Why are missing children so important?

We all have a responsibility to safeguard the young and vulnerable. Running away can be symptomatic of wider problems in a child's life, but whatever the reason, one thing is clear: children who decide to run away are unhappy, vulnerable and in danger. More tragically, 'missing' may result in loss of life and may be the first stage of a police murder enquiry.

The Children's Society through its research has identified push and pull factors of causation to go missing:

Push Factors

Family Conflict
Parental Separation
Domestic abuse in the home
Neglect
Physical, emotional or sexual abuse
Parental substance abuse
Mental Health Concerns
Issues with their care placement

Pull Factors

Criminal Exploitation (including county lines)
Sexual Exploitation
Negative Peer Relationships
Anti-Social Behaviour
Substance Misuse
Parties/Gatherings
Visiting Family away from placement

The immediate risks associated with going missing include:

No means of support or legitimate income – leading to high risk activities
Involvement in criminal activities
Victim of abuse (including forced marriage, 'honour' based violence)
Victim of crime, for example through sexual assault and exploitation
Alcohol/substance misuse
Deterioration of physical and mental health
Missing out on schooling and education
Increased vulnerability

Longer-term risks include:

Long-term drug dependency / alcohol dependency
Crime
Homelessness
Disengagement from education
All forms of child exploitation
Poor physical and/or mental health

When a child does go missing the aim is to prevent that child suffering harm and to recover the child to safety as soon as possible. We do this through partnership working, information sharing, problem-solving and performance management. Repeatedly running away should be viewed with as much concern as children who run away for the first time.

The information below is designed for child protection professionals and is additional to the above information but is also useful for parents and carers.

Why are missing children so important?

When a child does go missing the aim is to prevent that child suffering harm and to recover the child to safety as soon as possible.

We do this through partnership working, information sharing, problem-solving and performance management.

From the missing incident, if the child is considered to have suffered or be at risk of suffering significant harm, the Tees child safeguarding procedures will be utilised to amend the risk assessment and safeguarding measures in place around that individual.

Repeatedly running away should be viewed with as much concern as children who run away for the first time.

The persistence of this behaviour can suggest that actions following earlier assessments to reduce the likelihood of future episodes should be reviewed and alternatives considered.