Police response into missing person report – Metropolitan Police Service, April 2023

In the early hours of Saturday 8 April 2023, two people living in sheltered accommodation called 999 to report that a fellow resident had not been seen for eight days. They said it was out of character for him to go missing. They also said he held unofficial caretaker responsibilities in the building, and he only ever went out to go to church. They did not identify any risks, such as self-harm or suicide.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers spoke to the callers, searched previous police reports, contacted local hospitals, and alerted a street homeless team. 

The police officers subsequently decided that the man should not be classed as missing because they had not identified any risks associated to him. When closing the missing person report, they stated that he was a known drug user who often travelled to obtain drugs, and that he lived a transient lifestyle, so was free to come and go as he pleased. 

Two days later the man was found dead in a public space. There were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

We received a mandatory referral from the MPS, and looked at the risk grading for this report and why the case was closed in just over an hour after the man was reported missing.

We also investigated if he was treated differently because of his race and if officers made assumptions about his life circumstances and whether these assumptions affected their decision making.

The initial investigation of the missing person’s report was looked at, including if police officers complied with all relevant laws, policies, and guidance.

We interviewed two police officers, obtained statements from witnesses, reviewed the 999 call, and examined police policies and procedures.

We found no evidence to suggest that any officer from the MPS had behaved in a manner that would justify bringing disciplinary proceedings or had committed a criminal offence.

We determined that the performance of one officer had fallen short of the expectations of the public and police service but could be appropriately dealt with via reflective practice. The MPS agreed with our findings.

An officer reflecting on their actions is a formal process reflected in legislation. The reflective practice review process consists of a fact-finding stage and a discussion stage, followed by the production of a reflective review development report. The discussion must include:

• a discussion of the practice requiring improvement and related circumstances that have been identified, and
• the identification of key lessons to be learnt by the participating officer, line management or police force concerned, to address the matter and prevent a reoccurrence of the matter.

Our investigation concluded in October 2023, but we waited for associated proceedings to finalise before publishing our findings.

An inquest was held in November 2023. The Coroner concluded the cause of death was suicide.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

In this case, the investigation has not identified any learning.