Peterborough Missing Children Protocol

1. Introduction

The aim of the protocol is to assist practitioners across all agencies to develop robust responses to children who run away and go missing. This will include preventing the child suffering harm and recovering them to a place they are safe as soon as possible. The most effective assessment and support comes through good information sharing, joint assessments of need, joint planning, professional trust within the interagency network, and joint partnership working with families.

Children who are missing from home or care may be at risk of suffering significant harm as a consequence of their basic need for food, safety and shelter and/or from the people with whom they may come into contact with. Risks can include physical harm, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, drug abuse, serious violence, criminal activity, and other extra familial harm risk. Additional vulnerability due to their age, level of understanding, the significance and seriousness of the circumstances that led to the missing episode may also be present.

Peterborough Safeguarding Children Partnership expects all agencies working with children or young people who run away or are missing from home or care to implement this protocol and ensure that all relevant staff are aware of it and how to use it. It should be used in all new contacts with children and young people. The relevant Local Authority and Safeguarding Children Partnership will be responsible for ensuring an annual review of the effectiveness of all aspects of the protocol.

The following risk factors can trigger a missing incident:

• Arguments and conflicts,
• Domestic abuse,
• Conflict within a placement,
• Poor family/carer relationships,
• Physical and emotional abuse,
• Experiencing bullying,
• Poor parental/carer boundaries and control,
• Loneliness.

The risks associated with going missing include:

• Involvement in crime,
• Disengagement from education,
• Being trafficked and becoming involved in county lines,
• Child exploitation including criminal, sexual and radicalisation,
• Victim of, or involvement in serious youth violence,
• Poor physical and/or mental health,
• Substance Misuse,
• Family breakdown and homelessness.

This protocol is written as a guidance only and cannot anticipate every situation. Any professional who has concerns for a missing child should take whatever action and advice is necessary to protect and safeguard the child. We recognise that children who go missing are extremely vulnerable and exposed to significant risk and as such the joint aim of Peterborough Children’s Services and Cambridgeshire Constabulary is to reduce the number of missing incidents by young people.

Children with additional needs such as special educational or learning needs, physical disabilities or emotional health needs are particularly vulnerable when they go missing. Any communication difficulties can make it harder for a child to disclose abuse and they may have few opportunities to disclose. They are also more at risk of sexual or other exploitation.

Each missing incident should be taken seriously and considered as a potential indicator of other on-going issues rather than an isolated incident. Frequent missing episodes should not be treated as a pattern of acceptable behaviour and should be carefully considered as they may be symptomatic of abuse that young person may be exposed to, either within or outside the home. Any person working with a child or young person who goes missing should consider the push/pull factors that lead to missing episodes. These factors should be identified and used to inform safety planning and work to reduce future missing episodes.

Given the vulnerabilities of children who go missing, consideration should be given to what additional support the child or young person may need. An Early Help Assessment and the initiation of Team Around the Child should be considered where appropriate and if moderate or significant risk are identified a Child and Family Assessment should be completed.

The Local Authority will collect data on children reported missing from home or care to identify patterns and to map place based, location and peer group problems. This should then be used to support joint work to identify patterns of child exploitation, county lines, youth violence and other risk outside of the home.

2. Definitions

Based on the ‘Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care’ (DfE 2014) the definitions which should be used when working with children, young people and their families are set out as follows:

• Child: anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. ‘Children’ and ‘young people’ are used throughout this guidance to refer to anyone under the age of 18,
• Missing child: a child reported as missing to the Police by their family or carers,
• Care Leaver: a young person between the age of 16-25 who lived in care for a minimum 13 weeks since the age of 14, or you have been looked after for at least 1 day after your 16^th birthday,
• Responsible local authority: the local authority that is responsible for a looked after child’s care and care planning,
• Host local authority: the local authority in which a looked after child is placed when placed out of the responsible local authority’s area,
• 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 place, they are expected to be, and the carer has concerns or the incident has been notified to the local authority or the Police.

Peterborough Local Authority and Cambridgeshire Constabulary will adopt the following definitions that have been agreed by the Association of Chief Police Officer (ACPO). The ACPO definition of a missing person is:

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’.

Cambridgeshire Police will class any young person under the age of 18 whose whereabouts are not known as ‘Missing’. They do not operate an ‘absent’ category as some other forces do.

It is important to note that professionals or others reporting a child missing to the Police, should not make the judgement themselves as to whether a child is missing. This decision will be formally made by the police on the basis of the information provided.

Children in Care Away from Placement without Authorisation

Sometimes a child in care may be away from their placement without authorisation. Whilst they are not missing, they may still be at risk of potential harm from risk outside the home (e.g. they maybe at the house where there are concerns about peers, or exploitation or with a family member who professional are concerned about). The carer or social worker should take reasonable steps to ascertain the wellbeing of the child including, when appropriate visiting the location. If the child is at significant risk of harm to themselves or to others, then police should be notified in order that social care and police can take collaborative measures to safeguard them. This should not be confused with reporting a child missing.

