Thematic inspection of police response to missing persons in Scotland

Governance and performance

281. Police Scotland’s leadership on missing persons strategy and governance should be clearer and more visible, at the national strategic level. The gaps that exist may be partly due to gaps and changes in previous senior posts, but may also be as a result of missing persons sitting within a very broad and diverse portfolio within Policing Together, with potentially competing demands. Police Scotland should reintroduce the strategic governance forum that was previously in place to oversee the strategy and direction for missing persons work.

282. We found no evidence that there were effective audit and assurance processes in place to ensure all areas were adopting a consistent approach to delivering services relevant to missing persons. There were inconsistencies in how information on missing persons is reported by local policing divisions to national teams. We would expect to see clear criteria in place for how local policing divisions should report on missing persons.

283. Police Scotland provides performance reports on missing person operations to the SPA on a quarterly basis. These are made available to the public on the SPA’s website. These reports include quantitative information on a range of factors, including the number of people that go missing from various settings and facilities each year.

284. This missing person information is part of a wider performance report that Police Scotland produces for the SPA performance committee. The missing person section of the report is limited in the information provided and gives no detail about the effectiveness of prevention and intervention measures. We would suggest that Police Scotland provide the SPA with more detailed information regarding what measures and protocols are working well, or less well, and what is being done to achieve improvements.

285. The performance management data in these reports includes a range of demand-related information relevant to demographics and geographical differences. This provides a helpful picture of the potential increase or decrease in incidents that have taken place in respect of specific groups, including adults, children and young people, and those missing from settings including NHS facilities and children’s services.

286. There is, however, no overarching internal mechanism in place to evaluate the quality of the police response in respect of missing persons. While as noted, police are able to provide valuable quantitative data, performance reports make little reference to the quality and effectiveness of service provision and the outcomes achieved.

Performance outcomes

287. Police Scotland does not directly gather and report on performance information relevant to the commitments outlined within the framework. Rather, it sets out its objectives and outcomes against those outlined in the Annual Policing Plan 2023/24, which is based on its Strategic Threat & Risk Assessment (STRA) 23/28.

288. We consider it appropriate for Police Scotland to align missing people to its own, wider outcomes concerning threats to public safety and keeping people safe. However, as the service is aligned to the framework and has adopted the commitments outlined therein, it would be appropriate for the service to monitor, measure and report on progress against these.

Partner agency involvement

289. It was clear from information gathered during the inspection, that some partners in health and local authorities could do more to collaborate with Police Scotland on missing persons. The issue is more prevalent at a senior planning level where gaps exist in some areas. Greater collaboration would ensure that there is a genuine multi-agency response to missing persons, aligning with the aims, objectives and commitments outlined in the framework. Partners should also be involved in monitoring progress against the objectives and commitments outlined in the framework.

290. We found that positive outcomes were more likely where local policing divisions had collaborated with partners to develop missing person protocols. The successful implementation of preventative protocols can result in fewer missing person incidents, reducing, in turn, the number of officers required to resource investigations.

291. The collaborative approach and practical arrangements put in place by police and partners in the areas visited during our inspection were impressive. There was a clear focus on working together to achieve the best possible outcomes for missing people, to reduce repeat incidents and provide support to missing people once returned.

Experience of missing people and families

292. While we have outlined evidence of Police Scotland engaging effectively with partner agencies on missing persons on a number of levels, we found no evidence of partners asking for the views of missing persons (or their families) on their experiences. There was no mechanism in place to ask what they felt about the police or partner response to missing incidents. As a result, missing people and their families had no viable route to highlight what had worked well for them and what had not. This lack of enquiry limits the potential for services to improve, and inhibits organisational learning.

293. Police Scotland's ‘user experience survey’ is undertaken regularly to gain an understanding of the views of the public, communities and partners regarding what is working well (and not so well) for them. However, this does not include questions specific to missing persons.

294. The Missing People charity has developed a lived experience forum and network to provide platforms to hear from those who have experience of being missing, and their families. The aim of these is to gather feedback to help improve the way in which the charity can offer support to people at risk of going missing.