Missing people investigations are an expensive but necessary part of policing in Greater Manchester. But an innovative approach to a problem which can bring anguish and trauma to famlies could potentially save the force £7m a year - and help the loved ons of those who vanish.
The force launched a pilot scheme earlier this year working closely with staff at three hospitals - Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI), North Manchester General Hospital, and Park House, to ensure people considered genuinely missing are reported, and the quality of initial inquiries was improved. In the last year the hospitals accounted for 1,500 missing people.
Across the whole of Greater Manchester, over 5700 missing persons were reported from hospitals last year, costing the police approximately £15.6 million. Many of the cases reported to police may not require police investigation but can be resolved quickly with effective reporting and partnership working with hospitals, saving public money and police time.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link
Police Constable Jamie Acton who led 'Operation Ambition' provided training to clinicians and police staff to equip them with the means of locating the patients themselves, by speaking to family and friends and reviewing CCTV footage.
If all these avenues were exhausted, a sergeant would then work closely with partner agencies to assess the missing person’s capacity and vulnerability and establish the most suitable agency to provide that person with support. If the individual was deemed tobe at risk, a formal investigation would be opened and carried out by trained response sergeants, in accordance with Greater Manchester Police’s missing persons policy.
Thanks to Jamie’s work, police sergeants were able to resolve 45 percent of missing persons reports without needing to launch a formal investigation. Of the 120 reports of absconded patients recorded during the operation, 55 were resolved at this early stage, saving almost £150k in police time and resources. If these results were replicated across all hospitals in Greater Manchester, an estimated £7 million could be saved every year.
The pilot which ran form March 3rd to April this year and is now being reviewed with a view to it being expanded across other divisions.
PC Acton, a graduate, joined GMP via Police Now's National Graduate Leadership Programme. Police Now is charity involved in the recruitment of police officers across England and Wales. PC Action had previously studied Japanese and Politics at the University of Manchester. He said: “Thousands of people go missing across Manchester on an annual basis. It is a priority to get these people home safely to their loves ones and ensure people considered genuinely missing are reported properly.
"Based on my research with local hospitals, I built up a proposal plan for the operation and Inspector Matthew Sheil's support was instrumental in getting it up and running. We worked alongside our district's Prevention Hub to run the pilot, which is the team that oversees demand reduction and partnership problem-solving in central Manchester.
"The results of the operation show just how much police time and resources can be saved by working collaboratively with community and partner organisations like the NHS."
He added: “The reason I joined the National Leadership Graduate Programme was because Police Now aims to empower officers to take initiative, use creative problem-solving skills to tackle issues at their roots and implement long-term change in society. As a neighbourhood police officer on the programme, I have the opportunity to help others and contribute to positively transforming communities – which is exactly what I am aiming to do through Operation Ambition. The money and resources we have saved and will save in the future can be used to tackle the crimes most affecting our communities, as we continue to support vulnerable missing persons.”
Chief Inspector Stephen Wiggins said: “Jamie work has been the steer to the force’s new approach to the management of missing persons. Jamie and the team’s innovate practice has produced three things; a solution to how we can tackle missing patients at one of our statistically highest demand generators; lower risks and costs to the district; and employee buy-in. The feedback from our frontline officers has been extremely positive and welcoming. More specifically, Jamie has been a role model within the prevention team. Not only has he designed Op Ambition, he has also significantly reduced demand on key areas on district and worked closely with our internal and external partners who have praised his work and collaboration."
More than 20,000 people go missing across the region each year. Nationally, around 96 per cent of people reported missing are found, with many of these returning home of their own accord.
Sadly, approximately 64 missing people in Greater Manchester are found deceased each year. Constable Acton said: “Twenty seven per cent of all public safety incidents including missings at GMP starts at places where people feel safe such as hospitals like the MRI and North Manchester General."
In 2021, the Mental Health Coordination Unit estimated each Medium Risk Missing Persons investigation cost Greater Manchester Police £2946. In extensive data work no hospital Missing Persons case was recorded less than Medium Risk at outset.
In the UK, over 180,000 people are reported missing each year and Greater Manchester accounts for approximately 20,918 of these.
For more of today's top stories, click here.
READ NEXT:
