentional’ or whether they might be at risk of harm from themselves or others. Drawing on a set of missing person case reconstructions and interviews with the officers involved with these cases, this paper provides insights into the different stages of the investigative process and some of the key influences which shape the trajectory of a missing person's investigation. In particular, it highlights the complex interplay between actions which are ‘ordered and conditioned’ by a procedural discourse around how missing persons investigations should be conducted, and the narratives that officers construct about how they approach investigations which are often shaped by a mix of police craft, ‘science’ and ‘reputational’ issues.

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... Going missing is not a criminal offence, yet the police are the first port of call to begin the search for the missing child, returning them to a place of safety, and building intelligence for any future episodes (Fyfe et al., 2015;Gambier-Ross et al., 2023;Hutchings et al., 2019). Concerns have been expressed that children may become over-criminalised through exposure to the police, sometimes unnecessarily (Bayliss & Quinton, 2013). ...
... The RHI seeks to determine why the child went missing, where they went, and with who which, in turn, will help uncover risks surrounding their episode, why they may go missing again, and how they could be supported to avoid repeat occurrences (Department for Education, 2014; English Coalition for Runaway Children [ECRC], 2021). This can help the police in their attempts to build intelligence about the RMC (Fyfe et al., 2015). Little reference is made to the efficacy of RHIs in the available literature, but the Children's Society (2013) reported a 60 percent reduction in missing episodes and risky behaviours following the RHI. ...
... Unlike RHIs, the safe and well checks must be completed face-to-face (Harris, 2019), by the police but with no specific timeframes implemented. There is a requirement that any information obtained will be shared with relevant organisation to ensure continued support for the children's needs (Fyfe et al., 2015). However, studies report mixed views on the efficacy of safe and well checks, with a lack of training and guidance for officers completing the checks (SEU, 2002), and with negative views of their efficacy held by the police (Newiss, 1999). ...
... However, there is often enormous strains associated with these incidents due to the varying reasons for why people go missing and the myriad of factors contributing to these episodes (Gibb and Woolnough 2007). As a result, families, local communities, and police and social welfare resources are often negatively impacted (Fyfe, Stevenson and Woolnough 2015;Wayland, Maple, McKay and Glassock 2016;Lenferink, van Denderen, de Keijser, Wessel, and Boelen 2017). For example, Shalev Greene and Pakes (2013) found that, in the United Kingdom (U.K.), the cost of responding to missing person reports for the police alone across ten separate locations per year equates to somewhere between £482,250 and £879,060, which estimates to approximately $830,230 to $1,513,340 in Canada. ...
... Other literature, however, has attempted to provide more explanatory approaches by focusing on the social and environmental impacts classified as 'push' and 'pull' factors (Tarling and Burrows 2004). Push factors include, for example, life stressors such as relationship breakdowns, abusive situations, and unhappiness with one's present circumstances (Brenton 1978;Hirschel and Lab 1988;Biehal, Mitchell, and Wade 2003;Tarling and Burrows 2004;Fyfe et al. 2015). Among the pull factors mentioned is a desire to abuse substances and/or participate in illicit activities (Newiss 1999;Tarling and Burrows 2004). ...
... Interestingly, we found that the presence of other maladaptive coping behaviors, such as using substances and/or gambling, less frequently resulted in a missing episode, but were mentioned in relation to them, relative to other negative emotions and stressors. This finding is in contrast to existing literature on the reasons for 'going missing' or factors influencing people to go missing (e.g., Brenton 1978;Hirschel and Lab 1988;Biehal, Mitchell, and Wade 2003;Tarling and Burrows 2004;Fyfe et al. 2015). Taken together, these findings highlight that going missing may be less to do with the 'risk factors' currently identified in existing literature. ...
... The person will be considered missing until located' (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2015). In the UK, approximately 300,000 missing person's incidents are reported to the police every year (Fyfe et al., 2015), while in the USA this number reached 543,018 in 2019 (Statistica, 2021). Missing Children (2021) reported that more than 250,000 children in Europe and 45,288 children in Canada went missing in 2019. ...
... It is noteworthy that among all these missing persons, more than 80% return home within 24 h of being reported missing and 96% are found safe within the following days and months (Fyfe et al., 2015;Tarling & Burrows, 2004). ...
... However, a smaller number of disappearances are involuntary and associated with a criminal act (i.e., abductions and/or violent offending leading to homicides whose victims' bodies are never found) (Biehal et al., 2003;García-Barceló et al., 2020;LePard et al., 2015;Taylor et al., 2019). Although the prevalence of these cases remains small in comparison to the number of annual disappearances (i.e, 1%-4% of cases; see Newiss, 2006;Tarling & Burrows, 2004) their management represents an important challenge for law enforcement agencies in terms of the associated costs but more importantly, the complexity of these investigations (Fyfe et al., 2015;LePard et al., 2015;Shalev Greene & Pakes, 2014). ...
Article
The purpose of this study is to explore cases of missing persons suspected of being criminal. Specifically, this research aims to empirically describe the circumstances surrounding criminal disappearances and examine whether there are different subcategories within these cases using a victimological framework. The data used in this study come from an operational police database. The sample includes 155 unsolved missing person cases whose thorough investigation by the police concluded that a criminal motive remained the most likely hypothesis. These cases occurred on the entire territory of metropolitan France and overseas. Multidimensional scale analysis was used to explore the context of disappearance according to missing person characteristics, lifestyle, everyday activities, and situational exposure at the time of the disappearance. Results show that the distribution of variables in a two‐dimensional space reveals four distinct different categories related to lifestyle and situational exposure: riskier lifestyle, riskier situation, safer situation, and safer lifestyle. This study is the first to empirically explore unsolved missing person cases suspected of a criminal outcome. Moreover, the framework used in this study demonstrates the importance of victimology in an investigative context.
... Over recent months, concerns have been raised about young women being murdered after first going missing, with recent international high-profile cases including Gabby Petito (United States [US], August 2021) and Sarah Everard (England, March 2021). Despite the fatal outcomes in these cases, Gabby and Sarah's bodies were recovered quickly, consistent with the widespread pattern that most missing individuals are found within one to seven days, irrespective of the outcome (Canada's Missing, 2020; National Crime Agency [NCA], 2021;Fyfe et al., 2015). However, not all missing person cases are (a) resolved quickly and (b) thought to have a particular outcome suspected during the initial investigation. ...
... It is generally recognised that people go missing for numerous and various reasons (Sedlak et al., 2002;Biehal et al., 2003;Ferguson & Huey, 2020), so the circumstances surrounding an individual's missing episode may not be immediately concerning to law enforcement officials. Often described as a 'missing continuum" (Biehal et al., 2003), individuals may "intentionally" go missing (i.e., of their own volition) or "unintentionally" (i.e., as a result of mental illness or third-party involvement) (Fyfe et al., 2015). Whether intentional or not, missing person reports always run the risk of traversing into "cold" or "long-term" cases, meaning that it has yet to be resolved despite a stretch of time passing and/or investigative leads being exhausted. ...
... A wealth of literature exists across England and Wales to support the understanding of various aspects of missing persons, including the prevalence and demographics of missing persons (Bonny et al., 2016;Hayden & Shalev-Greene, 2018;Malloch & Burgess, 2011;Newiss, 2006), the "geographies" of missing persons (Fyfe et al., 2015;Gibb & Woolnough, 2007;Shalev et al., 2009;Shalev Greene & Hayden, 2014), the impact on families (Boss, 2002(Boss, , 2006Parr & Stevenson, 2013a, 2013bParr et al., 2016;Jones et al., 2007;Wyland et al., 2016), and the outcomes for individuals going missing (Biehal et al., 2003;Newiss, 2006;Tarling & Burrows, 2004). In Canada, there has been an uptick in studies exploring missing persons (e.g., Ferguson & Koziarski, 2021;Ferguson & Picknell, 2021;Giwa & Jackman, 2020;;Kowalski, 2020;Neubauer et al., 2021) with some replicating much the same subjects as the UK to build a base of understanding. ...
