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Missing persons: The processes and challenges of police investigation
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.
... 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). ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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.
... At least 20% of those reported missing are not found within 24 h, and require police intervention to be located, or their welfare (or otherwise) confirmed (Fyfe et al. 2015). Many police agencies are struggling to cope with the high demands that missing persons investigations create. ...
... Many police agencies are struggling to cope with the high demands that missing persons investigations create. In the UK, police will first carry out a risk assessment, and while there are actions to be undertaken in all missing persons cases, may deploy officers only in more high risk cases (Fyfe et al. 2015, College of Policing 2019, while in the United States, volunteer programmes have been established to help local police agencies tackle the increasing volume of missing persons cases (International Association of Chiefs of Police 2018). As calls about missing people continue to rise each year (National Crime Agency 2019), it is important that police and agencies in search of missing people apply evidence based techniques to make the best use of limited resources in a constrained environment (Crawford 2013, Garside et al. 2013. ...
... Others have considered how the appeal might have a negative impact on the behaviour, increase the risk posed, or create distress to the missing person (Holmes 2016). Nevertheless, in many cases (for example vulnerable missing persons unable to return home on their own) public appeals may be vital in locating them (Holmes 2016), and is often one of the most important parts of a missing persons enquiry for the police (Fyfe et al. 2015). One study, using a case-control design, suggests that having tweets posted by police departments can increase the chance of a missing person being found (Tsoi et al. 2018). ...
Police agencies globally are seeing an increase in reports of people going missing. These people are often vulnerable, and their safe and early return is a key factor in preventing them from coming to serious harm. One approach to quickly find missing people is to disseminate appeals for information using social media. Yet despite the popularity of twitter-based missing person appeals, presently little is known about how to best construct these messages to ensure they are shared widely. This paper aims to build an evidence-base for understanding how police accounts tweet appeals for information about missing persons, and how the public engage with these tweets by sharing them. We analyse 1008 Tweets made by Greater Manchester Police between the period of 2011 and 2018 in order to investigate what features of the tweet, the twitter account, and the missing person are associated with levels of retweeting. We find that tweets with different choice of image, wording, sentiment, and hashtags vary in how much they are retweeted. Tweets that use custody images have lower retweets than Tweets with regular photos, while tweets asking the question ‘have you seen … ?’ and asking explicitly to be retweeted have more engagement in the form of retweets. These results highlight the need for conscientious, evidence-based crafting of missing appeals, and pave the way for further research into the causal mechanisms behind what affects engagement, to develop guidance for police forces worldwide.
... Over the years, these reports have been on the rise, increasing by more than 2,000 since 2015 (Government of Canada, 2015;Canada's Missing, 2019). One consequence of this increase is a greater demand on policing resources, not only regarding the quantity of reports, but also because there is an assortment of challenges associated with these cases (Biehal et al., 2003;James et al., 2008;Fyfe et al., 2015a). For example, one such challenge is that their unknown whereabouts are considered to be out of character, which suggests they may be at risk of harm or may pose harm to others or themselves (Fyfe et al., 2015b;Hirschel & Lab, 1988;Smith & Shalev Greene, 2015). ...
... As a result, resource allocation is particularly important because police agencies are expected to perform several tasks within a limited time frame, and often without proper oversight, due to the vast amount of cases they are tasked with (Smith & Shalev Greene, 2015). These issues include the area they are expected to cover (Fyfe et al., 2015a), performing a proper risk assessment of the missing person (Newiss, 2005;Smith & Shalev Greene, 2015) and seeking proper press appeals for public assistance (Hattingh & Matthee, 2016;Shalev Greene & Pakes, 2014). In addition, missing person investigations are often assigned on top of regular duties, which can lead to increased strain on officers who are already limited on time and resources, as these investigations have to be handled alongside their day-to-day tasks. ...
... Due to these issues, this paper looks to social media as a prosperous avenue for appealing to the public for information and assistance with the investigations. While there is not much literature on the role of the media in aiding police investigations of missing persons, the existing research suggests that traditionally the media operates with police agencies to set up appeals for information, family press appeals, and to communicate information on the missing person (Fyfe et al., 2015a). Due to this, the media become an investigative resource, as these acts of contact with the public function to get as many individuals as possible to be aware of the missing individual, which ideally increases the chances of locating them (Fyfe et al., 2015a). ...
