Reports of missing children soar by 28%

LEICESTERSHIRE Police received more than five reports a day of missing children last year, official figures show.

Nearly 2,000 missing children calls were made in 2015/16 - an increase of 28% from the previous year.

This relates to 752 children who, on average, went missing nearly three times in the 12 month period.

Some 184 youngsters disappeared from care settings, figures from the National Crime Agency (NCA) show.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,111 missing adult reports were received by the force - an increase of nearly a third (31%). This related to 906 individuals

verall the majority of people who went missing were white (68%) and the ratio to male and female was nearly even.

Some 55% of people were found within eight hours of being reported missing, with only 80 being found after seven days and 13 found dead.

Susannah Drury, from charity Missing People, called for greater support for individuals who go missing to prevent repeated incidents.

She said: “When someone goes missing it is nearly always a sign that something is wrong.

“The high number of people, especially children, who are reported missing more than once, shows that it is crucial to have a framework in place to prevent people being vulnerable to harm by going missing again and again.

“This should include one to one support for children and adults who have returned from being missing as well as excellent inter-agency work between professionals.

“Working together, we could break the cycle and provide better support.”

Nationally, a total of 335,000 missing person calls were made last year.

The majority of police forces reported a rise in missing person investigations.

The National Crime Agency said its latest report was its “most complete assessment to date” of people going missing in the UK.

The report also examined why people go missing, with mental health reasons, abduction and relationship issues topping the list.