Article
Full-text available
Cold/long-term missing person cases continue to be a matter of great concern for the public and police. Scholars have attempted to study the issue of missing persons more broadly, using research from across regions to understand this phenomenon. However, there has been little study of how relevant research from different regions is to other areas and little examination of cold/long-term missing person cases. Given these two considerations – these cases being of great concern but understudied and the blending of research findings from different regions – this study presents first insights on cold/long-term missing person cases from England and Wales versus Canada through a comparative examination. From this, we offer key recommendations that either region may benefit from for enhancing police response. We also highlight the applicability of research from each region, discussing the implications of different police systems, processes, and challenges.
... Therefore, it is important how these cases are approached and interventions carried out. Unlike the investigation of known crimes, the investigation of cases of missing children is different and specific (5), because in these investigations, it is not enough to only capture the perpetrator/perpetrators. At the same time, the police should be able to find the child alive/safe and delivered to his/her relatives (3). ...
... Resulting from these two developments, the interest in the subject and how to approach and investigate the cases of missing children has increased in recent years. Most of the police investigations in the UK relate to missing cases (5). Two-thirds of them are children and the most frequent age range is in 15-17. ...
... Although studies on the subject of missing children and child abduction have increased, it is not enough (1,(12)(13)(14). In the studies, the challenges of the missing person investigations, the behaviour of the missing people, the geographic information in the missing investigations, the importance of the risk assessment and immediate response were discussed and suggestions were made to help the police investigations (1,5,8,13,(15)(16)(17). While these studies generally mention the investigation of missing persons, they rarely touch on the characteristics (e.g. using media parties such as alert systems etc.) of investigation of missing children cases specifically. ...
Article
Full-text available
Objective:The present study aims to criticize how to intervene and investigate in cases of missing children in Turkey in the context of first response, criminal investigation and TV Programmes. Thus, we can offer suggestions on how to make more effective interventions in missing children cases in the context of the current investigation of missing and abducted children cases.Methods:The research adopted a qualitative analysis method and in order to collect data, interviewing and documenting technique from professionals related to Turkish approach (n=5), and speakers and producers of TV programmes (ATV-T.S. and Fox TV-K.Ç.) related to missing children (n=3) were applied. Then the collected data were analyzed with content analysis.Results:Content analysis yielded three themes: 1-Administrative approach and first response, 2- Judiciary approach and criminal investigation, 3- The approach of TV programs. In the light of findings, many institutions participate in the intervention process, professionals from many different fields need to work together, investigation processes are also defined step by step. It has been observed that there is no certainty about standards on the issues of receiving the first report of missing children, how is the transition from administrative approach to judicial approach in the case of a criminal factor, coordination of the units and professionals involved in the process. The effectiveness of TV programs in mobilizing potential witnesses (the third eye) is significant; however, there are no standards in relation to the protection of witnesses, victims and their relatives against defamation and disclosure.Conclusion:In the context of the Turkish approach, in order for the intervention and investigation of missing and abducted children to become more effective, standards should be determined at the following four points: Receiving missing reports, the importance of time in the context of criminal assessment, the coordination of approaches, using mass media for the third eye and participants rights in TV programs. Effective training must be developed that ensures all parties are aware of the processes, how to implement them and what information they might need to carry out for an effective investigation.
... In England and Wales, there were 282,066 recorded missing persons cases in 2014/15 (NCA, 2016). This equates to a new case being recorded approximately every two minutes (Fyfe, Stevenson and Woolnough, 2015). Responding to reports of missing persons is a significant challenge for the police (Shalev Greene and Hayden, 2014;Fyfe, Stevenson and Woolnough, 2015). ...
... This equates to a new case being recorded approximately every two minutes (Fyfe, Stevenson and Woolnough, 2015). Responding to reports of missing persons is a significant challenge for the police (Shalev Greene and Hayden, 2014;Fyfe, Stevenson and Woolnough, 2015). According to estimates from the College of Policing (2015), the police devote upward of 3 million 'investigation hours' per year to missing persons reports in the UK. ...
... The literature distinguishes, for example, between individuals who go missing voluntarily (such as those seeking to escape problems or pressures), with individuals who go missing involuntarily (such as people with dementia who may become lost) as well as those whose absence is in some way 'forced', as with kidnappings and abductions (Quinet, 2012;Biehal, Mitchell and Wade, 2003). As Fyfe et al. (2015) observe, part of the complexity inherent in missing persons investigations is accurately locating an absentee along the 'missing continuum' (Biehal et al. 2003), and thereby determining an appropriate police response. ...
Article
Missing persons investigations are arguably the most common and costly non-crime problem the police are expected to handle, with a large proportion of all cases attributable to young people. This article investigates the prevalence, time course, distance, and correlates of repeat disappearances by children (under the age of 18 years). Using data from one UK police force for the period January 2011 to May 2013 (n = 1,885), we find that (1) nearly two-thirds of all missing child reports are repeat disappearances, (2) a small proportion of children who go missing repeatedly (15%) account for over half of all missing persons incidents, (3) children who go missing repeatedly tend to travel shorter distances than children reported missing once, and (4) the likelihood of a child going missing on multiple occasions is associated with age, being in care, a history of family conflict, and if going missing was judged to be ‘out of character’. The implications of our findings for the prevention of repeat disappearances by young people are discussed.
... Every report of a missing person comes with a substantial challenge where police officers must first establish whether this is an intentional or unintentional absence. It brings a great amount of ambiguity to the investigative process, a factor that can influence the most appropriate police response (Fyfe et al., 2015). Ambiguity in the limited information available, coupled with the quick response that is required in missing person investigations, allow for potential biases to influence the decision-making process, as individuals are likely to rely on heuristics and stereotypes they are familiar with (Correll et al., 2014;Kahneman, 2011;Valutis, 2015). ...
... This stage of the search is noted as one that can help determine whether the case is an intentional or unintentional absence (College of Policing, 2012). Fyfe et al. (2015) noted that this narrative is not neutral, as it is developed by police officers. Thus, interpretation of early-stage information used to create this narrative can potentially be affected by biases that officers hold (see Foy, 2004). ...
... Second, investigating missing person cases is complex and fraught with "moral ambiguities" for law enforcement officers (Innes, 2002, p. 73). To begin, when a missing person report is received, an investigator must determine whether the person is missing because of a crime (e.g., a kidnapping, assault, human trafficking) or a non-criminal but potentially dangerous situation (e.g., an accident, an illness such as dementia), or whether their absence is voluntary (e.g., a young adult striking out on their own) (Fyfe et al., 2015;James et al., 2008). If the missing person is an adult and not determined to be "vulnerable," there are additional complications regarding investigations, as adults have the right to go missing (see Chakraborty, 2019). ...
... As such, law enforcement investigators must balance the rights of the missing person while also attempting to establish their safety and treat families with compassion (Bayliss & Quinton, 2013). In totality, investigating missing person cases is a fluid process influenced by many unpredictable individual case characteristics, many of which are unknown by those reporting a person as missing when they make a report (Fyfe et al., 2015;Innes, 2002). ...
Article
This study explored the potential role of victim advocacy in Native American missing person cases. Interviews with 25 tribal and non-tribal victim/social service providers were conducted to assess their perspectives on the factors which make Native Americans vulnerable to going missing, the barriers and challenges regarding reporting and investigating missing persons, as well as how victim/social service providers might better support the families of missing persons. Findings suggest that advocates perceive that responding to and offering services for Native families who experience a missing loved one will be extremely difficult because of the intersection of isolation, poverty, and jurisdictional complexities among tribal lands, combined with social service providers and law enforcement officers' lack of resources and training regarding cultural sensitivity. At the same time, advocates suggest that additional training and resources could help overcome many of these barriers and see a role for victim service providers in responding to missing and murdered Native American persons. Implications and suggestions for practice are discussed.
... While the investigative process is circular rather than linear, with many actions being taken simultaneously and each action informing subsequent decisions (Newiss, 1999;Salet, 2017), we can consider two stages, based on the work of Fyfe et al (2015b): the 'initial response' and 'further investigation and searching' stages. Most missing person investigations begin at the moment someone is reported missing, usually through a phone call to a police control room, sometimes in person at a police station (ACPO, 2005b). ...