Thousands of people go missing each year in Canada, with recent figures noting over 70,000 reports generated in 2019. While missing person cases can place strains on police resources, the use of Internet technology can attenuate some of the demands by aiding with the investigations. As a result, this exploratory study examines one social media tool, Twitter, for missing person investigations by police in Canada. Through logistic regression, we analyze 373 missing person tweets posted over two years (2017–2019) from 15 Canadian police services on Twitter to estimate which features are likely to increase public engagement (retweets, likes, and comments) with these tweets. Results reveal that there are several features significantly associated with higher engagement, such as images and hashtags, ergo increasing community outreach and participation, as well as the likelihood of efficiently and successfully solving these cases. Therefore, we suggest that having standardized components to missing person tweets will enhance the usefulness of this tool.
... Research has revealed several distinct stages that recur in investigations. See, for example, Innes (2002) on the "process structures" of homicide investigations; Salet (2017) on the four steps of Dutch major crime investigations; Fyfe et al. (2015) on the stages of British missing person investigations; and Kelty et al. (2018) on the critical points of adult sexual assault investigations in Australia. All illustrate how those who initially respond to reports of a (potential) homicide help to determine what has occurred and direct how the investigation will proceed. ...
... DEAD RECKONING 6 PUBLIC / CYHOEDDUS In criminal investigations, Innes (2007) and Sudnow (1965) reveal that, as part of their sensemaking work, detectives construct narratives about how and why different kinds of homicides usually happen. These narratives help detectives make sense of the information received, and direct and constrain subsequent actions (Fyfe et al., 2015;Innes, 2007). But what informs or guides these narrative constructions? ...
... Sensemaking and narrative. Fourth, as an essential part of this sensemaking work, investigators construct local narratives and use generic frames and typifications through which they make sense of information, helping to interpret and define the situation, and organizing future actions and enquiries (Fyfe et al., 2015;Hawk & Dabney, 2014;Innes, 2002;Salet, 2017). ...
Drawing upon data gathered during a four-year ethnographic study of homicide investigation in Britain, we document the movement of 44 (suspected) homicide cases through the criminal justice process before drawing upon two case studies to unravel in detail how a homicide is determined and how suspects are identified, eliminated, or charged. We suggest that the progress of homicide cases through this process is best understood as the outcome of a set of socially organized scientific, legal, and occupational sensemaking practices, collaboratively deployed by institutionally authorized actors. We conclude that these practices are rendered visible only through detailed qualitative research.
... At least 20% of those reported missing are not found within 24 hours, and require police intervention to be located, or their welfare (or otherwise) confirmed (Fyfe, Stevenson, and Woolnough 2015). Many police agencies are struggling to cope with the high demands that missing persons investigations create. ...
... Many police agencies are struggling to cope with the high demands that missing persons investigations create. In the UK, police are no longer required to respond to cases assessed as low-risk (Fyfe, Stevenson, and Woolnough 2015), while in the United States, volunteer programmes have been established to help local police agencies tackle the increasing volume of missing persons cases (Chiefs of Police 2018). As the number of missing people continues to rise each year (National Crime Agency 2019), it is important that police and agencies in search of missing people apply evidence based techniques to make the best use of limited resources in a constrained environment (Crawford 2013;Garside, Silvestri, and Mills 2013). ...
... A missing person appeal is "communication by those searching for the missing person to a wider network of people who may be able to help locate that person and to the missing person directly" (Holmes 2016, 20). While a media appeal can be regarded by the police as 'being seen to be doing something', it can actually be one of the most important parts of a missing persons enquiry for the police (Fyfe, Stevenson, and Woolnough 2015). If these appeals reach far and wide, they may be seen by either someone with information, or the missing person (Holmes 2016). ...
