Police visit homes to look into why children in care go missing

SPECIALIST POLICE officers across Yorkshire are working with children’s care homes in a bid to reduce the number of young people who go missing across the region each year.

Investigations show many of these children may have problems at home or in their care situation, which includes conflicts with parents, carers or other family members.

Detective Sergeant Matt Garland-Collins works for North Yorkshire Police’s Harm Reduction and Missing From Home team.

He said: “We look at problems that are particular to children in care who are statistically more likely to be reported as missing and look at the reasons as to why this is. Rather than addressing their behaviour, we are addressing why that behaviour is occurring so you can reduce the number of young people going missing.”

Det Sgt Garland-Collins has regular meetings with care home staff to get a better understanding of how they can work together and states education is key.

“The interactions children from care homes sometimes have with the police are not as far as they should be,” he said.

“Certainly in the past we have had care homes pick up the phone if that person has a curfew of 10pm and is not home for 10.05pm.

“When you phone the police, this kid in care has been picked up by a uniformed officer, put in the back of a police van, driven back to the care home and given an interview.

“The next day their social worker comes and gives them an interview and this kid has just done what all his friends have done.

“It’s really unfair to treat them differently because they are from a care setting because they already have the decks stacked against them through no fault of their own. That’s why we talk about the education with the homes about what is normal teenage behaviour and at what point is there a real concern for safety.

“For the last few years that has been a key part of my job to build up that relationship.”

Det Sgt Garland-Collins added: “At the end of the day we are all trying to safeguard this child.”