Agenda item

The Panel received a report and presentation of the Police and Crime Commissioner on Missing People and Protecting the Vulnerable, presented by Chief Inspector Dave Williams (for copy see file of Minutes).

Chief Inspector D Williams explained that, in 2022, 3.3 percent of all calls into the Police related to missing people and that while there had been a drop off during the pandemic, numbers had gone back up.  He added that around 50 percent of missing people returned of their own accord.  He noted that of the children and young people that go missing, 40 percent were looked after children.  He noted the average time for those missing was three to nine hours, with the vast majority being less than 24 hours.  He explained that 60.5 percent of children that went missing did so repeatedly, four or more times.  It was added that all of the top 20 repeat missing children were within the looked after system.

Chief Inspector D Williams noted that factors to be taken into account in Durham included a large number of care homes in County Durham and Darlington; a lot of unregulated placements; and a lot of placements from out of county.  He explained as regards protocols in place in terms of vulnerable groups, with the Philomena and Herbert protocols and multiagency meetings.  He stressed the importance of accurate reporting, noting in Durham all reports were recorded, and information recorded when carrying out safe and wellbeing checks, looking for any signs of harms, taking the appropriate actions as required.  He explained as regards return to home interviews (RTHIs) carried out by the relevant Local Authority, carried out within 72 hours, usually by a social worker or someone known to the young person.  Members were informed of a buddy system within care homes, and the work of the Multi Agency Missing Exploited Group, as well as peer mentors.

Chief Inspector D Williams explained that in 2023, around 6,800 hours had been spent looking for missing people, with the average time per person being around three to six hours.

The Chair thanked Chief Inspector D Williams and asked the Panel for their comments and questions.

Councillor C Varty asked if there was a particular group of children and young people that were likely to go missing.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted that it was mostly those in their adolescence, aged 12 -17 years old. 

Councillor K Robson asked if there were any particular reasons that stood out in the majority of cases of missing children.  

Chief Inspector D Williams noted that in the majority of cases it was that the young person wanted to be out with their friends, though in some cases there were issues with their placement or with staff at care homes.  The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Joy Allen explained that the reasons why children go missing had not changed much in the last 10 years, however, what had changed was the number of care homes in the area.  She noted she recalled from her time as a Cabinet Member for Durham County Council that the issues had been raised at both Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny and noted that it was an issue for Planning Members to be cognisant of when looking at such care homes at Committee.

Councillor L Hovvels noted it was useful to have the bigger picture and to understand how Local Authorities could help.  She noted that it was important to understand the burden upon the Police and Local Authorities and to see whether there was an issue in terms of the number of care homes and as regards the caseloads of social workers.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted as regards the Constabulary’s Missing Coordinator and the well-established links with care homes in the area, with clear channels in terms of escalating issues.  Councillor L Hovvels asked as regards dealing with vulnerable adults, noting recent incidents within her Electoral Division.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted that there were incidents involving adults with complex issues, with Neighbourhood Inspectors keeping an oversight of any issues, flagging where appropriate and taking actions to help safeguard people within their community.

R Rodiss noted his main concern was around intelligence gathering, with the RTHIs being an important intelligence gathering opportunity.  He noted that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) Report had set out that social workers and Police should conduct the RTHIs.  He added he had concern that social workers were not trained specifically in terms of intelligence gathering and he felt that therefore it would be preferable for trained Officers to conduct the interviews.  He noted other issues, such as being able to interrogate the mobile phones of those missing from home for information.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted that there was already a system in place as regards RTHIs and were the responsibility of the Local Authority.  He noted that prior to the RTHIs, Police would have carried out a safe and wellbeing check.  He noted that within those checks, there would be a lot more considered than just what was said by the missing person, Officers would look at the whole picture listening to the concerns of parents and/or carers, how the missing person has been transported and so on.  He noted that where the two elements would come together would be if there was felt to be issues, they would be escalated through multi agency discussion.  He explained that there was continuing progress in terms of information sharing, with both Durham County Council and Darlington Borough Council working with Durham Constabulary jointly.

Chief Inspector D Williams noted that in terms of child sexual exploitation (CSE), there was work alongside missing children, with multi agency meetings where a scorecard would be produced with that informing the level of risk and the work that would be undertaken to make the child safe.  He noted that those higher scoring children and young people would be those concentrated upon in the first instance.

Councillor R Potts noted that from the last period, there had been a 227 percent increase in children missing from home.  He noted the impact of the pandemic and the IICSA report noting not as many children and young people were reporting incidents.  He noted that the top 20 children and young missing from home accounted for 506 reports, making up the majority of that percentage increase.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted that recording was measured quarterly and noted that the final IICSA report had been 40 pages, which included an element relating to an organised network strand and had been based over a number of years.  He noted the work in relation to the CSE Group, with colleagues from Health and the Drug and Alcohol Service.  He noted that a lot of the work, as a consequence, would be looking from the view of those children that had been let down, with a focus on developments that would help to identify those at risk, working across agencies, not just the Police.  He noted looking at risks outside of the home, as well as from within the home.  He noted that there had been a mindset change and a key question was ‘why’ children and young people were going missing from home.

Councillor A Savory noted the statistics showed that looked after children were often repeatedly missing from home and asked if that included many returning to their family home.  Chief Inspector D Williams noted that, as a consequence of relatively cheap housing stock in the area, many unregistered care homes had been set up within the County.  He added that the Children’s Commissioner had highlighted that there was a greater risk of going missing and exploitation where children were placed in care outside of their local area.  He noted that therefore it was important to ensure that there were close working relationships with Local Authorities.  Councillor A Savory noted that all County Councillors were Corporate Parents and noted the importance of the Regulation 44 visits to care homes and to engage with children and young people so that they feel able to bring up any issues as soon as possible.  Councillor C Varty noted that the reasons why young people run away had not changed greatly over the years and noted the Mockingbird Model in relation to foster care placements.

Resolved:

That the report and presentation be noted.