Police agencies globally are seeing an increase in reports of people going missing. These people are often vulnerable, and their safe and early return is a key factor in preventing them from coming to serious harm. One approach to quickly find missing people is to disseminate appeals for information using social media. Yet despite the popularity of twitter-based missing person appeals, presently little is known about how to best construct these messages to ensure they are shared far and wide. This paper aims to build an evidence-base for understanding how police accounts tweet appeals for information about missing persons, and how the public engage with these tweets by sharing them. We analyse 1,008 Tweets made by Greater Manchester Police between the period of 2011 and 2018 in order to investigate what features of the tweet, the twitter account, and the missing person are associated with levels of retweeting. We find that tweets with different choice of image, wording, sentiment, and hashtags vary in how much they are retweeted. Tweets that use custody images have lower retweets than Tweets with regular photos, while tweets asking the question “have you seen...?” and asking explicitly to be retweeted have more engagement in the form of retweets. These results highlight the need for conscientious, evidence-based crafting of missing appeals, and pave the way for further research into the causal mechanisms behind what affects engagement, to develop guidance for police forces worldwide.
... 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). ...
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). ...
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). ...
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.
... These demands include not only the frontline response, such as information gathering and report writing, but also potential costs of activities associated with the investigative process, such as conducting interviews and executing searches. Other costs related to missing person investigations include the potential deployment of search and rescue teams (Fyfe et al., 2015) and the "combing through" of large quantities of public health or other relevant data, such as bank and telephone records, social media accounts, and so on. These costs are part of what has historically been the "dark figure" of operational policing costs, of which too little has been known (Huey et al., 2016). ...
... For example, only within the past four years have public records on missing persons been accessible for data analysis (Statistics Canada, 2018), and despite recent research on missing and murdered Indigenous women (Anderson, 2016;Royle, 2017), there is only a single peer-reviewed study on missing persons in Canada (Kiepal et al., 2012). The lack of existing research on missing persons has also made it difficult for police agencies, who are under increased public scrutiny, to develop evidence-based practices and make informed assessments of risk (Sowerby and Thomas, 2017;Fyfe et al., 2015). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to test the “power few” concept in relation to missing persons and the locations from which they are reported missing.
Design/methodology/approach
Data on missing persons’ cases ( n = 26,835) were extracted from the record management system of a municipal Canadian police service and used to create data sets of all of the reports associated with select repeat missing adults ( n = 1943) and repeat missing youth ( n = 6,576). From these sources, the five locations from which repeat missing adults and youth were most commonly reported missing were identified (“power few” locations). The overall frequency of reports generated by these locations was then assessed by examining all reports of both missing and repeat missing cases, and demographic and incident factors were also examined.
Findings
This study uncovers ten addresses (five for adults; five for youths) in the City from which this data was derived that account for 45 percent of all adults and 52 percent of all youth missing person reports. Even more striking, the study data suggest that targeting these top five locations for adults and youths could reduce the volume of repeat missing cases by 71 percent for adults and 68.6 percent for youths. In relation to the demographic characteristics of the study’s sample of adults and youths who repeatedly go missing, the authors find that female youth are two-thirds more likely to go missing than male youth. Additionally, the authors find that Aboriginal adults and youths are disproportionately represented among the repeat missing. Concerning the incident factors related to going missing repeatedly, the authors find that the repeat rate for going missing is 63.2 percent and that both adults and youths go missing 3–10 times on average.
Practical implications
The study results suggest that, just as crime concentrates in particular spaces among specific offenders, repeat missing cases also concentrate in particular spaces and among particular people. In thinking about repeat missing persons, the present research offers support for viewing these concerns as a behavior setting issue – that is, as a combination of demographic factors of individuals, as well as factors associated with particular types of places. Targeting “power few” locations for prevention efforts, as well as those most at risk within these spaces, may yield positive results.
Originality/value
Very little research has been conducted on missing persons and, more specifically, on how to more effectively target police initiatives to reduce case volumes. Further, this is the first paper to successfully apply the concept of the “power few” to missing persons’ cases.
... 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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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). ...
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. ...
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). ...
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). ...
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.
... Yet surprisingly little is currently known about the first stage of the funnel, namely the extent to which unlawful killings remain unreported, undiscovered, or classified mistakenly by coroners or police authorities, and the factors associated with misregistration or non-registration of homicide cases (UNODC, 2019, p. 69). Some homicides may not be discovered by the authorities (Fyfe et al., 2015). This may include disappearances, particularly when they include "missing missings" (i.e., missing persons who were never reported as missing and some of whom may be homicide victims) (Quinet, 2007) and killings of individuals who are not registered yet, such as newborn children (Liem & Koenraadt, 2018). ...
The likelihood that homicides lead to arrest, conviction, and incarceration of the perpetrators varies widely across world regions. To date, we lack a comprehensive framework that can explain the differences in how homicide cases are processed in different jurisdictions, and how this knowledge can be used to hold perpetrators to account, to advance the rule of law, and to promote equal access to justice. This Special Issue seeks to advance the cross-national and comparative analysis of homicide case flows, from suspicious death to imprisonment. In this Introduction, we outline some analytic priorities that may help in moving the field forward.
... 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., Biehal, Mitchell, and Wade 2003;Brenton 1978;Fyfe, Stevenson, and Woolnough 2015;Hirschel and Lab 1988;Tarling and Burrows 3 Unfortunately, in relation to histories of individuals being reported previously missing, we only had partial data upon which to draw, as one of the services did not provide such information. ...
This study applied the Threat Appraisal and Coping Theory to explore the mechanisms influencing a person to go missing. We examined the negative emotions and stressors – proximate stressors/stressful events, underlying life stressors, emotional states, and other dysfunctional behaviors – of adults who were reported as missing from 2014-2018. Our results indicate that missing persons experience significant underlying life stressors, stressful situations, and proximate stressors that can ‘trigger’ a missing episode. We also found that most missing adults are described as facing negative emotions, such as anger, and engaging in maladaptive behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use, that are related to these events. These findings, we suggest, highlight that affectual and individual-level mechanisms are influential factors contributing to why adults go missing. Lastly, it was revealed that missing adults are commonly reported as experiencing strains and stressors in their personal relationships, indicating that this phenomenon may be attenuated through social support as an adaptive coping resource. Through these results, we can begin to understand missingness as driven by a negative event, stressor, or emotion in which the person engages in the maladaptive coping behavior of ‘going missing’ as a way to escape the situation and achieve some level of emotional or cognitive distance.
... However, the sheer volume of people reported missing among other policing demands means that it can be challenging for the police to conduct interviews, while also managing the worries of those who have reported the missing person. Furthermore, in the immediacy and emotion of reporting someone missing, the family member may not be able to clearly identify all potentially relevant items of information and may need re-interviewing which further adds to resourcing demands (Fyfe, Stevenson, & Woolnough, 2015). ...
Purpose
The success of missing person investigations often centres on the quality of information obtained in the early stages. Reliable information can not only inform the search but might also become vital evidence if the case broadens into a criminal investigation relating to a sexual offence, abduction, or even murder. In addition to eliciting high‐quality information, police officers must consider that those close to the missing person are likely going through a very difficult and stressful time. Across two studies, we developed and tested a self‐administered form (SAI‐MISSING) designed to obtain reliable information that would meaningfully inform a missing person investigation, as well as providing a means for family and friends to be actively involved.
Methods
In Experiment 1, 65 participants were tested individually and asked to provide a description of a person they knew well but had not seen for 24 hr. In the second study, 64 participants were tested in pairs, but immediately separated into different rooms and instructed to imagine that the person they came with has gone missing. In both studies, participants completed either the SAI‐MISSING tool, or a self‐administered control form.
Results
In Experiment 1, we found that the SAI‐MISSING tool elicited significantly more information regarding physical descriptions and descriptions of clothing and personal effects, than the comparison control form. In Experiment 2, we replicated this finding and further showed that the SAI‐MISSING tool produced higher accuracy rates than the control form.
Conclusions
Given the positive outcomes, potential applications of the tool are discussed.
... Appeals have been published across numerous offline and online systems that include the use of posters, milk cartons, social media sites, radio and television broadcasts, websites, billboards, newspapers, and rescue alerts, to name a few (Drivsholm et al. 2017). Publishing missing children appeals through the media is a vital resource for law enforcement due to the ability to request help from members of the public across an extensive area in a short period of time (Fyfe et al. 2014;Taylor et al. 2013). Moreover, the use of the media allows individuals who may not hold any information about the missing child to assist by sharing the appeal with their own media followers. ...