... Most missing person investigations begin at the moment someone is reported missing, usually through a phone call to a police control room, sometimes in person at a police station (ACPO, 2005b). In the 'initial response', police will work to establish a 'definition of the situation' to understand whether there is something suspicious about the person going missing, and whether they may 7 be at risk (Fyfe et al., 2015b). At this stage, officers collect initial information which forms the basis of further investigative actions (Simons and Willie, 2000;ACPO, 2005bACPO, , 2010 College of Policing, 2016). ...
... Lo que fundamenta otra de las preocupaciones que rodean la problemática de las personas desaparecidas: la necesidad de abordar la prevención de estos desenlaces y la estandarización de la investigación policial en función de la evidencia (Bonny et al., 2016;Buckley, 2012;Huey y Ferguson, 2020;Newiss, 2004;Sarkin, 2019;Woolnough et al., 2019;Woolnough y Cunningham, 2020). Especialmente en lo que respecta a las tareas relacionadas con el establecimiento de mecanismos eficaces de valoración del riesgo de sufrir una lesión, o el fallecimiento, durante la desaparición (Buckley, 2012;Eales, 2017;Fyfe, Stevenson y Woolnough, 2015). En pos de abordar estos retos, durante los últimos años la investigación científica viene explorando de manera empírica las relaciones existentes entre las características de las desapariciones, las personas desparecidas y el estado de salud en el que son localizadas (Bantry y Montgomery, 2015; Biehal et al., 2003;Bricknell, 2017;Eales, 2017;Newiss, 2004, Newiss, 2006Newiss, 2011;Newiss y Greatbatch, 2019;Sveticic et al., 2012;Tarling y Burrows, 2004). ...
... En el ámbito internacional, la literatura científica existente señala que los casos de adultos desaparecidos se caracterizan por: ser hombres, de edades tempranas, con antecedentes de salud mental, involucrados en procesos judiciales/policiales, que abusan del alcohol y las drogas, o tienen problemas económicos, laborales, familiares y relacionados con las emociones (Biehal et al., 2003;Blackemore et al., 2005;Foy, 2006;Foy, 2016;García-Barceló et al., 2019;Gibb y Woolnough, 2007;Greene y Hayden, 2014;Kiernan y Henderson, 2002;Newiss, 2004;Newiss, 2006;Tarling y Burrows, 2004;Payne, 1995). Por otro lado, en relación con las características asociadas a los menores se ha identificado que éstos son personas que: están en centros de acogida, son reincidentes, tienen antecedentes de salud mental, abusan de alcohol y drogas, han sido víctimas de situaciones de abuso, negligencia, discriminación o explotación sexual, tienen problemas familiares, escolares, emocionales, relacionados con la delincuencia, o pretenden ser independientes (Biehal et al., 2003;Blackmore et al., 2005;Crosland y Dunlap, 2015;Greene y Hayden, 2014;García-Barceló et al., 2019;Kiepal et al., 2012;Morewitz, 2016;Shalev, 2011;Stevenson y Thomas, 2018;Thompson et al., 2011;Tyler y Cauce, 2002). ...
Article
Full-text available
La investigación científica sobre personas desaparecidas a nivel internacional y nacional se ha incrementado durante los últimos años en pos de abordar los diferentes retos establecidos acerca de la estandarización de la respuesta inicial (prevención e intervención) ante el fenómeno por parte de la Administración Pública. Los objetivos de este trabajo se centran en la identificación de las características que componen los perfiles de adultos y menores desaparecidos en España así como las relaciones existentes entre éstas y los estados de salud en los que las personas desaparecidas son localizadas. Se ha estudiado una muestra de 1,140 desapariciones ocurridas y esclarecidas en España en el año 2019. Los resultados indicaron que existen características que discriminan entre los perfiles de adultos y menores desaparecidos, así como entre los diferentes tipos de desenlaces (buen estado de salud, lesión y fallecimiento). Estos hallazgos generan diversas implicaciones en función del grupo de edad de la persona desaparecida: a) en el ámbito de la prevención general de las desapariciones, y sobre los grupos específicos de riesgo de resultar dañados o fallecidos, así como b) en el ámbito de la investigación policial para la creación de herramientas de apoyo a la toma de decisiones.
... The pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak and resultant government restrictions (i.e. lockdowns) have placed unique demands on the emergency services (WHO 2020) including the police (Laufs and Waseem 2020) who, in the UK, bear responsibility for assessing the risk of harm of reported missing persons, locating them, and managing safeguarding (Fyfe et al. 2015, College of Policing 2020. This is a challenging task in 'normal' times given the sheer volume, complexity of cases, and decisions around how best to allocate stretched resources (Fyfe et al. 2015). ...
... lockdowns) have placed unique demands on the emergency services (WHO 2020) including the police (Laufs and Waseem 2020) who, in the UK, bear responsibility for assessing the risk of harm of reported missing persons, locating them, and managing safeguarding (Fyfe et al. 2015, College of Policing 2020. This is a challenging task in 'normal' times given the sheer volume, complexity of cases, and decisions around how best to allocate stretched resources (Fyfe et al. 2015). ...
Article
Full-text available
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant restrictions imposed by governments pose short- and long-term challenges for the police, especially within resource-intensive areas of policing such as missing persons. However, the novelty of the pandemic means little research focus has been directed at understanding these challenges and how they may be overcome. Using archival reports from six UK police forces, the current study examined the extent to which missing persons cases changed during the first UK COVID-19 lockdown. Using a non-experimental fixed design, differences in the characteristics of reports of both children and adults who went missing between March and May 2020 and the same time period in 2019 were examined. Findings suggest a substantial reduction in missing reports overall, but a shift in the proportions of types of cases reported. For example, there was a greater proportion of adults classified as high risk of harm during this period and a greater proportion of children who were deemed low risk, who were living in residential care, and who were not from a White British background. Although forces must consider the findings within their local context, the study has implications in terms of demand and allocation of police resources, as well as multi-agency working. Future research is discussed.
... the United Kingdom (UK) were repeat cases (National Crime Agency, 2019). In Canada, first responders are responsible for locating a missing person and this task is among the most time and resource intensive for police services given the personnel required and time-sensitive nature of a search (Fyfe et al., 2015). The reduction and prevention of repeat missing person incidents has the potential to decrease the burden on police resources (Harris & Shalev Greene, 2016;Huey et al., 2020) and reduce the risk (including serious injury and death) for persons living with dementia (Huey et al., 2020;Murata et al., 2021). ...
Article
Persons living with dementia are at risk of becoming lost. While return discussions after missing incidents are common with children, these discussions are seldom done with persons living with dementia. Our objective was to describe the use of return discussions with persons living with dementia according to the literature and practice. We conducted a scoping review using 19 databases to locate scholarly and grey literature on return discussions, followed by 20 semi-structured interviews with first responders and service providers in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). Eleven scholarly and 94 grey sources were included, most from the UK, related to missing children, none included persons with dementia. According to participants, although there was no standardized procedure, there were themes about conditions that facilitate return discussions. This was the first study to examine return discussion practice in dementia, and results can inform development of evidence-based protocols.
... For example, a person with dementia who has not been seen for 40 minutes and is likely to have been walking at some speed. These cases may require substantial resources, including air support, dog search, specialist divers, specialist equipment, etc. (Gibbs & Woolnough, 2008;Fyfe et al., 2015). Little information is currently available on the costs of some of the specialist resources needed for such searches. ...
... In the current situation in Ukraine, the availability of the latest morgues and modern equipment in the places of storage of material evidence of the Bureau of Forensic Medicine is not key to conducting an effective examination of the identity of the deceased. Considering the experience of European and global countries during natural and anthropogenic disasters, a clear organisation, planning, and sequence of actions in conducting certain studies is essential (Fyfe et al., 2015;Filippova, 2023;Kešeljevi & Spruk, 2023). Therewith, as the results of the study show, it would be advisable to use an integrated approach in the activities carried out in Ukraine to identify missing persons during the armed conflict and mass casualties, which increases the accuracy and organisation of law enforcement agencies' interaction with various international institutions and organisations. ...
