People go missing because of a broad range of reasons, and many will need support to address the issues that caused them to go missing, or to deal with any harm they experienced while away.
Similarly, families of missing people will often be extremely distressed by what is happening, especially while their loved one is missing, or if there are repeated missing episodes.
While the police play a vital role in the investigation and finding the missing person, and should act with kindness and empathy in their interactions with the missing person and their family, they are often not best placed to provide specialist support.
Police are often the main or only point of contact for people in these times of crisis, so it is crucial that they are prepared to signpost and refer people to appropriate services, depending on their circumstances, to ensure people get the help they need.
When working with communities in which there is poorer trust in the police due to historic and systemic failures, it is even more important that the police connect people with services that can help them, and if necessary, can help to advocate for them.
Where possible, it may be helpful to ensure people have access to culturally relevant services, that are specifically focussed on meeting the needs of Black or particular ethnic groups. These services may be better placed to understand the context surrounding the missing person and their family, or may be better able to meet their needs generally.
Below we have included details of some of the national organisations that exist to support people on some of the issues commonly linked to going missing. Where possible we have included organisations that are specifically focussed on supporting Black communities.
Officers who are interacting with missing people and their families should be aware of these national organisations, and confident in signposting or referring people to them. However, this list is not enough in itself. Local, grassroots and community organisations can play a vital role in supporting people in your area, and may be better placed to understand local, cultural context. It is vital that you review the available services in your area, with a particular focus on those that are Black-led or focussed on meeting the needs of specific ethnic communities. There is a template table below which can be used to record details of those organisations. This should then be shared with frontline officers. It may be helpful to speak to your local children and adult’s services to help fill out this list. Your local services directory should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure it remains up to date.
Note: We would recommend contacting any of the organisations that you include in your local directory to inform them that they are being included in the directory, and to build relationships that can help to inform your work to improve responses for Black missing people.