When a child goes missing, it is commonplace to release details of the child in the hope that a member of the public can help to locate him or her. Despite their importance and daily usage, there remains a significant gap in understanding just how effective these appeals are in helping to locate missing children. This exploratory study utilized a two-stage approach and sought (1) to explore whether the length of the description and the type of content enclosed in the description influenced subsequent recall abilities, (2) to determine whether the length of time spent reading the mock appeal influences the subsequent recall ability, (3) to establish whether confidence in own recall ability is associated with overall recall ability, and (4) to determine whether descriptive length and content influences the subsequent recall ability following a 3-day break. Two hundred and twenty-three participants observed one of four mock missing children descriptions followed by a short word memory distraction task and a free-recall task. The second stage comprised of another free-recall task presented after a short 3-day delay. Two-way factorial ANOVAs found observing shorter descriptions have significantly greater recall accuracy than observing longer descriptions both immediately after observing the appeal and after a 3-day delay. Results also found that newsworthy descriptive content had a greater recall accuracy than non-newsworthy descriptive content after a 3-day delay. Additional analyses found that confidence in own accuracy and time spent observing the appeals was also significantly associated with recall accuracy. The findings demonstrate the necessity for improving missing children appeals.
... En general, la literatura académica coincide en que la mayoría de personas que desaparecen son adolescentes, entre los 14 a 18 años aproximadamente, y que suelen estar vinculados a desapariciones voluntarias como fugas (Tarling & Barrows, 2004;Foy, 2016;Newiss, 2006;Fyfe et al., 2015). Entre los adultos, el grupo de edad que más tiende a desaparecer son los individuos de entre 24 y 30 años, decreciendo gradualmente el número de casos conforme se incrementa la edad (Biehal et al., 2003). ...
Las desapariciones son un fenómeno global que generan una gran alarma social y suponen una repercusión psicológica grave para los implicados. La mayoría de personas desaparecidas son localizadas en menos de 24 horas en buen estado de salud. No obstante, un pequeño porcentaje se asocia con un desenlace fatal, siendo el suicidio la principal causa de muerte. El trabajo actual se centra en el estudio de las desapariciones con desenlace suicida en función del sexo y la edad de la persona desaparecida. Para ello, se ha realizado un análisis del método empleado, entorno utilizado y distancia recorrida por la persona, intentando establecer si existe una asociación entre las variables. Los resultados muestran que los hombres tienden a utilizar el ahorcamiento y los entornos boscosos, desplazándose mayores distancias, mientras que las mujeres recorren una menor distancia destacando la sobredosis como método predilecto. No se han encontrado resultados concluyentes en cuanto a método y entorno según la edad del individuo pero si se ha observado que la distancia recorrida es menor cuanto mayor edad tiene el desaparecido. Este estudio supone un aumento del conocimiento empírico en torno a las desapariciones de etiología suicida, aportando información que pueda ser utilizada en las estrategias preventivas, así como de actuación policial.
... Third, responding to reports of missing persons represents one of the biggest demands on the resources of law enforcement agencies (Fyfe et al. 2015). It is vital to remember that the absence, even partial, of resources will inevitably have a detrimental impact on the successful implementation of the policy (Dorey 2005). ...
This study empirically analyses the definition of a ‘missing person’ for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is part of a wider policy concerning missing persons published by the College of Policing (2016). Four hundred six participants (i.e. police officers and civilian staff) were asked for their viewpoint on (a) the suitability of the current definition, (b) the limitations of the definition and (c) components that should be included in a future definition. Sixty-five per cent of participants did not consider the current definition suitable and identified components they considered inappropriate as well as components they wished to add to a missing person definition. The findings are discussed in relation to the wider context of policy process and policy implementation, as well as the need for a coordinated response across public sectors, and comparability between countries within the EU and internationally. This paper advances policy learning by identifying challenges resulting from utilising the policy and concludes with recommendations in order to inform future policy discussions.
... The latest strategic assessment of missing persons in the UK estimates that 858 missing person police reports are filed every day (SOCA, 2013). Consequently, missing persons are one of the biggest demands on police resources and present complex investigative challenges (see Fyfe et al, 2014). In recognition of these challenges, Gibb and Woolnough (2007) developed the first normative spatial profiles to specifically aid police missing person investigations (Gibb & Woolnough, 2007). ...
