Worrying scale of problem with missing people in region

Analysis by the JPIMedia Data Unit shows Greater Manchester Police (GMP) dealt with more cases of people vanishing unexpectedly in 2018-19 relative to the size of the population than any other force.

In total there were 31,805 missing incidents involving 14,980 individuals in the region, giving a rate of 113.08 incidents per 10,000 people.

Shockingly, just over half of the incidents involved children, while under-18s accounted for 32 per cent of the people going missing in Greater Manchester.

There were also some 243 people in the region who are described as long-term missing, meaning their whereabouts was unknown before April 1, 2018 and had still not been found by March 31, 2019.

The figures, published by the National Crime Agency’s Missing Persons Unit, are force-wide, meaning it is not possible to work out how many of the incidents and individuals who disappeared from home are from Wigan and how bad the local issue is compared to the city-region’s other nine boroughs.

Across the country hundreds of thousands of missing people incidents were reported to the police in 2018-19.

Charities believe more could be done to tackle the issue.

And despite the difficulties in comparisons due to the ways police force record these incidents changing, the figures show a general rise in the number of incidents over the past five years.

In England and Wales there were more than 320,000 missing persons incidents in 2018-19, the equivalent of 37 being reported to police every hour.

The National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Unit said it was continuing to work with police and voluntary groups to identify those at risk and safeguard them.

Jane Hunter, from the charity Missing People, said someone leaving home unexpectedly was “a warning sign” and the problem remains “a significant issue”.

Analysis of the National Crime Agency data found mental health was the leading cause of 18-to-59-year-olds going missing, while the most common explanation among over-60s was dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Relationships were the leading cause of children suddenly vanishing from their homes.

The data also reveals more men and boys go missing than women and girls.

The vast majority of people who go missing are found within 24 hours but across the country some 4,638 people are long-term missing. Their fate is largely unknown and there is very limited public information about them.

The Home Office is currently overseeing the creation of a National Register of Missing Persons, which it is hoped will be delivered by 2023.

Anyone wanting more information or needing support can contact Missing People at www.missingpeople.org.uk