Missing Children

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/008787/R

Version Date: 30/09/2025

The Performance & Analysis and Safeguarding Departments have provided the following information:

1. The total number of children reported missing in Devon and Cornwall during the past two years.

*up to 02/09/2025

Data Limitations
An individual will appear in the data once per reported missing year (Calendar Year)
Child is represented as under 18 years of age at time reported missing

2. Details of any actions, initiatives, or measures taken by your organisation to address and reduce the number of children going missing in the area.
The below has been extracted from multiple documents and guidelines within the Force to show relevant detail.

Force wide/Strategic
A review of Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) across the force was conducted by the Strategic Safeguarding Improvement Hub (SSIH). Each MACE operates slightly differently and will continue to do so given different local partnership arrangements. The approach to exploitation will continue to be subject to focus and currently forms specific action within the child and young person’s portfolio.

The Force has implemented a Communications Strategy for improved consistency in the approach for managing Missing persons across Devon & Cornwall and the associated risks, including targeting repeats:

Devon & Cornwall Police have created a bespoke new dashboard report for performance monitoring and Missing Individual tracking which enables better identification of repeated cases and better opportunity for targeted prevention opportunities, such as children in care.

Operational leadership training deployed to Sergeants and Inspectors in operational roles - over 500 have been trained in recognising risk in missing episodes, including children in care.

We have been rolling out missing person training across the force (and on a continued programme) to the frontline and Control Room which includes how we deal with missing children and how we can enhance safeguarding, in particular for those that are subject to exploitation.

We have a dedicated MISSING internal site that includes guidance and good practice, including the Missing Operational Procedure, Niche Missing user guides, Child Abduction Warning Notices, National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance and links to our Missing Persons dashboard and the National Crime Agency homepage.
The MACE Forum operates across the Force area. The MACE panel exists to ensure that agencies and commissioned services work together effectively and consistently to identify risk, prevent and disrupt the exploitation of children and to reduce the risks faced by those who go who go missing from home, care or education.

The Suicide Risk TextSafe scheme - The process went live on 02/06/2025 in conjunction with Missing Persons charity. Training provided to Emergency Control Centres, supervisors in Contact Management Unit and Force Incident Managers.

The Philomena Protocol is a national partnership initiative that has been created as a pathway to reporting missing children aged under 18 who are in care. Plymouth Basic Command Unit (BCU) initially undertook a 6-month pilot managed by the Child Centred Policing Team. The Philomena Protocol was then implemented across the rest of the Force, with the intention for all children in care who have either been missing or are likely to go missing to be added to the Protocol as of 3rd April 2024.

There is now a section on the Force website for carers that explains how the Philomena Protocol works and from which the relevant information forms (about the young person) can be downloaded and completed by carers. Philomena Protocol | Devon & Cornwall Police

When a young person in care is at risk of going missing, the scheme requires carers to record vital information that can be used to assist the Police to help locate them quickly and safely. The Philomena form contains key information including a full description, vulnerabilities, risks, social media accounts and more. There is also a separate ‘Contacts and Locations’ form which should contain the most up to date information to help us trace the child.

If a missing episode occurs, the call handler will request that the Philomena forms are emailed to the dedicated Operation Philomena email address ([email protected]). The information contained within these forms will help Police locate that young person as quickly and safely as possible.

Operational responses/initiatives
Each Local Policing Area will use the Missing Persons Dashboard, which is a Qliksense app providing details of frequent missing persons, currently missing, top repeats, person profiles, top missing locations and top found locations and missing factors/reasons.

Current Missing children and adults are discussed in Daily Management Meetings each morning with a Single Point of Contact allocated to conduct initial actions and investigation. This is managed by the Critical Incident Manager or an Inspector in Crime depending on the risk level and where the ongoing investigations sits. The Missing Persons Operational Procedure outlines in detail how missing person investigations should be managed and resourced.
Each Local Policing Area works with multiple agencies within the area regularly to reduce the risk of children going missing and holding daily meetings about current Missing Persons.

Plymouth became a Trauma informed city in 2018, introducing the Trauma Informed Plymouth Network (TIPN) which has been delivering training to people working across the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. Plymouth was the first BCU to introduce Child Centred Risk Management Plans for children and adolescents.

Child Centred Risk Management Plans should be used when the risk factors around a young person have escalated to a point where a multi-agency proactive response is required to manage or mitigate the risk and keep the young person safe. It is recognised that the risk may be from a range of factors including exploitation, missing, substance misuse, mental health, child protection issues, involvement or exposure to criminal offending or anti-social behaviour.

Child Centred Risk Management Plans must include a ‘4P approach’ (Prepare, Prevent, Pursue and Protect) and capture relevant Police and partners information, along with the views of the young person, where possible, so any interaction focuses on the young person’s strengths and actively avoids triggers or an increase of risk to the young person.

Throughout the duration of Management Plan, the Lead Responsible Officer (LRO) must consider any vulnerabilities that the subject may have and whether the criminal activity and behaviour may be as a result of third-party involvement or pressures.