3. Legislative Framework

The legal parameters within which missing person enquiries are conducted can be found in common law, international law and the provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Some of the provisions of the EHCR have been given legal effect within the United Kingdom by virtue of the Human Rights Act 1998.

The law does not generally regard young people under the age of 16 as being able to live independently away from home. For children over the age of 16 years old, consideration should be given to their legal status, physical and emotional needs when making a judgement as to whether they can live independently. Southwark judgement should always be applied for homeless 16- and 17-year-olds.

Care Leavers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and may go missing from their home or placement. This often doesn’t change for Care Leavers at the point they reach 18 and the local authority and wider partnership continue to have a corporate parenting responsibility at this point of transition for them when they could be particular vulnerability. The police will assess all adult missing person reports individually and Care Leavers will always be recognised as having a protected characteristic and will need an appropriate response.

Where a child/young person under 16 (or 18 if disabled) stays with a person, (other than a person with Parental Responsibility or a close relative), for 28 days or more, the person caring for them is acting as a ‘Private Foster Carer’ within the meaning of s66 of the Children Act 1989 and therefore they must notify the local authority that they are privately fostering the child/young person. (‘Children (Private Arrangements for Fostering) Regulations 2005’ SI 2005/1533). Failure to notify the local authority may be an offence.

Data Protection legislation places certain conditions on the ‘processing’ of information classed as personal data. Data held for policing purposes should only be disclosed for such purposes. Adherence to this agreement will therefore ensure compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and Peterborough Police Data Protection policies. Data Protection legislation does not prevent the Police and Local Authority working together to ensure the safe return of a missing child. Both organisations are registered for the purpose of protecting people and therefore for disclosing information for that purpose.

This protocol is based on the following legislation:

• Statutory guidance on children who runaway and go missing from home or care (DfE, 2014),
• Working Together to Safeguard Children,
• DfE, Child exploitation: definition and guide for practitioners (2017).

The following legal powers can be used for a child who goes missing:

• The Police can use their powers under Section 46(1) of the Children Act 1989 to remove a child into Police Protection if they at immediate risk of suffering significant harm. Police Protection lasts up to 72 hours and Children’s Services may need to consider applying for an Emergency Protection Order before it expires. Police Protection should not be used as an alternative to applying for an Emergency Protection Order where this is practicable at the time. The use of Police Protection Powers should be discussed with the Local Authority CSC or EDT service to ensure consistent and collaborative planning is in place to ensure the best interests of safeguarding the child.
• Section 17, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, provides the Police with powers to enter and search a premises in certain circumstances, notably 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. Section 24 of the same Act provides Police the power of summary arrest for any offence subject to certain provisions notably, ‘to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the person in question’. The Police can sometimes issue a Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN) to someone who is believed to have a missing child in their care. This applies to all children under 16, and those LAC on care orders up to 18.
• Children’s Services can apply to the Court for a Recovery Order under Section 50 of the Children Act 1989 where the child is subject to an Interim or full Care Order and it is clear that the child is not in immediate danger of significant harm.
• Sharing information to locate a child who is Looked After, subject to a Child Protection Plan, Contextual Safeguarding Plan, or a Child in Need Plan.
• The local authority should consult with the Police regarding situations where a missing child is Looked After, subject to a Child Protection Plan, Contextual Safeguarding Plan, or a Child in Need Plan. This should include an assessment of whether to release information to the media. Children’s Services should also notify other local authorities according to degree of concern and consideration should also be given to whether the child or their family has links to other areas in the United Kingdom.

4. Reporting a Child who is Missing

Reporting a Child who has run away or is Missing from Home

Reports are expected to reach Cambridgeshire Constabulary via normal public reporting methods, using the numbers or link below.

Report a missing person | Cambridgeshire Constabulary (cambs.police.uk)

If you believe that a child is at immediate risk this should be reported without delay to the Police service:

• For emergencies use 999 or,
• For urgent/immediate reporting 101.

Child in Care After who has run away or is Missing from Care

When a Child in Care or a Care Leaver runs away or goes missing from care it is the responsibility of the carer to make all reasonable steps to locate or enquire into the circumstances of the missing episode and advise Children’s Services. During the working day this should be reported in the first instance to:

• Cambridgeshire Constabulary, as above, and,
• The child’s Social Worker: or in their absence,
• The relevant duty Social Worker for the team or,
• Emergency Duty Team (EDT) when out of normal working hours/weekends.

The carer will provide information about risk factors in the case and the Philomena Form (see attached and below).

5. Scope for Our Children

The protocol is designed for:

• All children living in the boundaries of the local authority,
• Children looked after by the Local Authority placed within residential children’s homes or foster homes (either Local Authority or independent) within the Local Authority boundaries,
• Children looked after by the Local Authority who are living with parents or relatives and who are subject to a Care Order,
• Children looked after by another responsible local authorities and placed in Peterborough as a host local authority within independent residential children’s homes or foster homes,
• Care Leaving children that turn 18 who we continue to have a corporate parenting responsibility for.

The Local Authority retains responsibility for children looked after and placed outside the Local Authority boundaries. In these cases, the Local Authority will require the placement provider to comply with these protocols and protocols local to their area. Please refer to pathway for looked after children placed outside of Peterborough.

Other, external Local Authorities placing children within ‘Peterborough Local Authority’ boundary will be required to comply with these protocols.

Within this context, “Children Looked After” refers to children accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, children subject to Care Orders including Interim Care Orders, Sect 31 and 38 Children Act 1989, and children who are otherwise provided with accommodation by sect 21 Children Act 1989. These include PACE transfers, children on remand and children subject to a Youth Rehabilitation Order with a requirement to reside as directed by the Local Authority.

In addition the protocol will apply to all young people placed within the Local Authority boundaries (including those aged 18) for whom Peterborough City Council have continuing responsibilities under The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.

6. Responding to a Child Who Has Run Away or Gone Missing

Before contacting the Police – proactive attempts to locate the child or young person must be made.

When a child or young person is identified as not being at a location they are expected to be at, the reporting individual (for example a parent/care provider/foster carer/social worker/residential staff/teacher etc.) must take proactive steps to trace the child or young person’s whereabouts and keep a record of these enquiries so they can pass on the information. The decision on when to call police in relation to these enquiries should be in line with the recognised risk level – i.e. if the missing person is believed by the reporting person to be High Risk police should be called and then these enquiries should be made, if the missing person is not believed to be High Risk then all these enquiries should be made before the police are called. High Risk indicators for a child could be self-harm or suicide, being a victim of ongoing crimes such as abduction, or being actively exploited. In all cases it should be recognised that finding a missing person is achieved best when all agencies and individuals involved work towards a joint effort between police, children’s services, other agencies, and other persons involved.

Proactive attempts to locate the child or young person should include:

• Physical checks of the residence, including the child’s bedroom and any other location the child may be hiding within the house/building,
• Physical checks of any garden, garage, sheds, grounds and surrounding area(s),
• Attempting to contact the missing person directly, via mobile phone, text, or social networking sites (i.e. Snapchat/ TikTok/ Twitter/ Facebook/WhatsApp etc.),
• Contacting the missing child or young person’s wider family and friends to ascertain if the child or young person is there or has made contact with them,
• Contacting local hospitals,
• Contacting or visiting places of work/education or other locations the missing child or young person frequents.

Additionally, where a child or young person is in the care of the local authority, the reporting Individual should:

Make reference to any risk assessments, Care Plans, Placement Plans or other planning documents in place that refer to the needs of the young person and in particular may detail the management of the risk that the child or young person may go missing.

Where such enquiries do not establish the whereabouts of the child or young person, the reporting individual should report the incident to the Police. For children and young people who reside within Peterborough and were last seen in Peterborough, including children and young people placed by another Local Authority within Peterborough, this will be Cambridgeshire Constabulary. Unless there is deemed a serious concern or risk of immediate harm which would require a 999 response, this should be done through 101. If the child is normally resident in Peterborough but has gone missing whilst in another county, this should be reported to that Police force so that initial enquiries can be made in the immediate area. The case may at a later time be transferred to Peterborough but that will be a decision for the relevant force to make. It is national Police guidance that any force receiving a missing person report should record an incident and, if the person is missing in their area, carry out the initial enquiries. Reporting persons should not be asked to call Peterborough Police merely because the child or young person is normally resident in Peterborough.

Where a child or young person is placed in another Local Authority area by Peterborough Children’s Services, the contact will be the police force covering the area of their placement if that is the area where they are missing from.

The Philomena Protocol

The Philomena protocol should be in place for all Children in Care. It is designed to provide the Police with accurate and up to date information about a child who has gone missing from care homes and other local authority accommodation and puts emphasis on carers (residential care home staff, supported accommodation staff and foster carers) working alongside allocated workers in Children’s Services to identify where a child or young person in their care is likely to go missing (see attached appendix).

When search for a placement for children, Children’s Access to Resources will ensure that placements and carers are compliant in respect of the Philomena Protocol and aware of their duty and responsibilities.

The child’s social worker should ensure all care providers complete a Philomena Protocol Form on the day the child is place. This should then be updated at every three-month interval or sooner depending on individual changing circumstances and significant escalations.

Each Care provider should ensure that when a child goes missing, they conduct some initial enquiries to locate the young person before calling the Police. It is the responsibility of the Police CE Hub to quality assure these forms to ensure they contain all available and relevant information and that the Prevention and Vulnerability (PV) Hubs have a copy of the form. The form will then be presented to the attending officer by the PV Hub to assist with initial enquiries and risk assessments.

Where a child or young person is in the care of the local authority, the reporting individual i.e. foster carer, or residential home should also ensure that the following are contacted as soon as is practicable after the child or young person is not where they are expected to be:

• The Local Authority responsible for the child’s placement,
• If appropriate e.g. delegated responsibility, adults with parental responsibility for the child or young person.