Article
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Given the challenges of the ongoing war, the relevance of this study is conditioned by to the need to improve the practice of searching for Ukrainian citizens who went missing under special circumstances, specifically on the territory of other European states. The purpose of this study was to examine the legislative regulation of the status of missing persons and to analyse the legal regulation of relations related to the identification and search for, as well as social and legal protection of such persons. The methodological framework of the study was formed by both general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition: systemic and structural, informational, terminological, and formal logical method. Using these methods, the study highlighted the content of international and national regulatory legislation, which determines that the legal grounds for conducting a search for missing persons are the legal norms constituting the basis of international, legislative, and departmental regulations and are cumulative. The role of the International Committee of the Red Cross is analysed, and the statistics of identification of persons missing under special circumstances by this organisation was considered. Attention was focused on the activities of the International Commission on Missing Persons, which operated in various countries where the situation of missing persons during armed conflict and military operations arose. It was proved that the effectiveness of the mechanism for searching for missing persons depends on the interpretation of certain provisions of regulatory legislation, as well as on the staffing of bodies and units directly involved in the search for persons of this category. The study focused on the activities of the Commission on Missing Persons under Special Circumstances, which is a permanent advisory body of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as the significance of the International Commission on Missing Persons. It was concluded that the real situation in countries with ongoing armed conflicts necessitates the introduction and use of advanced digital technologies in the work on searching for missing persons. The study can serve as a basis for improving the legal framework for international cooperation in identifying missing civilians and military personnel in the territories where armed conflicts have occurred or are ongoing
... Rather than working together, police perceive themselves to be shouldering the responsibility (Hayden and Shalev-Greene, 2016), placing significant demand on finite resources (Biehal et al., 2003;Fyfe et al., 2014). Investment of police resources is determined by risk classification, with higher-risk cases receiving greater resource investment (no apparent, low, medium or high risk). ...
Article
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Responsibility for responding to missing children belongs to multiple agencies, including police, children’s homes and social services, but evidence highlights issues with collaboration. The following scoping review seeks to identify what is currently known about mechanisms that enhance collaboration in responding to missing. Findings highlight the value of (i) information-sharing techniques; (ii) cross-agency technology; (iii) single points of contact; (iv) regular multi-agency meetings; (v) shared understanding of terminology; (vi) clarifying roles and responsibilities; and (vii) joint training. However, research is needed that empirically tests the effectiveness of strategies and interventions for improving inter-agency working in this risky and uncertain context.
... Lo que fundamenta otra de las preocupaciones que rodean la problemática de las personas desaparecidas: la necesidad de abordar la prevención de estos desenlaces y la estandarización de la investigación policial en función de la evidencia Huey y Ferguson, 2020;Woolnough y Cunningham, 2020). Especialmente en lo que respecta a las tareas relacionadas con el establecimiento de mecanismos eficaces de valoración del riesgo de sufrir una lesión, o el fallecimiento, durante la desaparición Fyfe, Stevenson y Woolnough, 2015). En pos de abordar estos retos, durante los últimos años la investigación científica viene explorando de manera empírica las relaciones existentes entre las características de las desapariciones, las personas desparecidas y el estado de salud en el que son localizadas (Bantry y Montgomery, 2015; Newiss y Greatbatch, 2019;Tarling y Burrows, 2004). ...
Thesis
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La presente Tesis Doctoral nace del interés en identificar variables psicológicas, sociodemográficas y criminológicas que permitan discriminar entre los diferentes tipos de desaparición y desenlaces de salud (buen estado, daño o fallecimiento por causa violenta). A través de los trabajos incluidos se ha explorado y descrito el fenómeno de las personas desaparecidas en España por primera vez. Específicamente, con los seis estudios que integran esta Tesis Doctoral se han identificado y descrito los diferentes tipos de desapariciones existentes en España, se ha hallado que aunque la edad es una variable moduladora del fenómeno, es necesario considerar aspectos de naturaleza psicosocial o criminológica para explicar las causas y los motivos por los que una persona desaparece y llega a sufrir daños durante la desaparición, se han descrito los perfiles de adultos y menores desaparecidos así como identificado las vulnerabilidades de cada uno de ellos para sufrir daños o el fallecimiento, se han descrito las características psicosociales y criminológicas de los desenlaces violentos (suicidios y homicidios) así como identificado sus factores de riesgo de manera empírica, se ha construido un sistema predictivo de valoración del riesgo eficaz (“SER-DesVi”) que es capaz de identificar de forma temprana aquellos casos en los que es probable que la persona resulte dañada durante la desaparición o fallecida por causa violenta (suicida y homicida) y se ha estudiado la validez y capacidad predictiva del “SER-DesVi” haciendo uso de diferentes técnicas de minería de datos o “machine learning”. Estos hallazgos han permitido la identificación empírica de algunos de los mecanismos explicativos que diferencian entre los tipos de desapariciones y los posibles desenlaces. Este conocimiento podría contribuir a conocer los factores sobre los que deben asentarse las campañas de prevención y educación en materia de personas desaparecidas. Finalmente, han servido para la construcción del “SER-DesVi”, una herramienta predictiva fiable, eficiente, y de fácil manejo para los investigadores policiales que permite la identificación temprana de los casos que presentan riesgo de que la persona desaparecida resulte dañada o fallecida por causa suicida u homicida.
... It can provide key clues about the physical characteristics, behavioral habits, and last known time and location of missing persons. These statements may aid in establishing potential search areas for locating the missing persons (Fyfe, Stevenson, and Woolnough 2015). Therefore, using this data and building models to help in the recovery of missing persons can be of help to the police. ...
Article
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Missing person crimes can seriously affect the well-being of Chinese families, and missing person destination prediction can help to solve this problem. Using nongovernmental organization (NGO) data to predict the locations of missing persons by random forest (RF) model has made progress. However, studies using these data have ignored the mass of oral information. Recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of oral information in detecting missing persons, but the impact on destination prediction remains unexplored. Therefore, this study proposes a missing person prediction (MP-Net) framework to incorporate oral information into missing person destination prediction and quantitatively describe the effect of different word properties on the prediction. The results show that compared to the baseline RF model, the proposed framework achieves a higher recall rate (87.18%) in the location prediction of missing persons. According to a quantitative word analysis, verbs and nouns in oral information significantly contributed to location prediction. After adjectives that might cause adverse effects were removed, the stability of the model was improved considerably. Overall, the findings of the proposed model and quantitative word analysis can help police or NGOs collect descriptive information in a targeted manner and make more accurate predictions about the whereabouts of missing persons.
... The large volume of missing people is one of the greatest challenges to local and state law enforcement agencies. Finding missing people is a demanding and resource-intensive task that involves multiple agencies and the families of the missing individuals (Fyfe et al., 2015). Enlisting volunteers to support the searches and using technological innovations may provide the needed assistance to law enforcement agencies and increase the success chance of the searches (Quinet, 2012). ...
Article
Over 600,000 people go missing every year in the US alone. Despite the extensive resources allocated to investigating these cases, the high volume of missing person cases constitutes one of the biggest challenges for law enforcement agencies. One approach to tackle this challenge is using crowdsourcing. That is, volunteers use freely available tools and techniques to aid the existing efforts to investigate missing person cases. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) refers to gathering information from publicly available sources and analyzing it through a comprehensive set of open-source tools to produce meaningful and actionable intelligence. OSINT has been applied to address various societal challenges and crimes, including environmental abuse, human rights violations, child exploitation, domestic violence, disasters, and locating missing people. Building on this premise, this case examines a crowdsourced initiative called Trace Labs that aims to assist law enforcement agencies in solving missing person cases using OSINT tools. The case emphasizes socio-technical aspects of cybersecurity, highlighting both the bright and dark sides of technology. It demonstrates the potential of information systems to serve the public good by examining topics such as open-source software, crowdsourcing, and intelligence gathering, while acknowledging that the very same underlying technology can be used for malicious purposes.
... However, police perceive this responsibility to be falling heavily on their shoulders, placing strain on resources (Greenhalgh & Shalev Greene, 2021;Hayden & Shalev-Greene, 2016). With government funding cuts to public services creating further pressure to do more with less (Boulton et al., 2017;Fyfe et al., 2014), questions are being raised regarding allocation of police resources in responding to missing children given that most are found within 24 h (NCA, 2022). Questions are also being raised regarding the use of non-specialist teams to manage investigations given potential complex risks involved such as criminal or sexual exploitation (All-Party Parliamentary Groups [APPG], 2019; Greenhalgh & Shalev Greene, 2021). ...