In 2014, ACPO and the CPS published revised guidance in Liaison and information exchange when criminal proceedings coincide with Chapter Four Serious Case Reviews or Welsh Child Practice Reviews. In this article, the author outlines the rational underpinning the revised guidance and provides an overview of the main issues.
... 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). ...
Investigating reports of missing children is a major source of demand for the police in the UK. Repeat disappearances are common, can indicate underlying vulnerabilities and have been linked with various forms of exploitation and abuse. Inspired by research on repeat victimisation, this paper examines the prevalence and temporal patterns of repeat missing episodes by children, as well as the characteristics of those involved. Using data on all missing children incidents recorded by one UK police service in 2015 (n = 3352), we find that: (a) 75% of missing incidents involving children were repeats, i.e. attributed to children who had already been reported missing in 2015; (b) a small proportion of repeatedly missing children (n = 59; 4%) accounted for almost a third of all missing children incidents (n = 952, 28%); (c) over half of all first repeat disappearances occurred within four weeks of an initial police recorded missing episode; and (d) children recorded as missing ten times or more over the one year study period were significantly more likely than those recorded missing once to be teenagers, in the care system or to have drug and/or alcohol dependencies. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for future research and the prevention of repeat disappearances by children.
... When a child goes missing it is commonplace for charities, law enforcement, family and friends of the child, to release photographs and details of the child through the media in the hope that members of the public can help to locate or identify the child (Lampinen et al. 2012a;Sweeney and Lampinen 2012). Releasing images and descriptions of the missing child through the media allows the information to be seen by numerous individuals within a short period of time which wouldn't be possible using offline approaches (Fyfe et al. 2014;Taylor et al. 2013). Despite their importance and frequent use, however, there is a limited understanding on how effective this approach is (Drivsholm et al. 2017;Lampinen and Moore 2016;Lampinen et al. 2012b;Sweeney and Lampinen 2012). ...
When a child goes missing it is common practice to release an appeal of the child in the hope that a member of the public could help to identify and locate them. Despite being an everyday occurrence, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of how effective these appeals are. The present study sought to explore the effectiveness of missing children appeals through the recall accuracy of the general public immediately after observing the appeals and again after a three-day delay. One hundred and eighty-two participants observed either a mock Child Rescue Alert or a mock Twitter appeal. The results found no significant difference in recall accuracy between the design of the appeals although there was a significant difference in recall error. Confidence in own recall accuracy and the length of time spent observing the appeals were also found to be significantly associated with recall accuracy. Initial recall accuracy scores were significantly higher than recall accuracy scores following a three-day break. This exploratory study demonstrates the requirement to improve missing children appeals and lays the foundation for future studies to build on these findings further.
... In addition, missing persons posts were associated with the highest amount of user engagement at all levels of positive engagement, except for moderate engagement. This finding highlights the unique relationship between social media and missing persons cases, where community engagement (in traditional media studies) is typically more pronounced for these types of cases (Fyfe et al., 2015). This finding suggests that Facebook may be a highly beneficial tool to increase exposure of missing persons cases. ...
Social media use by law enforcement agencies has been on the rise in recent years. Given that engaging with the community online has shown significant impact for businesses, there is reason to believe that law enforcement agencies will also benefit from this type of media use. However, success with social media is contingent upon user engagement. Research on law enforcement agencies' social media use is limited, and examinations of community engagement with law enforcement via social networking sites such as Facebook are non-existent. This study adds to the literature by examining user engagement with social media posts from a law enforcement agency in a large metropolis in Louisiana. Findings indicate that there are significant differences in engagement by the type, time, and content of the posts. Based on these findings, implications for practitioners and law enforcement agencies are discussed.
... This case was not time limited as it was a cold case; hence, a phased, multisite visit and multigeophysical technique approach was appropriate. In contrast, a "live" active missing person case (see, for example, [61]) would have a similar methodology but with the recognition of the time constraints, perhaps data would be processed onsite between techniques and results reviewed, which should have the caveat that this may reduce the potential detection rate if done in haste. As with any live case, the deployment strategy and choice of search techniques must remain flexible to accommodate a changing intelligence picture. ...