‘Concern for Welfare’

If there is concern for the welfare/safety of a child, they may be reported as a child at risk of harm; for example, where a child is staying over and refusing to leave a house where there is known drug dealing, is in the residence of a known sex offender or is in the residence of an individual who is known to have been assessed a posing a risk of harm to children. In these types of scenarios, the child would not be classed at as missing. There would need to be a concern for the child’s safety and as such reported this way to the Police in a balanced and proportionate way.

Where there is concern that the child is at risk of harm from a known adult offender, contact must also be made with the relevant Probation Services. If the concerned agency knows the name and contact details of the Responsible Officer (Probation Staff) then they should be notified directly.

If the location of a missing person is known or can be readily ascertained they are not missing and no attempt should be made to report them missing to police, however if there is a risk to the child or young person at that location then police assistance may be requested to support their safe return – reporting persons should be able to explain what this risk is and what assistance they are requesting when they contact Cambridgeshire Police. If a child or young person’s location is known but there is no identified risk or the risk is low then the care team for that person should be contacted and a plan put in place to return them – this could be to allowing them to return under their own steam if this is deemed an appropriate response to the risk.

7. Response from Police and Children’s Services

This section of the protocol details the response from Cambridgeshire Constabulary to reports of children and young people who are missing. Where a report is made to another Police force, reference should be made to their missing from home or care protocol (it is likely that this is to be found on the Local Safeguarding Children Partnership’s website).

Cambridgeshire Constabulary priorities:

The priorities of the police in responding to reports of missing persons are:

• To ensure that every report of a missing child is risk assessed so that those who may be vulnerable or represent high risk are immediately identified,
• To notify Peterborough Children’s Services MASH of the missing episode and when a child is found,
• To investigate reports of missing persons,
• To adopt a pro-active multi-agency approach in dealing with missing persons in order to safeguard them and to reduce the number of future reports,
• To support the needs of the family, those close to the missing person, and the community,
• To ensure that all missing children are jointly risk assessed and where required triaged on a daily basis in the Exploitation and Missing Triage Meeting (see attached appendix) with Peterborough Children’s Services and Health.

Cambridgeshire Police Risk Assessment

All reports of missing people sit within a continuum of risk from low with minimal enquiries through to medium and then high-risk cases that require immediate, intensive action. When Cambridgeshire Police attend a report of a missing person, they will complete their own risk assessment which will confirm the level on the ‘missing’ continuum they consider to be appropriate. This will be based on an assessment of risk and information sha ring through the Peterborough City Council MASH and EDT.

The Force Control Room Inspector or Supervisor will initially determine the required response grading for the incident based on the information supplied by the reporting person and information held by police. In doing so they will:

• Take account of the antecedents known about the individual, including any partnership information available to Police,
• Be cognisant of national best practice and APP guidance,
• Take account of the presenting circumstances of the current incident and any reasonably foreseeable future risks.

For these reasons it is important that the reporting person is in possession of the history and risk factors surrounding the child or young person. Care should be taken to ensure that the person contacting police has this information and that it is shared.

For children in the care of the local authority, staff reporting the incident (including foster carers) should have the child’s Care and Placement Plan to hand and a copy of their Missing Young Person’s Philomena Profile Form (see attached appendix). Agencies should ensure that these plans are readily accessible to anyone who may report a child or young person missing. The responses to these questions will be recorded by the call-taker.

The outcomes of the risk assessment will be the guide for the police response and the level of enquiries undertaken. The Police investigation will be carried out in accordance with the Cambridgeshire Constabulary Missing Persons Policy. The investigation will be in line with the risk assessment framework as detailed below.

Risk Assessment Framework used by the Police:

The Police will prioritise all incidents of missing children as medium or high risk. No child who goes missing can be prioritised as low risk.

Children who have turned 18 and are Care Leavers will be assessed on an individual case by case basis. However, they will always be treated as either medium or high-risk vulnerable missing adults because of their Care Leaver protected characteristic status. The response to vulnerable Care Leaver Children should always consider their vulnerability, their lived experience, and their care history.

Peterborough Children’s Services responsibilities:

Children’s Services will be notified of all children who go missing through the MASH or if out of hours EDT. Missing episodes will be created by the Exploitation and Missing Team during working hours, and by EDT out of hours. The allocated social worker and team manager will be notified by MASH and EDT or any missing incidents.

Children’s Services are responsible for convening strategy discussions for all children who go missing and are the responsibility of Peterborough Local Authority. Strategy discussions for missing children will be the responsibility of the relevant children’s services team to whom the child is open, or if they are not open these will be convened by the Targeted Youth Support Service (TYSS) or Assessment Service.

For those children that are open to Children’s Services a strategy meeting is to be convened if the child has been missing for more than 24 hours. The strategy discussion should be convened within 48 hours of the child initially going missing, or earlier if there are significant concerns.

For children who are open to other local authority areas and placed/living in Peterborough the strategy discussion will be the responsibility of the responsible home local authority area unless there has been a significant incident that has occurred in our area for an out of area child such as knife crime or a stabbing, or if there is a complex strategy discussion involving children in our area. Both the home and resident LA should attend the Strat.

For children who are not known and not recently (last 6 months) open a strategy meeting is to be convened if the child has been missing for 48 hours. The strategy discussion should be convened within 72 hours of the child initially going missing, or earlier if there are significant concerns (See attached appendix).

Strategy discussions will also be convened for children who have 3 missing episodes in 90 days.

When a child is missing for 48 hours the relevant Head of Service should be notified and a ‘Need to Know’ should be completed. Following the initial Strategy discussion if the child remains missing a second strategy meeting should be convened within 72 hours (including weekends) and this should be chaired by a Service Manager. If the child remains missing for a further 72 hours a third strategy meeting should be convened and chair by a Head of Service.

Children’s services will also ensure that the Exploitation and Missing Team attend daily Exploitation and Missing Triage Meetings to ensure that relevant information is shared to inform robust and timely agreed partnership actions to ensure they child is found as quickly and as safely as possible.

The role of the IRO

Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) should be informed about missing episodes by the allocated Social Worker and Team Manager, it may be appropriate to hold an early Review. IRO’s will review the file and speak to the Social Worker to ensure the child has been seen following a missing episode. The IRO mid- point monitoring process will review the actions from the return home interview have progressed and raise with the team any outstanding actions, agreeing a timescale for completion.

Child in Care (CiC) Review meetings should consider any absences and review strategies to prevent repeat missing incidents and the care plan should be revised accordingly. The review meeting should also review whether the Philomena protocol has been completed by the carer/ provider, with an action agreed for this to be completed and shared with the police if the Philomena Protocol has not been completed. The pre-incident risk assessment should be updated after any missing incident and should be regularly reviewed.

Notification to the relevant Local Authority

All incidents of children and young people reported as missing to Cambridgeshire Constabulary will be reported by the Police to Peterborough Children Services MASH who will in turn notify the relevant authority if the child has been placed by the responsible Local Authority from outside Peterborough. Every Local Authority has different notification pathways based on local arrangements.

The Local Authority will then ensure appropriate forward communication, including with the Exploitation and Missing Team, allocated Social Worker, Manager, and Independent Reviewing Officer where appropriate.

Notification to other Agency Partners

It is for the relevant Local Authority Children’s Services to notify agency partners of the missing episode including any education facilities that the child is involved with.

8. Responsibility when a Child is Found

It is important that there are processes in place for when missing children and young people are located. This is so an understanding can be gained of the reasons for those missing episodes and any issues that may have caused them can be addressed, as well as protecting the child or young person from future harm.

The approach of professionals, such as police officers and social workers, towards a child or young person who has been missing can have a significant impact on how the child or young person will engage with subsequent investigations and protection planning. Building a trusted relationship with children who go missing must be considered by all professionals.

The multiple risks a child or young person may be open to should be recognised regardless of how often or willingly they go missing. A supportive approach, actively listening and responding to a child or young person’s needs, will have a greater chance of preventing the child or young person from going missing again and safeguarding them against other risks.

Location and Return of a Missing Child or Young Person

When a child or young person who has been reported to the Police and deemed, following risk assessment, as ‘Missing’, returns or is located and returned to a safe place other than by the Police, the Police should be notified as soon as possible by the parent or carer that the episode is over. At the point of reporting a return, parents or carers will be asked if there is anything the Police need to know or act on immediately in terms of the child and young person’s behaviour or welfare. The Police will arrange for a ‘Missing Prevention Interview’ (WIRI) to be conducted.

If a missing child or young person is in the care of the local authority, upon location by police or others, it is the responsibility of the residential staff or foster carers to collect and return the child or young person to a place of safety, unless the circumstances pose a risk to them or to the child or young person.

Where there is no risk to a parent or carer collecting a child or young person, but the logistics make it difficult or impossible for the parent or carer to do so, the Police and Local Authority for the child or young person must be contacted to assist and agree a collaborative approach.

Where a child or young person is located by an agency or individual other than the police, the following action should be taken:

• Immediately notify the carer of where the child or young person has been located,
• Provide details of any concerns to the carer,
• Agree with the carer an immediate Trigger plan to safeguard the child or young person until such time as the carer can arrange for the child or young person to be collected.
• Notify the police of the individual’s location and any concerns they may have in order that the police can consider and complete a ‘Prevention Interview’.

Transporting a Found Missing Child

Reporting Persons and agencies should consider the means by which the child or young person will be transported home if located by Cambridgeshire Constabulary. This will be especially relevant if the missing person is believed to have travelled outside their local area. Consideration should be given as to how to prevent them going missing on the journey home. Cambridgeshire Constabulary will not provide transport unless the officers involved deem that there is a safeguarding need for police to transport rather than another agency. There may be occasions when police deem that the speediest way to resolve police involvement in an incident will be for police to provide transport and agencies should work collaboratively to ensure preventative decision making that are in the best interests of safeguarding the child and preventing further missing episodes.

If, whilst the missing child or young person is missing, it is deemed that their current place of residence is inappropriate for any reason then steps should be taken to raise this with the Local Authority, and this will be assessed and planned for through appropriate strategy discussions.