Article
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Some police forces are investing resources into dedicated missing person teams (MPTs) to improve risk assessment and responsibility sharing across partner agencies. This study used police records and interviews with representatives from police and partner agencies in one UK region to provide the first systematic evaluation of the impact of implementing a dedicated MPT on the response to missing children. Results revealed a reduction in reports and change in risk assessment practices post implementation, along with suggestions that the MPT brought about more of a child-centred approach, a pushing back of responsibility to care providers, and greater personalised communication with children and care providers. However, improvements needed to be made to intra- and inter-agency communication, and consideration of resources across shift patterns. Findings pose important implications for informing decisions regarding allocation of finite resources and improving multiagency response to missing children.
... The finding that forty-five (2.1%) of the sample were reported as deceased across the ten-year follow-up is a cause for concern. Prior research suggests that only a small percentage of people die while they are missing (Fyfe et al., 2015). This finding may just be inherently linked to the young people's risky lifestyles and having to survive in a range of high-risk environments (Svensson and Pauwels, 2010) both prior to, or as a consequence of, going missing. ...
... A recent national review of the Missing People Authorized Professional Practice (APP) indicates that part of the problem stems from how 'missing' is defined and implemented in practice (Allsop et al., 2020). Evidence suggests a lack of shared interagency understanding of concepts such as 'missing' (Hayden and Shalev-Greene, 2016;Allsop et al., 2020), and problems with coordination of responses within and between agencies (Pearce, 2013;Fyfe et al., 2014;Giles et al., 2020). Yet, little research focus has been directed toward identifying the underlying causes of these inter-team problems within the context of missing child investigations. ...
Article
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Despite responsibility for missing children belonging to multiple agencies, police perceive this to be falling heavily on their shoulders, placing substantial demand on finite resources. Drawing on thematic analysis of 24 interviews conducted with police, local authority, social service, and care home staff from across three UK boroughs, the following study seeks to identify what factors facilitate and hinder inter-agency working in the prevention and response to missing children and why. Findings highlight that inter-agency working is facilitated by having 'direct points of contact' across agencies to facilitate information sharing. Inter-agency working is hindered by 'inconsistent definitions of missing' , limited 'understanding of roles and responsibilities' , 'service demand' , 'technological issues' , 'fear' , and 'discrepancies in responses to missing'. Evidence suggests that partnership working would be facilitated by improving shared understanding of missing, roles and responsibilities, and having direct points of contact across agencies.
... The process of homing in on an area suitable for excavation may be achieved using other appropriate proxies such as drone or aerial remote sensing [5,6], geophysics such as resistivity or electromagnetics [9,10], vegetation mapping [11], or less-targeted probing over the whole area for victim recovery dog deployment [12,13]. Should results from any of these proxies be inconclusive, then a conjunctive, or orthogonal approach should be adopted [14] to build up a refined conceptual model of the search area and individual anomalies. ...
Article
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In the absence of surface indications of burial sites, law enforcement or humanitarian organizations are faced with the difficult task of focusing large-scale ground searches to a manageable excavation area. A geoforensic-based survey may exclude parts of the landscape for reasons such as diggability or viewshed analysis but leave areas still too large for invasive exploration. This work examines how drone-based remote sensing, geophysics, and search dogs may be combined to narrow such searches. Here, we ask the reader to consider two examples where forensic geomorphology and land use provided a range of possible burial locations. Following this is a multi-proxy approach to similar dilemma, with a search-to-scene case study using remote sensing (drone photography), geophysics, ground probes, and search dogs. This approach is not presented as a definitive guide, but serves as an example of the conjunctive use of well-studied methods to approach a common problem in geoforensics.
... The urgency in finding missing persons with dementia makes search operations very resource-and time-consuming (Fyfe et al., 2015;Sowerby and Thomas, 2017;Shalev Greene and Pakes, 2013), emphasising the need for collaboration. ...
Article
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give an account for preparative collaboration between the police and municipal eldercare in Sweden concerning missing persons with dementia. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach used was a qualitative case study design, consisting of one focus group with representatives for the participating organisations, followed by directed content analysis. Findings The findings showed a lack of current collaboration and reluctance to new collaborative initiatives. However, when focussing on preparative collaboration of coordinated responses to missing incidents, possibilities for improvement could be identified. The improvements concerned updated personnel response checklists, along with suggestions for an elaborate life story document in eldercare, with police access. Finally, better coordination of the return of the found person and a follow up were proposed. Research limitations/implications It is suggested that collaboration must be given different meanings and use different approaches adapted to the different phases in a rescue operation. In the preparation and the response phase, the focus should be on coordination of the resources available. In the pre-planning and prevention phases, as well as in evaluation and learning, horizontal collaboration is more suitable. The amount of data in this study is a research limitation which calls for further research. Practical implications It is suggested that collaboration must be given different meanings and use different approaches adapted to the different phases in a rescue operation. In the preparation and the response phase, the focus should be on coordination of the resources available. In the pre-planning and prevention phases, as well as in evaluation and learning, horizontal co-operation is more suitable. Originality/value The originality/value of this paper can be found in the novelty of missing person research in Sweden, and in practical suggestions for preparative collaboration concerning persons with dementia who go missing. Finally, it can be found in the suggested need for a more dynamic and process-sensitive view of collaboration in SAR or rescue operations.
... The results of our study indicate the importance of early identification and intervention of missing persons as a strategy to tackle youth offending and victimization. The long-term health and social welfare sequalae of going missing is well documented and acknowledged (Fyfe et al., 2015;Sidebottom et al., 2020). Our study findings indicated that just over half of the youths were charged with criminal offences first, and just under half were victims of crime first. ...
Article
The victim–offender overlap describes the relationship between crime involvement as a victim and an offender. This study assessed the presence and nature of this overlap in 2,126 young people reported missing for the first time in 2005 followed up for 10 years using police contact data from Victoria, Australia. The results demonstrated support for the presence of the victim–offender overlap, with a substantial proportion (n = 1,116, 52%) of the youth missing persons classified as victim–offenders. The number of times reported missing, younger age at first police contact, sex, having a history of family violence, and mental health-related concerns were common risk factors for both victimization and offending. Victim–offenders were also commonly victims and perpetrators of the same crime type. Findings further indicate the importance of targeting those at greatest risk of being repeat missing persons early and proactively in order to respond to, and limit, the potential for further victimization and offending.
... Additionally, research points out that "there is an exceedingly complex web of behaviours and responses surrounding the phenomenon of missing persons." (Nicholas et al., 2015). Locating a missing person is one of the most challenging tasks for the police force due to the number of resources required, the psychological distress of the family, and the often limited information available. ...
Article
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The primary duty of law enforcement agencies is to ensure that a victim has the necessary information and access to the relevant tools required to seek justice. In India, complex cases such as bodily offences and property crimes capture the work and efforts of many agencies involved; however, cases related to missing persons are not often accorded similar priority or seriousness. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have added further challenges to this scenario. The government-mandated lockdowns in Tamil Nadu generally exacerbated difficult socio-economic and living conditions, thereby directly or indirectly contributing to an increased load of missing person cases. This study aims to assess and identify the impact of mobility on reporting and registration of missing persons. By adopting an auto-regressive neural networks method, this study uses a counterfactual analysis of registered missing person cases during the government-mandated lockdowns in response to the global pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The registered cases are calculated based on the daily count of cases for eleven years in Tamil Nadu, India. The lockdowns identify eight different time windows to determine the impact of mobility on the registration of cases. While there has been no significant or drastic change over the pre-pandemic period, during the pandemic, especially during the restrictive phases of the pandemic, there was a sharp fall in cases compared to the counterfactual predicted (effect sizes: −0.981 and −0.74 in 2020 and 2021), signalling towards a choked mechanism of reporting. In contrast, when most mobility restrictions were removed, an increase in cases (effect sizes of +0.931 and 0.834 in 2020 and 2021) pointed to restored and enabled reporting channels. The research findings emphasise the significance of mobility as a factor in influencing the reporting and registration of missing persons and the need to ensure this continues to help families find redress.
