Missing

Young people aged 16 and 17 are still children and can face risks, particularly of extra- familial harm, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation or involvement with gangs. Staff should maintain good and consistent communication with young people and be familiar with the young person’s patterns, routines and mental health needs. Staff should be alert to concerning situations and take swift action if they cannot locate or make contact with a young person if that young person hasn’t returned to the setting as expected. 

It would not be appropriate for young people who are known to be at risk of going missing or frequently go missing to be placed in supported accommodation as their needs are such that they would likely require a greater level of care and supervision. As a result of developing strong and trusting relationships and effective communication with young people, staff should encourage young people to keep staff informed of their whereabouts, where appropriate, and maintain good communication about their wellbeing. Where there is a possibility that a young person will go missing from a supported accommodation setting, their care/pathway plan (arranged by their accommodating authority) should include a strategy to minimise this risk.

If there is a risk that a young person may go missing, staff should do everything they can to help them understand the risks and dangers involved and make them aware of how to seek help if they do go missing.

The Service ensures that:

• All staff are fully aware of and know how to implement this Missing procedure, and know that this procedure must be implemented alongside the statutory guidance for young people who are missing, the relevant local Runaway and Missing from Home and Care Protocol from the local Safeguarding Children Partnership and the responsible authority’s policy in relation to children and young people going missing. All staff are made aware of the care and support they should provide to young people in their care to help to reduce missing episodes, and of the steps they should take if young people in their care do go missing. Staff will look for young people when they are missing;
• The support provided to young people should minimise the risk that they will go missing and reduces the risk of harm should the young person go missing. Young people are helped to understand the dangers and risks of leaving the Service and are made aware of where they can access help if they consider running away;
• Young people who do go missing from the Service are protected as far as possible and responded to positively on their return. Staff will try to understand why the missing episode has occurred;
• Young people who go missing experience well-coordinated responses that reduce the harm or risk of harm to them. Risks are well understood and minimised. There is a clear plan of urgent action in place to protect them and to reduce further harm or risk of harm;
• Staff are proactive in helping and protecting young people, and they revise their ways of working if their approach is not working;
• Staff are aware of, and do not exceed, the measures they can take to prevent a young person leaving under current legislation and Government guidance. This Missing procedure is updated accordingly as that legislation and Government guidance changes. This procedure provides links to the relevant Statutory Guidance for ease of access for staff;
• The Service and staff take appropriate action to find the young person who is missing, including working alongside the police where appropriate, and to protect young people who are absent, but whose whereabouts are known;
• If a young person is absent from the Service and their whereabouts are not known (i.e. the child is missing), staff will act in accordance with this Missing procedure and with the local Runaway and Missing from Home and Care (RMFHC) protocols and procedures applicable to the area where the Service or property is located;
• Where young people placed out of authority go missing, the Service follows the local RMFHC protocol, and complies with, and makes staff aware of, any other processes required by the responsible authority, specified in the individual Care Plan and in the RMFHC protocol covering the authority responsible for the young person's care; 
• Where a young person goes missing and there is concern for their welfare, or at the request of a young person who has been missing, the Service arranges a meeting in private between the young person and the responsible authority to consider the reasons for their going missing. The Service considers with the responsible authority and staff what action should be taken to prevent the young person going missing in future. Any concerns arising about staff or the placement are addressed, as far as is possible, in conjunction with the responsible authority;
• The Service will liaise with and challenge the responsible local authority as appropriate (for example when an independent return home interview is not offered or arranged by the local authority) and will take appropriate steps to escalate concerns;
• Parents are made aware of incidents where the young person has been or is missing, where this is appropriate and relevant to the plans for that young person’s future care.

There are various different terms which are used in relation to missing children:

Statutory Guidance on Children Who Run Away or Go Missing From Home or Care (January 2014) uses the following definitions:

• Missing Child:
  
  A child reported as missing to the police by their family or carers;
  
  
• Missing from Care:
  
  A looked after child who is not at their placement or the place they are expected to be (e.g. school) and their whereabouts are not known;
  
  
• Away from Placement Without Authorisation:
  
  A looked after child whose whereabouts are known but who is not at their placement or the place they are expected to be and the carer has concerns or the incident has been notified to the local authority or the police;
  
  
• Young Runaway:
  
  A child who has run away from their home or care placement, or feels they have been forced or lured to leave.