Prevention (WIRI) Checks for Missing Children

When a child or young person has been located following an episode deemed ‘Missing’, statutory guidance requires that police will carry out a Prevention Interview (previously known as a Safe and Well check). Cambridgeshire Constabulary will carry out a Prevention (WIRI) Interview for all children and young people who have been categorised as ‘missing’, as soon as practicable after they are found, and this should be completed within 24 hours of the person being located. Consideration will be given by police to the time of day this will take place and the impact a police presence can have at locations such as Children’s Care Homes. The details will be recorded on the Missing Person Report and passed on to the relevant Local Authority.

Objectives of a Police Prevention (WIRI) Interview

A Prevention (WIRI) Interview requires a Police Officer to physically see and speak to the missing child or young person as soon as practicable after they are found. The police should also speak to the child or young person’s parents or carers to satisfy themselves that the child or young person is safe and well. A Prevention (Wiri) Interview will be recorded on the Police Missing Person Investigation system and information shared with the Children and Families Service.

The objectives of a Prevention (WIRI) Interview will be:

• To determine the reasons why the child or young person went missing and in particular, if they have been subject to violence, exploitation, abuse or bullying,
• To establish if they have been the victim of, or committed, any crime whilst missing,
• To discover where and by whom they have been harboured and if any steps can be taken to prevent this in the future such as issuing a Child Abduction Warning Notice,
• To obtain information which may lead to their early location should they disappear again,
• To put in place any support and preventative measures to avoid such a recurrence,
• To establish which school or education setting they attend,
• To inform the child or young person and their parents and carers that:
  1. The relevant Local Authority Children’s Service has been notified of the missing episode,
  2. They will be contacted by the Local Authority and offered an Independent Return Home Interview,

Return Home Interviews

When a missing child is found, MASH will notify the allocated social worker and team manager, and the responsible Local Authority must offer an independent return home interview (RHI). Independent return interviews provide an opportunity to uncover information that can help protect children from the risk of going missing again, from risks they may have been exposed to while missing or from risk factors in their home.

The interview should be carried out within 72 hours of the child returning to their home or care setting. This should be an in-depth interview and will be undertaken by an independent professional, the decision as to who this will be, should be informed by the child.

Peterborough Children’s Service’s Exploitation and Missing Team will monitor all missing episodes and RHIs. Once a child open to CSC or EH is found the Exploitation and Missing Team will liaise with the child and family’s social worker to ensure up to date information is known and if it is in the best interests of the child for the Exploitation and Missing Worker to complete an RHI.

The Exploitation and Missing Manager will allocate the RHI. The agreed worker will then arrange the RHI, and this should be completed within 72 hours of the child being found. The designated worker will also ensure that a return home exemplar is completed and sent to the police once completed, and if the child consents for this to be shared.

Where a child is not open to CSC or EH the Exploitation and Missing team will offer a return home interview within 72 hours of the child being found. They will also ensure that a return home exemplar is completed and sent to the police.

If a child is the responsibility of another Local Authority area the RHI will be completed by the area with designated responsibility.

It is acknowledged that children sometimes need to build up trust with a person before they will discuss in depth, the reasons why they ran away.

The interview and actions that follow from it should:

• Identify and deal with any harm the child has suffered – including harm that might not have already been disclosed as part of the ‘safe and well check’ – either before they ran away or whilst missing,
• Understand and try to address the reasons why the child ran away,
• Help the child feel safe and understand that they have options to prevent repeat instances of them running away,
• Provide them with information on how to stay safe if they choose to run away again, including helpline numbers.

The interview should be held in a neutral place where the child feels safe. The interview provides an opportunity to hear from the child about why they went missing and to understand the risks and issues faced by the child while missing. This could include exploring issues where a child:

• Has been reported missing on two or more occasions,
• Is frequently away from placement (or their home) without authorisation,
• Has been hurt or harmed while they have been missing,
• Is at known or suspected risk of sexual exploitation or trafficking,
• Is at known or suspected risk of involvement in criminal activity or drugs,
• Has contact with people posing risk to children; and/or,
• Has been engaged (or is believed to have engaged) in criminal activities while missing.

Where children refuse to engage with the independent interviewer, parents and carers should be offered the opportunity to provide any relevant information and intelligence of which they may be aware. This should help to prevent further instances of the child running away and identify early the support needed for them.

Safety Planning

A safety plan is an opportunity for a social worker/family support worker, other professionals, and family or care provider to discuss with the child concerns around going missing and to explain the roles and responsibilities of all involved. Children should be at the centre of and be supported to contribute to this safety plan, so we can work with them to help keep them safe together.