... Numerous individual and environmental factors can modify the probability of finding a missing older adult [12], through the clues and guidance they offer to the missing case investigators [13] and/or to the missing older person (e.g., to help them return). For example, a missing person's greater cognitive resources or tighter social bonds could increase the probability of their returning if they went unintentionally missing. ...
Article
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Person missingness is an enigmatic and frequent phenomenon that can bring about negative consequences for the missing person, their family, and society in general. Age-related cognitive changes and a higher vulnerability to dementia can increase the propensity of older adults to go missing. Thus, it is necessary to better understand the phenomenon of missingness in older adults. The present study sought to identify individual and environmental factors that might predict whether an older adult reported missing will be found. Supervised machine learning models were used based on the missing person cases open data of Colombia between 1930 and June 2021 ( n = 7855). Classification algorithms were trained to predict whether an older adult who went missing would eventually be found. The classification models with the best performance in the test data were those based on gradient boosting. Particularly, the Gradient Boosting Classifier and the Light Gradient Boosting Machine algorithms showed, respectively, 10% and 9% greater area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve than a data-driven, reference model based on the mean of the reported time elapsed since the missingness observed in the training data. The features with the greatest contribution to the classification were the time since the missingness, the place where it occurred, and the age and sex of the missing person. The present results shed light on the societal phenomenon of person missingness while setting the ground for the application of machine learning models in cases of missing older persons.
... With regards to the latter, these findings may support those of Smith and Shalev-Greene (2015), who found the final decision on risk assessment to be largely based on the discretion of the investigating officer(s), rather than prescribed only by risk assessment tools. Moreover, Fyfe et al. (2015) found that some police officers saw policy and guidance related to missing persons as limited in its ability to determine an appropriate police response, and that the experience and instinct of individual police officers was more important. ...
Article
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In England and Wales, police consider potential harm in missing person investigations using graded risk assessment. Using 4746 missing person reports made to one police force in 2015, we investigate the extent to which age, sex and police risk factors predict high-risk classifications and harmful case outcomes. We find age, sex and specific risk factors including out of character behaviour and suicide risk increased the likelihood of high-risk classifications, whilst other risk factors including physical/mental illness and drug/ alcohol misuse increased the likelihood of harmful outcomes. We also find certain risk factors reduced the likelihood of high-risk classifications and harmful outcomes.
... The term 'missing person' encompasses a diverse group of people who go missing for a variety reasons, many of whom exhibit underlying vulnerabilities to do with age, mental health and substance dependencies. Moreover, although the majority of missing persons return safe, swiftly and without the need for police intervention (Fyfe et al., 2015), a small proportion of individuals are exposed to harm (broadly defined) when missing (Doyle and Barnes, 2020;Rees and Lee, 2005). In 2019/20 in England and Wales, there were 955 cases in which an individual reported as missing was later found deceased (National Crime Agency, 2021). ...
Article
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This study examines the extent and time course of repeat missing incidents involving children. Using data from one UK police force (n = 2,251), we find (1) that the majority (65%) of missing incidents are repeats, (2) that a small group of repeatedly missing children (n = 43; 6%) account for a sizable proportion of all missing incidents (n=739, 33%) and (3) that the likelihood of a child going missing repeatedly is elevated in the weeks immediately following a previous missing incident. The implications of our findings for future research and for the prevention of missing incidents are discussed.
... Several investigations from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada into these and other related matters have demonstrated that policing approaches to missing persons are outdated, insufficient, fragmented, unequal, biased, and/or unreliable, and that police face many challenges related to this work as a result (e.g. Clark et al., 2009;Epstein, 2021;Fyfe et al., 2015;Neely, 2016). Such concerns, for example, are noted in a recent independent review of the Toronto Police Service, Canada responses to missing person reports by Epstein (2021), which emphasizes that "systemic issues remain" due to inadequate and second-rate training (p. ...
Article
Police search and rescue (SAR) teams are crucial players in resolving missing person cases. Resultantly, police employ a host of training for SAR members in collaboration with institutions, organizations, and groups. Such training, however, has not been studied. This warrants attention as, in a time of police legitimacy crises and austerity policing, appropriate and quality police training for effective, efficient practices is imperative. Therefore, we examined the training needs and offerings for police SAR personnel, and their impact on SAR operations and work, through thematic analysis of interviews with 52 police SAR members from 17 agencies across Canada. Findings suggest there are no homogeneous, structured, or standardized training offerings for police SAR personnel. Instead, training varies within and across agencies and regions, and between officers and roles, as it is commonly based upon anecdotal experiences and in-house developed ‘best practices.’ We discuss the implications of these findings for police SAR operations and work.
... It covers, for example, adults who go missing for reasons of financial hardship, teenagers running away from their care placements, children who are abducted, individuals missing in the wake of a disaster and persons who are simply waylaid or disoriented. Variation in the motivation behind and circumstances of missing incidents can make it challenging to ascertain a proportionate police response (Fyfe et al. 2015)all the more so if the available information is limited. Thus, although the vast majority of missing persons are located safely and within 24 h (see Holmes 2017), the police must respond with the knowledge that a small number of missing person cases involve an immediate threat to life (Newiss 1999). ...
... The media can be a vital resource for law enforcement as well as the family and friends of the missing child as the media has the potential to access further witnesses who may hold significant information concerning the missing child (Fyfe et al., 2015;Taylor et al., 2013). Likewise, individuals who do not hold any information on the missing child but interact with the media frequently may feel compelled to help by sharing the appeal with their own social media followers (Drivsholm et al., 2017). ...
Article
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Releasing missing person appeals is common practice when someone goes missing. Despite the wide-scale usage, the understanding on appeal effectiveness remains under-researched. This article aims to identify the factors that influence the likelihood of members of the public to report a child that has gone missing to the police and requires police assistance. Participant responses ( n = 252) were qualitatively analysed identifying four factors that positively influenced the likelihood of contacting the police, and two factors that negatively influenced the likelihood of not contacting the police to report the child. Practical implications are also discussed.
... Whilst many missing people are found quickly or return voluntarily (Tarling & Burrows, 2004), going missing can be a catalyst to endangering individuals predisposing them to becoming a victim of crime or harm. Every week across the UK, 20 missing people are found dead (Fyfe, Stevenson & Woolnough, 2015). Fatal outcomes roughly equate to 0.6-1% of the annual reported missing population (Newiss, 2006). ...
Article
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To date, no research has examined the decay models that best describe male and female spatial behaviours whilst missing, particularly of those that demonstrate suicide intent. Such knowledge could help to inform investigative strategies. Three studies were conducted using missing persons data from two police forces. In study 1, ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U tests examined the distance travelled by male (n=158) and female (n=135) subgroups; with respect to the impact of gender, likely suicidal and vehicle possession. Study 2a considers which curve estimate best describes likely and non-likely suicidal males (n=180) and females (n=157) spatial movements whilst missing. Study 2b cross validated suicidal male curves identified in study 2a, using information taken from missing persons cases where the person had been found to have died through suicide (N=24). Vehicle possession increased the distance travelled across all groups. Females travelled further than suicidal males, however, no distance travelled differences were found between suicide and non-suicidal sub-groups. The most significant curve estimate for likely suicidal males and females were the inverse and quadratic models respectively, illustrating exclusive gender movements in journeys to suicide. There are meaningful gender differences in spatial movements when missing. Thus, gender specified search parameters can be generated, potentially aiding quicker detection, prevention and safeguarding of adults at risk of self-harm.
Chapter
This chapter will draw together the important results of the research with the review of literature, to address the objectives of this book that 1. Explore the attitudes of police officers to Prevention Interviews (PI) of adults. 2. Explore the attitudes of police officers to PI of children. 3. Examine whether the PI should be the responsibility of third sector partners. Further, it will critically explore what the present research means and how it reflects upon existing literature, offering a new addition to Police Occupational theory, of Frustrated-Safeguarder Identity (FSI), suggesting a new understanding of police officers’ role related to missing persons. The chapter makes pragmatic recommendations for future practice, borne from the findings of this book, with good general support from some existing literature. For example, respondents called for better partnership working as the top way that the PI could be improved, which is also supported by academics (i.e. Harris & Shalev Greene, 2016). Lastly, the United Nations (2024) set out Goals for Sustainable Development, and this book speaks to aspirations around healthy lives and wellbeing for all (goal 3); Achieving gender equality for both missing people and officers (5); Making human settlements as safe and resilient as possible (11); and ensuring Peace, Justice and strong institutions by crown servants for how the public are policed (16).