The police, as the lead agency for investigating and finding missing children and young people, will respond to children and young people going Missing or being Absent based on on-going risk assessments in line with current guidance and the College of Policing definition of missing and absent. The police will prioritise all incidents of missing children as medium or high risk.

The police definitions of 'Missing' and 'Absent' are:

Missing

Anyone whose whereabouts cannot be established and where the circumstances are out of character or the context suggests the person may be subject of crime or at risk of harm to themselves or another.

and

Absent

A person is not at a place where they are expected or required to be (and there is no apparent risk).

Young people are less likely to go missing or absent if they feel secure and safe, able to express their feelings, make appropriate choices and develop positive relationships with the staff and their peers, which are free from bullying.

Young people should have a clear understanding of expectations upon them, in terms of their tenancy and support package. The potential risks if they become missing or absent should be explained. Young people should be provided with contact details for the Children's Commissioner or Childline and other advocacy services.

If a particular property is experiencing high levels of young people going missing, the registered person should 'take stock' and undertake a formal review of the culture and strategies being used and take steps to reduce the incidents.

The police classification of a person as 'Missing' or 'Absent' will be based on on-going risk assessment. A child whose whereabouts are known would not be treated as either 'Missing' or 'Absent' under the police definitions.

It is important to note that carers or others reporting a child missing to the police should not make the judgement themselves as to whether a child is missing or absent – this decision will be made by the police on the basis of the information provided. A child who is Absent may be at risk for example of child sexual or criminal exploitation, involvement in drugs, gangs, criminal activity, trafficking, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or radicalisation, and police Risk Assessments should take account of those situations and may need to change the category to Missing.

Where a young person is recorded by police as being Absent, the details will be recorded by the police, who will also agree review times and any on-going actions with the Service or other person reporting the absence. All persons recorded by police as Absent are monitored on the police system. Monitoring is ongoing and subject to regular reviews to ensure risk levels do not change. Where information comes to light which introduces any risk to that person, then the case may be re-categorised as 'Missing' and a police investigation started.

One of the overriding principles of 'Absent' is that police are able to focus resources more effectively, in accordance with the police risk assessments of 'Absent' and 'Missing' incidents. A young person who is Absent may still be at risk for example of child sexual or criminal exploitation, involvement in drugs, gangs, criminal activity, trafficking, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or radicalisation, and the police risk assessment should reflect this.

The police will prioritise all incidents of a Missing young person as medium or high risk.

A Missing young person incident would be prioritised as 'high risk' where:

• The risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the young person is in danger through their own vulnerability; or
• The young person may have been the victim of a serious crime; or
• The risk posed is immediate and there are substantial grounds for believing that the public is in danger.

The high risk category requires the immediate deployment of police resources. Police guidance makes clear that a member of the senior management team or similar command level must be involved in the examination of initial enquiry lines and approval of appropriate staffing levels. Such cases should lead to the appointment of an Investigating Officer and possibly a Senior Investigating Officer and a Police Search Advisor. There should be a media strategy and/or close contact with outside agencies. Family support should be put in place. The UK Missing Persons Bureau should be notified of the case immediately and local authority children's services should also be notified.

A Missing child incident would be prioritised as 'medium risk' where the risk posed is likely to place the subject in danger or they are a threat to themselves or others. This category requires an active and measured response by police and other agencies in order to trace the missing person and support the person reporting. This will involve a proactive investigation and search in accordance with the circumstances to locate the missing young person as soon as possible.

Section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 provides police with powers to enter and search a premises in certain circumstances, notably, with regard to this guidance, for the purposes of saving life and limb or to arrest without warrant a person who has committed an indictable offence or certain other listed offences under the section.

