Latest changes – missing person investigations

At the end of the 'Interviews' section – Added link to NPCC (2023) 'Advice to police forces on prevention interviews and independent return interviews'.

• Throughout the section where 'no apparent risk' (absent) was referred to this was replaced with the current 'very low risk'.
• 'The investigative process' section: added normally to initial sentence.
• 'Responsibilities' section: added 'consider arranging' in relation to TextSafe.
• 'Senior management team' section: Added a sentence about IOPC reports and included a link to this document.
• 'Family support' section: added ' in the early stages of an investigation' and a sentence at the end of this paragraph about protracted investigations.
• 'Search strategy' section: added 'consider seeking' regarding PoISA.
• 'Identification samples' section: table, dental charts removed text and corrected to current practice of hard copy and electronic copy retained by UKMPU.
• 'Management of return' section: added an example to the last bullet.
• 'Prevention interviews' section: added 'prevention' and deleted 'return', added telephone as an option.
• 'Timing of the prevention interview' section: deleted 'in person'.
• 'Frequency of checks' section: Added a sentence at the end about interviewer skills.
• 'Responsibility for independent return interviews' section: Changed the first paragraph, inserted 'independent' before return in the second.
• 'Not found' section: Added three sentences regarding IO's decisions for case remaining active and requiring review.
• 'Long-term cases' section: added 'normally'.

More reference documents added, removed or updated. Bullet point added to police actions in relation to support for families section. MPB references changed to UKMPU and links updated. Sentence added to medium and low risk missing person subsection of timescales for collecting samples. Legal references added to media strategy section. NPCC lead reference added to  family initiated media campaigns section. Sentence added to confidentiality section and interviews section. Paragraph added to prevention interviews section.

Family liaison - ACPO (2008) manual removed and replaced with link to Working with Victims and Witnesses.

New Child Rescue Alert guidance added.

Amended wording to prevention interviews.