Chapter
This chapter sets out a chapter map for the book, guiding the reader through the various components that make up the missing people material about what we already know. At the start of the century little research had been written on missing people, but just in the last few years literature and interest has gained momentum. Over 359,000 missing person reports are made to the police in England & Wales every year, or 1 every 90 seconds. The chapter sets out definitions of missing from governments and academics, then focusses on a significant piece of missing people research referred to as Geographies in the field. The chapter then guides the reader through other relevant international research since 1995. This is presented in themes of Risk Assessment and various approaches to manage vulnerability; Repeatedly missing people (especially children); Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE); Vulnerable adults (including mental health); Social Services and partnership working; Police attitudes and Organisational Police Culture; Police Training including a push to degree apprenticeships; and finally, Prevention Interviews (PIs) themselves (an under-researched area). By the end, the reader will have a decent overview of the topic and be better prepared for the findings and discussion.
Article
Missing persons cases present a complex challenge for law enforcement globally and require a nuanced understanding of their typologies. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of cases from the United Kingdom, from within a single police service, focusing on the alignment of police missing person risk assessment (RA) factors with existing typologies. Utilizing data exclusively from nearly 5000 police RAs, the study undertakes a multi-stage analysis, examining RA factors for congruence with established typologies and exploring data subsets based on gender, case outcomes, and risk gradings. Using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and smallest space analysis (SSA), the study interprets and visualizes the cases to explore relationships. Results are reported using visual and descriptive statistics. Key findings include confirmation of alignment to existing typologies and research that has identified ‘unintentional – accidental/drift’ as the dominant missing person typology, identifying it in 65% of the cases. Notably, the typology was also the dominant theme in 45% of the cases resulting in a harmful outcome and 42% graded as high-risk. Categorical nuances are identified within subsets, with 47% of long-term missing and 63% involving men relating to the intentional – dysfunctional typology. 31% of the cases involving females, and 30% and 45% of the cases graded as medium and no apparent risk, respectively, were dominated by the ‘intentional – escape’ typology. We discuss how these findings can be used to improve the police RA process and guide initial risk grading and case prioritization enhancing the understanding and response to missing person cases.
Book
In 2008 the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) released a comprehensive study on missing persons in Australia, which presented national data on at-risk groups and identified best practice related to prevention, early intervention, referral processes and support services (James, Anderson & Putt 2008). This report followed an earlier AIC study that examined the incidence and impact of missing person events (Henderson & Henderson 1998). The current study, commissioned by the National Missing Persons Coordination Centre (NMPCC) of the Australian Federal Police, updates missing person statistics (first published in Bricknell and Renshaw 2016) and describes the extent to which known risk factors correlate with categories of missing persons.
Article
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the complexity of missing persons cases and highlight the linguistic differences that arise in this type of crime. Missing persons cases are typically very complex investigations. Without a body, crime scene forensics is not possible, and police are often left only with witness and suspect statements. Forensic linguistics methods may help investigators to prioritise or remove suspects. There are many competing approaches in forensic linguistic analysis; however, there is limited empirical research available on emerging methods. Design/methodology/approach This research investigates Statement Analysis, a recent development in linguistic analysis that has practical applications in criminal investigations. Real-world statements of individuals convicted of or found to be not guilty of their involvement in missing persons cases were used in the analyses. In addition, Behaviour Sequence Analysis was used to map the progressions of language in the suspects' statements. Findings Results indicated differences between the guilty and innocent individuals based on their language choices, for example, guilty suspects in missing [alive] cases were found more likely to use passive language and vague words because of high levels of cognitive load associated with the several types of guilty knowledge suspects in missing persons cases possess. Of particular interest is the use of untruthful words in the innocent suspects’ statements in missing [murdered] cases. While typically seen in deceptive statements, untruthful words in innocent statements may result because of false acquittals. Originality/value This research provides some support for Statement Analysis as a suitable approach to analysing linguistic statements in missing persons cases.
Article
This article explores police perspectives of sexual harassment on the London Underground. Drawing on 15 semi-structured interviews with the British Transport Police this article demonstrates how the police a) use their ‘situated knowledges’ to make sense of the dynamics of the London Underground and seek out offenders within the network, often without a report of harassment; and b) engage with technologies in order to (re)construct incidents of sexual harassment so that they can be investigated. The article argues that the BTP occupy a ‘soft cyborg ontology’, and claims the implications this has on epistemologies and methods of policing as significant. As well as permitting new insights into the procedures of policing sexual harassment on public transport, it contributes a critical perspective to the role of technology in police culture, practice and methods.
Article
Youths going missing continues to be a matter of great concern for the police. This group has been consistently found to comprise most police missing person reports, be more likely to go repeatedly missing, and experience victimization and vulnerability related to these incidents. This study thus sought to examine single versus repeat versus habitual/chronic missing youth cases to extract differentiated insights to initiate discussions on proactive policing efforts for reducing and preventing missing youth cases. Data employed tracked 2,126 young people reported missing for the first time in 2005, for 10 years using their police records. Over a third went missing more than once. There was evidence of the power few hypothesis, with the habitual/chronic cases constituting 17% of the cases and over 60% of the missing person reports across the study period, and clear differences emerged between single, repeat, and habitual/chronic cases in terms of their demographics, mental health concerns, and justice involvement.
Article
The article is devoted to the analysis of law enforcement agencies’ activities to search for missing persons. The purpose of the study is to examine the peculiarities of the analytical work of law enforcement agencies on missing person’s search. The methodological bases are general scientific and special scientific methods and techniques of scientific knowledge (systemic, formal-logical, structural-functional, sociological, historical and axiological). It is concluded that the criteria for law enforcement agencies to search for missing persons are the general state of search work, search for certain categories of missing persons, trends and processes that cause missing persons, causes and conditions of missing persons, results of police operations and special operations conduct. It is determined that the consolidation and combination of efforts of different units and services during the search work helps to increase the number of facts of locating missing persons. Attention is paid to the identification of factors influencing the assessment of the search work. The state of the international search missing persons is analyzed. The necessity of using the positive experience of European countries in the outlined activities is substantiated.
Article
Public responses to an ‘upward trend’ in recorded dog theft offences in England and Wales led to the creation of the Pet Theft Taskforce in May 2021, followed by a policy paper recommending the development of a new ‘pet abduction’ offence. Despite this, the experiential nature of dog theft, what impact this has on victims, and how they go about searching for their stolen dogs have been overlooked. Building on interdisciplinary research on dog theft, and wider literature on the impact of absence and loss on human victims, this paper explores the experiential dimension of this crime and the spatial and temporal practices of search/ing. Drawing on 15 semi‐structured interviews with victims of dog theft (n.10) and community resolution groups (n.5), key themes emerged from our analyses: (i) more‐than‐human families, and (ii) spatial and temporal practices of search/ing. The dogs in this study occupy an absent presence, their bodies not visibly present, but occupying a space in the minds and words of their humans. From the realisation of loss through to ongoing searches to possible reunite, participant experiences are filled with emotions that reflect a traumatic experience and ‘ambiguous absence’. With expectations of police support rarely met, victims started physically searching themselves, moving from the local to regional and national, while connecting with animal professionals and community resolution groups. Virtual space was seen as vital, with social media amplifying the virtual presence of specific stolen dogs. Conceived as a more‐human‐focussed animal geography, the research brings together an empirical example at the potential intersection of animal geographies and policing. The experiential evidence in this paper suggests changes to organisational practices (standardised police approach; centralised microchip database; mandatory microchip scanning by animal professionals) and national government policy interventions (‘pet abduction’ offence) might have a positive impact on victim experiences.