The police can use the powers under Section 46(1) of the Children Act 1989 to remove a child into police protection, for up to 72 hours, if they are likely to suffer significant harm.

Early and effective sharing of information between professionals and local agencies is essential for the identification of patterns of risky behaviour. This may be used to identify areas of concern for an individual young person, or to identify 'hotspots' of activity in a local area.

All young people must have a Placement Plan which takes account of any likely risk of them going missing. The Placement Plan should incorporate measures to reduce or prevent the young person becoming absent, and information that would help facilitate the location of the young person should they go missing. As part of the referral, placement and ongoing planning process, consideration must be given to the risk of the young person becoming missing. If there is a risk, a plan must be drawn up to reduce or prevent it. See also Section 6, Specific Risks. If there is a risk that a young person may run away or go missing, staff should do their best to help them understand the risks and dangers involved and make them aware of how to seek help if they do run away. The Care Plan and the Placement Plan should include details of the arrangements that will need to be in place to keep the young person safe and minimise the risk of the young person going missing from the Service/property.

• The Care Plan – should include strategies to avoid unauthorised absences and/or missing episodes which could affect the young person’s tenancy;
• The Placement Plan – should include strategies for preventing the young person from taking unauthorised absences/going missing;
• A risk assessment should be completed for all young people for whom there is concern that they may run away. The risk assessment should be updated after any missing incident and should be regularly reviewed. The risk assessment should detail possible places or persons associated with episodes of going missing and should be referred to whenever a young person goes missing or runs away;
• The young person should be provided with advice about access to an independent Advocate and the young person's views taken into account;
• Statutory reviews should consider any absences and revise strategies to prevent repeat absences and/or missing incidents and the Care Plan should be revised accordingly.

Where a young person goes missing repeatedly or engages in other risky behaviours, the accommodating authority, in consultation with the registered person and the young person’s key workers, should convene a risk management meeting to develop a strategy for managing risks to the young person, which should be reflected in the young person’s care plan. The strategy should be agreed with the young person’s accommodating authority, the local authority where the setting is located if different from the accommodating authority, and the local police.

Where the registered person considers that a young person is at serious risk of harm as a result of being persistently missing, they must contact the local authority to request a review of the Care Plan. Local authorities must give serious consideration to such requests. Where a review does not take place, the registered person must escalate this concern.

When a young person is placed out of their local authority area, the responsible authority must make sure that the young person has access to the services they need in advance of placement. Notification of the placement must be made to the host authority and other specified services. All young people subject of a risk assessment should be notified to the local police service. A notification process for missing/absent episodes should be agreed between responsible and host local authorities as a part of the Care Plan and the Placement Plan.

Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) should be informed by the responsible local authority about Missing/Absent episodes and they should address these in statutory reviews. The risk assessment should be updated after missing incidents and should be regularly reviewed.

Where there are Child Protection concerns relating to a young person and/or where the young person has gone missing from the placement or from any previous placement, the Placement Plan must include information agreed between the accommodating authority and the Service about the day-to-day arrangements put in place to keep the young person safe.

The Service will be proactive in providing an environment which promotes a feeling of security that aims to minimise the likelihood of the young person going missing. Staff will work with young people to educate them about the risks of going missing, help them where possible to identify trigger points and give them other alternatives in these particular circumstances. The competence and support needs of staff in responding to missing from care issues should be considered as part of their regular appraisal and supervision.

The planning process for each young person, including the likelihood of them becoming missing, must take account of any specific risk factors for each young person. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Trafficking

Some young people may be unaccompanied asylum seekers or other migrant young people. Some young people in this group may have been trafficked into the UK and may remain under the influence of their traffickers even while they are looked after. Trafficked young people are at high risk of going missing, with most going missing within one week of becoming looked after and many within 48 hours. Unaccompanied migrant or asylum seeking young people, who go missing immediately after becoming looked after, should be treated as young people who may be victims of trafficking. Young people who have been trafficked may be exploited for sexual purposes and the link to sexual exploitation should be addressed in conjunction with the Safeguarding Young People from Sexual Exploitation Procedure. 