The plan should detail:

• Trigger points for missing episodes,
• Risks to themselves, the public and/or the carer before, during, or after a missing episode,
• What steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood of the child going missing and coming to any harm or harming others,
• Friends and family details and contact numbers and addresses commonly found at.
• Expectations of the child: for example, curfews and, when and how to make contact, and the consequences of lateness etc,
• Expectations of the parent or care provider e.g. at which point the police will be notified; what processes will follow an incident; who will collect a child if they are missing; details of who conducts immediate assessments on their return, and arrangements for return interviews,
• Agreements around rules for staying overnight at friend’s houses or going on trips. NB: For children in care this is frequently raised as a major issue by young people and Local Authority Circular (2004) 4, suggests that “decisions on overnight stays should normally be delegated to foster carers and residential care staff. Arrangements for such decisions should be written into the Placement Plan or equivalent.” There is no statutory duty for DBS checks to be carried out on adults in a private household where a child may stay overnight and so restrictions should only be placed on Looked After Children if there are exceptional circumstances.

9. Repeat or persistent Missing from Home Episodes

When any child goes missing they are at risk, however these risks can increase when they have gone missing for an extended period, they have gone missing on a number of occasions or there are particular risks associated with their periods of missing from home (e.g. sexual exploitation; criminal exploitation; county lines; substance use; self-harm, etc.).

If there are immediate safeguarding concerns regarding a child who has been missing, practitioners should follow their organisation Safeguarding Policies and Procedures to respond to and report these concerns.

When children go missing for more than 24 hours or where there is reasonable cause to suspect that the child has suffered or is likely to suffer Significant Harm, a Strategy Discussion will be arranged by Children’s Services with Police and Children’s Health to decide whether a Section 47 Enquiry under the Children Act 1989 is required and if so, to develop a plan of action for the enquiry.

If threshold it is decided threshold is met Children Services should complete a Child and Family Assessment to assess under Section 17 if there are concerns that a child is unlikely to achieve or maintain or to have the opportunity to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health or development without provision of services from the local authority.

If the threshold for the Children Services involvement is not initially met and a subsequent RHI identifies the child requires support to enable their standard of health or development to be met or that they could be at risk of significant harm referral will be made by the Exploitation and Missing Team to MASH. The views of the child gained in the RHI should be included and taken into consideration in practitioner’s assessments and decision making.

When the child already subject to a Team around the Child, Child in Need, Child Protection Plan, Contextual Safeguarding Plan or Child in Care in Plan, concerns in relation to the child going missing must inform the multi-agency discussions and subsequent plans. This should be achieved through ensuring the following:

• Through the sharing of information, including that gained from return interviews, all agencies aware of when, where and why the child goes missing and any patterns/ triggers/ concerns,
• The child’s plan address or is working to address, the reasons why the child is going missing (their push/ pull factors) with clear actions for child/ support network/ professionals to reduce the risk of further missing episodes,
• All involved agencies are aware of and have a collaborative Trigger plan (see attached appendix) that is in place with the child and their family to reduce the risk of the child going missing again, reduce the risk to the child whilst missing and improve the speed in which they are found,
• Multi-Agency meetings are brought forward where necessary, to enable prompt responses in regard to a child’s missing.

Peterborough Children’s Services Exploitation and Missing Team will collate information from police and children services records regarding a child’s current and previous (where applicable) missing incidents and will ensure these are considered during RHIs to ensure worker and managers have an understanding and awareness that informs the response to all missing episodes. This will include:

• Police risk level of current missing incident,
• Total number of missing incidents including current incident,
• Date of first missing incident,
• Date of most recent missing incident,
• Number of days since previous missing incident,
• Total number of Return Interview offered previously,
• Total number of RI completed,
• Total number of RI not offered due to further missing,
• Total numbers of RI not completed due to young person declining,
• If the child has been missing on 3 or more occasions in a 90-day period.

Repeat or persistent missing should not be viewed as a normal pattern of behaviour and actions following earlier incidents should be reviewed and alternative strategies considered. The following recommendations should be considered by the Local Authority Exploitation and Missing Team Manager:

• Police CE Hub to contribute to any multi-agency discussions/ decision making.
• TAC/ CIN/ CP /CS /CiC meetings have been arranged/ brought forward to enable a multi-agency discussions response to concerns,
• Push and pull factors have been revisited with the young person and re explored,
• Request made to allocated Social Worker / Early Help Worker and Team Manager to update current plans, in response to changes,
• Safety plans are discussed with young person and family and should be updated appropriately in partnership with the constabulary,
• Child and Family Assessment to be explored/ completed,
• Progression to Contextual Safeguarding Plan,
• Additional support from Exploitation and Missing Team or other Early help Service identified and to be requested for child/ young person,
• Exploration of how/ when young person is being reported missing reviewed, to ensure that this is appropriate.

To understand more about Children’s Services processes (see attached appendix)

Response Plans

Response Plans are a Policing tool created to assist officers when investigating a repeat missing child, the plan should inform Police of any known risks and concerns, associations and places the child frequents. The Response Plan should also provide officers with fast-track actions and safeguarding information to allow an effective tactical response when dealing with a missing investigation. This will enable officers to protect themselves and others from significant harm.

Response Plans should be created by Cambridgeshire Police. Where a child is being placed out of the city, Cambridgeshire Police should share their Response Plan with the force in the local area.