Article
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Media as a public health messaging tool can shape community perception. In missing persons’ investigations Police utilise media to assist in location and recovery of absent people. This study, of Australian media in 2019, revealed that the statistical evidence of who goes missing, and returns, revealed that is not replicated in news articles. Content analysis of 2,400 media items highlighting a disconnect between statistical rate of return from being missing (up to 98%) and the media profiling those who return (17% of media articles including returned missing persons narratives). In addition, Police and family dominate media conversations paying minimal attention to the reasons why people vanish or including comment from those who return. Recommendations for Police media strategies, that include an accurate portrayal of the experiences of returned missing persons, as a public health tool, is required.
Article
The unique feature of social media as a platform for news is that the public can directly engage with content. In this way, the public shapes the narrative on current issues, including crime. Criminal justice agencies have leveraged this engagement to relay information about missing persons’ cases quickly and efficiently to a large audience. Whereas previous research has explored disparities in news coverage of missing persons’ cases, it is unknown whether the public perpetuates these same disparities in the social media realm. This study contributes to the current literature by examining public engagement with missing persons’ social media content. Results suggest that engagement along some dimensions corresponds to disparities found in traditional news coverage, namely with regard to race, where marginalized victims experience less engagement. Further, there is evidence of an interaction between race and runaway status. Certain posting behaviors are also related to several forms of user engagement with missing persons’ posts; however, case characteristics remain prominent engagement-shaping factors. Implications for these findings are discussed from both a theoretical and practitioner standpoint.
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Despite the inherent vulnerability of missing children and the associated emotional intensity for those affected, there has been no academic exploration of child development and missing behaviour. The current enquiry comprised an examination of police case records to determine how the circumstances and behaviour of missing children varies across early childhood (2–6 years; n = 79; 10.3%), middle childhood (7–11 years; n = 175; 22.9%), and adolescence (12–17 years; n = 512; 66.9%). Children were more likely to go missing in adolescence than early or middle childhood, and more boys than girls were reported missing before adolescence, with the opposite pattern found during adolescence. Adolescents travelled further, took public transport more, and were more likely to be accompanied than those in the younger age groups. Children in the youngest age group were more likely to go missing unintentionally, whereas adolescents were more likely to run away intentionally. Based on these findings it is argued that developmentally informed understanding should contribute to future strategies for preventing and responding to missing children.
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Research question Given the information available to Devon and Cornwall Police at the time when they received a missing person report, which knowable variables indicated increased odds of the person coming to serious harm? Data The study examines all 92,681 missing reports received by Devon and Cornwall Police over 11 years from 2008 through 2019, for which 3481 (3.8%) persons came to harm, or about one in 27. Variables known at the time the report was filed included (A) risk levels estimated by police applying the College of Policing risk assessment template (high, medium, low), and (B) the missing person’s age, gender, in-care status, disability, dyslexia, learning disability, hearing or visual impairment, reduced mobility, mental illness, child sexual exploitation risk, reported suicidal, vulnerable adult status and previous reports of being missing. Methods Odds ratios are used to estimate differences in likelihood of missing persons coming to harm in a series of single-variable tests. Matrices are used to assess the accuracy of the current risk assessment process used by police services in England and Wales, as applied in Devon and Cornwall. Limited multivariate analysis was undertaken. Findings Application of the current College of Policing protocol for risk assessment by subjective professional judgements yields substantial error rates, with 89% of the predicted high risk cases having no actual harm and 59% of cases with actual harm after not being predicted as high risk. The odds of harm based on single variables examined are highly conditional on age and gender as third factors. Both men and women over 18 are 4 times more likely to be harmed (6.8%) than those under age 18 (1.7%). Conclusions This study casts substantial doubt on the accuracy of the current subjective risk assessment process for missing persons. As the authorizing body for Approved Professional Practice, the College of Policing could use this evidence to endorse further development and implementation of a multivariate evidence-based risk assessment tool for missing persons that takes into account the age and gender of the missing person as well as all other factors in a single forecasting model.
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This article discusses the need to improve our understanding of where people go when they go missing and its applications for policing policy. The paper will use a pilot study of 70 solved adult missing person cases. The analysis includes frequencies and a measure of distances travelled by missing persons from the location where they went missing to where they were found. The study explores the demographic background of missing persons and examines a variety of travel patterns. The discussion focuses on explaining the spatial patterns of missing persons and the potential to improve police investigations of missing person cases by reducing search areas. Finally, recommendations are made for policy changes.
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Each year the police receive a large number of reports of missing persons. They are faced with the immediate task of identifying those people likely to have come to harm, in particular those who have been the victim of homicide. Whilst recognising the inherent difficulty in identifying such a small sub-set of homicide victims within the overall number of reports of missing persons, this paper outlines how estimating the risk faced by different groups of missing persons to different outcomes can improve the police service's response to missing persons. The findings are based on an analysis of a sample of homicide cases which first came to the attention of the police as missing person reports. Specifically, females — both adults as well as children — face a relatively higher risk of being the victim of homicide when reported missing. Whilst the availability of sufficient data poses an immediate limit to further research of this type, the paper demonstrates how similar risk estimations can be made for other potential outcomes of going missing.
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Drawing on information from a random sample of over 1,000 cases this paper highlights the variety and complexity of missing person cases, reported to the police. The overwhelming majority of missing persons are found safe and well or are no longer considered as missing. Most return within a short space of time. Some cases, however, are not concluded quickly or with such favourable outcomes. A further sample of cases, which had caused problems for the police, was examined. These cases also revealed a variety of situations, backgrounds and outcomes. Many were immigration cases or had other reasons for wishing to remain ‘missing’. Some missing persons, unfortunately, were found dead but many of them had died of natural causes and had died before the police were notified. In view of the variety of cases and the rarity of adverse outcomes it is difficult to develop statistical risk prediction scores as an aid to decision-making. Instead the Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance to strengthen police officers' professional judgement in dealing with MISPER (missing person) cases.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to improve the police, policy makers' and researchers' understanding of the likelihood of fatal outcomes befalling missing persons. Design/methodology/approach Data on the age, sex, duration missing and outcome (fatal or non‐fatal) of over 32,000 cancelled reports of missing persons were extracted from a police database of missing persons in the London metropolitan area. The analysis highlights the risk of a cancelled missing person report resulting in a fatal outcome by the same variables. Findings Shows that the risk of a cancelled missing person report resulting in a fatal outcome is overall very low, though it does increase with the age of the person reported missing and the duration they remain missing for. Males face a higher risk of being found dead than females. Research limitations/implications The risk estimations use a base rate of all cancelled missing person reports, therefore excluding persons who have never being found. The estimations are based on missing person reports rather than individuals. Insufficient detail was available to analyse the fatal cases by type of death (e.g. suicide, homicide, accident, etc.). Originality/value This paper provides new empirical evidence on what happens to people reported missing. The findings provide an actuarial context in which clinical risk assessment by police officers can take place.
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The police response to missing persons has attracted growing levels of scrutiny, resulting in an increasing demand to ensure police decisions taken about the likely “outcome” of a disappearance are based on empirical evidence as well as clinical expertise. While most missing persons return soon after their disappearance, a small proportion will remain missing for prolonged periods of time and require ongoing police review and risk assessment. This article presents the findings from an analysis of over 1,000 people reported missing to the police who, at the time of data collection, had remained missing for more than one year. The findings illustrate that long-term outstanding missing persons are more likely to be male, adults and over-represented by people from minority ethnic backgrounds. While it is not possible to know what has actually happened to the individuals concerned, the study indicates that the overall sample is likely to comprise a number of discrete subgroups of individuals experiencing different outcomes (e.g., suicide, homicide, assuming a new identity).
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This paper discusses how a fairly standardized sequence of actions performed by police detectives can be understood as a form of social process and seen to be productive of an incident of homicide as a ‘meaningful’ event. The particular focus is upon how three key factors—the law as a mode of rationality; the organizational properties of the police service; and the circumstances surrounding the incident under investigation—shape the actions performed by individual officers, and in doing so constitute a process structure.
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This paper draws upon a range of empirical data to consider the ways in which police murder investigations are symbolically constructed, both within and outside of the police organization. It is argued that a range of communicative formats serve to produce the activities associated with police murder investigations in a way that serves to legitimate the police function to both members of the public and police officers alike. A particular emphasis is placed upon understanding the connections between informal and formal communications, and the instrumental and expressive objectives that variously underpin them.
  • Ericson R.