The assessment of need to inform the Care Plan will be particularly critical in these circumstances and should be done immediately as the window for intervention is very narrow. The assessment must seek to establish:

• Relevant details about the young person’s background before they came to the UK;
• An understanding of the reasons why the young person came to the UK; and
• An analysis of the young person’s vulnerability to remaining under the influence of traffickers.

The location of the young person should not be divulged to any enquirers until their identity and relationship with the young person has been established, if necessary with the help of police and immigration services. In these situations the roles and responsibilities of care providers must be fully understood and recorded in the Placement Plan. Proportionate safety measures that keep the young person safe should be put in place to safeguard the young person from going missing from care or from being re-trafficked.

Grooming

Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a young person to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation. Young people can be groomed online or in the real world, by a stranger or by someone they know - for example a family member, friend or professional. Groomers may be male or female. They could be any age. Many young people don't understand that they have been groomed, or that what has happened is abuse.

Young people can be groomed for the purpose of sexual abuse as well as other forms of exploitation including involvement in criminal and extremist activity. Young people who are missing are more vulnerable to being groomed and may also go missing as a result of being groomed.

Protecting Young People at Risk of Radicalisation

Young people can suffer harm when exposed to extremist ideology. This harm can range from a young person adopting or complying with extreme views which limit their social interaction and full engagement with their education, to young person being groomed for involvement in violent attacks.

Young people can by exposed to harmful, extremist ideology in the immediate or extended family, over the internet or through the influence of their peer network.

Going missing is a risk factor in relation to radicalisation:

• A young person may go missing because they have already been radicalised;
• A young person's risk of being radicalised might increase because they are missing and are spending time with people who may seek to involve them in radical/extreme activities. The risk is heightened whilst they are missing, because the protective factors of family or care are not available to them.

Professionals should always assess whether a young person who has gone missing is at risk of radicalisation.

See Safeguarding Young People from Radicalisation and Extremism Procedure.

Young People at Risk of Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

The sexual exploitation of young people involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where the young person (or third person/s) receive 'something' (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Violence, coercion and intimidation are common.

Involvement in exploitative relationships is characterised by the young person's limited availability of choice as a result of their social, economic or emotional vulnerability.

A common feature of CSE is that the young person does not recognise the coercive nature of the relationship and does not see themselves as a victim of exploitation.

Going missing is a significant risk factor in relation to sexual exploitation:

• A young person may go missing because they are being sexually exploited;
• A young person’s risk of being sexually exploited might increase because they are missing and are spending time with people who may seek to involve them in sexual exploitation. The risk is heightened whilst they are missing because the protective factors of family or care are not available to them.

Because there is such a strong link between young people going missing and risk of sexual exploitation, professionals should always assess whether a young person who has gone missing is being sexually exploited or at risk of being sexually exploited.

For more information see Safeguarding Young People from Sexual Exploitation Procedure.

Children at Risk of being Drawn into Offending Behaviour

Young people who go missing also need safeguarding against the risk of being drawn into offending behaviour by gangs or criminal groups.

For more information, see Child Criminal Exploitation and County Lines Procedure. 

Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when young people go missing from the Service. This information should be shared with the accommodating and local authority in which the setting is located, and where appropriate, with the young person’s parents. Monitoring and evaluating missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of support. (see Monitoring Quality).

The registered person will arrange to log information on Missing episodes for monitoring purposes. A copy of the report will be retained on the young person’s file and a copy forwarded to the young person’s social worker. A copy of the report will also be sent to the Regulatory Authority if applicable (see Notification of Serious Events Procedure). 

The Service will keep records of absence and notify the accommodating authority. The record will include:

• Action by the Service;
• Circumstances of the young person’s return;
• Any reasons given by the young person for the absence;
• Any action taken in light of those reasons.

These records will be shared with the accommodating authority (young person’s social worker) and, where it is appropriate, the parents.

Statutory Guidance on Children who Run Away or Go Missing from Home or Care (DfE, January 2014)

College of Policing Guidance on Missing Persons