Actions and decisions in missing person enquiry - Staffordshire Police, December 2017

We investigated the decisions made and actions taken by Staffordshire Police in December 2017 in relation to a missing person enquiry.

The evidence obtained by the investigation indicated that a Staffordshire Police constable incorrectly recorded that a prevention interview had been completed, prior to closing the missing person’s record on the police database. A prevention interview with a missing person who has been found is an opportunity to identify any ongoing risk factors that may affect the likelihood of that person going missing again.

The evidence obtained by the investigation also indicated that two Staffordshire Police sergeants may have agreed for the database record to have been closed down before ensuring that a prevention interview had been conducted.

During the course of the investigation, we obtained and reviewed relevant policies and procedures, alongside witness accounts from officers, incidents reports and police airwaves transmissions.

The investigation found that the Police Constable was aware that a formal prevention interview had not been completed when the police database record was closed. In a written response provided to us, the officer provided a rationale for this action, and has since identified a learning opportunity from this incident.

The investigation also found that one Police Sergeant had given authority for the Police Constable to close the database record. The second Police Sergeant had no apparent involvement in the incident.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the Police Constable and the Police Sergeant who authorised the closure of the database record should be subject to management action, and that the second Police Sergeant had no case to answer.

After reviewing our report, Staffordshire Police agreed that the two officers would receive management action, in the form of words of advice.