Police witness intelligence stated a murdered adult male “Fred” had been vertically buried in wooded hilly terrain 30 years ago in the Midlands, U.K. Conventional search methods were unsuccessful; therefore, the police requested a geophysical investigation to be undertaken to determine whether “Fred” could be detected. A multiphased geophysical approach was conducted, using bulk ground conductivity and metal detectors, then follow‐up magnetics and ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey profiles on electromagnetic (EM) anomalous areas. A tight grid pattern was used to account for the reduced target size. Relatively high‐resolution EM and GPR techniques were determined optimal for this terrain and sandy soil. Geophysical anomalies were identified and the most promising intrusively investigated, and this was found to be a large boulder and tree roots. Study implications suggest careful multiphase geophysical surveys are best practice and give confidence in cold case searches. This study yielded a no‐body result, effectively saving police time and costs from further investigations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Missing persons cases have a unique relationship with the media, where increased exposure is said to be a key factor in the recovery of victims and closure of cases. In an attempt to increase exposure for certain types of missing persons cases, news media outlets share case content and alert systems were created; however, the current systems in place have notable limitations. In an attempt to adapt to the proliferation of social media in the lives of everyday Americans, law enforcement agencies have begun to rely on social media as a crime control tool and as a means to raise awareness of missing persons cases. This chapter serves as an overview of the current academic standing of social media as a mechanism of crime control, with a specific focus on how law enforcement can optimize their use of social media in the form of a missing persons outreach tool.
The high number of missing persons reports, which is globally reported each year, explains the interest in conducting research in this field. The missing persons phenomenon is complex and multifaceted, and therefore it requires an appropriate response from the involved institutions. One of the main law enforcement challenges in the investigation of missing persons is to develop risk assessment tools for harm and fatal outcomes, which are effective, acceptable and easy to use.
Promoting research among multidisciplinary professionals is essential to accomplish in-depth research, allowing to address the phenomenon’s description and the identification of risk factors, as well as to
encourage the development of tools and the improvement of the current risk assessment system.
The study objectives were (1) to determine if there were any associations between the time spent observing fictional appeals and identification accuracy, (2) to establish if the number of missing children photographs observed influences identification accuracy and (3) to determine whether the number of missing children appeals observed influences identification accuracy following a short 3-day delay. A two-stage approach was utilised. Two hundred and forty-two participants observed one, four or eight mock missing children photographs followed by a short word memory distraction task and a target present line-up identification task. The second stage comprised of another target present line-up identification task presented after a short 3-day delay. One-way between-group ANOVAs indicate that observing one missing child photograph has significantly greater overall identification accuracy and lower identification error than viewing four or eight photographs immediately after observing the appeal and following a 3-day delay. Additional analyses found that the identification accuracy was significantly higher immediately after observation compared with the identification accuracy following a 3-day delay. The findings demonstrate the necessity for improving missing children appeals. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, additional research is required to explore these factors further.
This research examined the relationship between adult missing persons and suicide, considering a number of possible vulnerability indicators/characteristics of this group of missing persons. Implications for missing person investigations were also explored, particularly for the risk assessment process. Data was extracted for 93 (N = 93) missing persons cases from one English police force, over a 4-year period. These individuals were found dead suspected of suicide. The findings illustrate a number of vulnerability indicators/characteristics of missing persons who complete suicide. In relation to the initial risk assessment level applied to the missing person report, two vulnerability indicators, a risk of suicide and the presence of a suicide note, had an effect on predicting a higher risk assessment level. Future research, in order to overcome the present study’s limitations, should attempt to collect data from more than one police force in order to increase the sample size. In addition to this, it would be beneficial to use a sample of missing persons who are found safe and well as a comparative sample to have a better chance in understanding the examined relationship and whether the vulnerability indicators/characteristics are indicative of suicide risk. The findings of this study have practical implications for the risk assessment process and are a step forward in providing empirical evidence applicable to identifying missing persons most at risk of suicide. This research has helped to build upon and corroborate existing knowledge of missing persons who complete suicide. This study provides new empirical evidence on suicide in adult missing persons. The findings demonstrate the subjective and variable nature of the risk assessment process and highlight potential implications on missing person investigations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.