10. Media Strategy

Media Releases during Missing Episodes

In some cases, particularly where a missing child is felt to be especially vulnerable, it may be necessary to publicise this via the media and each case is to be treated on its own merits. All appropriate media should be considered to assist in the swift and safe return of the child or young person.

Such an approach is not routine but is usually a response to very serious concerns for the child’s safety. Potentially Carers, Cambridgeshire Constabulary and/or the Peterborough Local Authority will collaboratively suggest such an approach.

Normally, such decisions to publicise will be jointly made, and wherever possible in full consultation with parents/carers and Children’s Services. However, for operational reasons primacy over such decisions must lie with the Police. Authorisation should be by the Senior Investigating Officer, or Divisional Officers.

Any decision regarding a proposed media release involving a Peterborough Child in Care (CiC) must be in collaboration and agreement with Peterborough Children Services.

Where any decision by Cambridgeshire Police to progress a media release is planned, liaison should take place between the communications team within the constabulary and Peterborough City Council. Prior notification of the release should be provided at the earliest possible opportunity to Peterborough Children Services through the relevant Head of Service or if out of hours through EDT.

11. Disruption Approaches and Tools

Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN)

Anyone who is in the company of a child without parental, or carer, knowledge or agreement should do what is reasonable to safeguard and promote the child’s ’s welfare. They should inform the police, children’s services and the parents/ or carers of the child of their whereabouts and safety. If this is not complied with, and the child is under 16 or under 18 if subject of a Care Order, the police could consider advice or warning under the Child Abduction Act 1984 (Child Abduction Warning Notice). It may then be considered that they have been harbouring a missing child.

A Child Abduction Warning Notice is a valuable safeguarding measure to prevent young people from coming to harm, when at risk of exploitation or missing from home or care. If a Child Abduction Warning Notice is served by the police, the Local Authority should be informed.

National Referral Mechanism (NRM)

Children who go missing may be trafficked. This can happen on a very local basis, for example, from house to house, hotel to hotel, vehicle to vehicle. Children and young people can also be trafficked from between towns and cities within the UK and between the UK and other countries. The trafficking of children can be for the purpose of a multitude of reasons such as child exploitation or county lines, as well as several other reasons. Anyone who works with children should be aware of the warning signs and associated risks of various types of grooming and exploitation.

Significant numbers of children who are categorised as UASC have also been trafficked. Some of these children go missing before they are properly identified as victims of trafficking. Such situations should be urgently reported to the police. Local authorities should consider the risk that a trafficked child is likely to go missing and take all appropriate measures to prevent and reduce this risk.

The Modern-Day Slavery Act 2015 requires the Local Authority to refer any child who they believe is being trafficked or has been trafficked to the National Referral Mechanism.

If the child goes missing, the following should be completed immediately: Comply with the requirements in this policy and local procedures in their entirety.

• Report to the police – identifying where the child is suspected to be a victim of trafficking and request a Strategy discussion under S47 Child Protection Procedures.
• Complete a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) framework for identifying victims of human trafficking or modern slavery using this link Report modern slavery – GOV.UK

Guidance on the NRM can be found at National referral mechanism guidance: adult (England and Wales) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

12. Related Guidance

Legislation, Statutory Guidance and Government Non-Statutory Guidance

Statutory Guidance on Children who Run Away or Go Missing From Home or Care

Children missing education: Statutory guidance for local authorities, DfE (2016)

Good Practice Guidance

College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice Missing Persons Guidance

Missing children: who cares? – The police response to missing and absent children – His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)

Appendix 1 – Missing Person Process (PCC CSC)

Appendix 2 – Children Missing from Home Practice Guidance (PCC CSC)

Appendix 3 – Philomena Protocol

What is the Philomena Protocol?

The Philomena Protocol is a scheme that asks carers to identify children and young people who are at risk of going missing, and to record vital information about them that can be used to help find them quickly and safely.

The carer adds details about the young person to the Philomena Protocol form (which you can download below), including:

• a physical description
• who their friends are
• a recent photograph
• whether they’ve gone missing before

When to fill in the form?

If you’re concerned that a young person might go missing, fill in part one of the form as soon as possible. Please make sure you review the details and keep them up to date. You should only fill in part two of the form if the young person actually goes missing. Part two includes things like what the young person was wearing at the time and where they were last seen.

When should the form be given to the police?

The police only need to see the completed form if the child or young person is reported as missing. Where should the form be kept? The form should be stored securely on your computer system where you, or any other carer, can find it quickly day or night. You should also regularly back up the form, ideally using password protected online storage so you’re not relying on an individual computer.

If a young person leaves your care

The Philomena Protocol is used in many areas nationally, so please transfer the form to the new carer, who will be responsible for keeping it safe and up to date. Similarly, if a young person transfers to your care from another area, check whether they have an existing Philomena Protocol in place that you would now be responsible for.

The Philomena Protocol form and guidance have just been updated by the NPCC. Links to the new form and guidance will be added here once uploaded to the Safeguarding Board website.

Appendix 4 – Response Plan Template