Missing Children

The child’s social worker has responsibility for ensuring an "Initial Assessment of Risk" is completed when a young person is placed in a children's home or with foster carers. This should include an assessment of the level of risk of the geographical area in which the young person is to be placed, particularly where the placement is outside of the local area.

Where appropriate this can be completed by the children's home or fostering service staff on behalf of the social worker.

It is recognised that in emergency or unplanned placements, that the Placement Plan, including the initial assessment of risk, is unlikely to have been completed within the first 72 hours. However, all available information should be given at the time of placement.

If there are grounds to suspect that the young person is likely to go missing from their new placement, a preventative Strategy Discussion or meeting should be held to reduce the risks. This should involve the Police and also relevant partner agencies.

These initial risk assessments should be reviewed as part of child-care reviewing processes and following any episode of missing

This may be completed as part of the Placement Plan by the social worker or by residential staff after the young person is admitted.

The Initial Risk Assessment should consider:

How likely is it that the young person will go absent:

• Has the young person gone absent before and if so what is the pattern of their previous absent behaviour?
• What factors or potential incidents may act as a trigger incident and lead to the young person going absent?
• Are there are any other circumstances, behaviour or indicators that suggest the young person may go absent in the future?

The risks the young person is likely to face whilst absent:

Is the young person:

• Likely to visit a known abuser?
• At risk of exploitation (sexual or criminal)?
• Likely to take alcohol or drugs?
• Sleeping rough?

Control measures to reduce the risks:

At the time of placement, the young person should be given clear information about:

• Times of going out and returning;
• Who to inform about where they are going;
• Appropriate telephone numbers to enable them to inform carers about their whereabouts;
• An assurance that they can ring at any time and that staff will treat them positively and sensitively;
• Their contact arrangements with families and friends;
• How to seek help if they are unable to get back for the agreed time, whether this has happened accidentally or on purpose. Consider how to raise the young person's awareness of the risks. Provide guidance to carers on what they should do to prevent the young person going absent. Be clear about any persons or addresses that the young person should not;
• Be having any direct contact with or visiting. Ensure the young person is aware of what action will be taken by the carers and the Police if they go absent.

What action ought to be taken if the young person is absent:

• Who should be contacted by telephone?
• Which addresses need to be visited?
• What places frequented should be checked?

Where there is a likelihood or perceived risk that a child in care may go missing from their established placement:

• There should be a risk assessment of the likelihood that the child might go missing and the risk they may face as a consequence – all children placed in Children’s Homes should have such an assessment;
• This should be completed by the social worker with contributions from the carers as part of the placement plan.

This information should be included in both the Placement Plan and in the Care Plan.

• The risks should be discussed with all young people perceived to be at risk of going missing and their views should be recorded by the carer/residential worker and the child/young person’s social worker;
• Before placing a child into another local authority, the placing authority commissioning service and the receiving authority should make an assessment of the geographical area to determine whether or not it is safe for the child based on what is known about risks facing children.

This assessment should include information on the following:

• The likelihood of the child going missing;
• The child’s view;
• The level of supervision/support that care staff proposes to provide for the child;
• The views of parents/carers on their child needs and the action that needs to be taken.

If the child is absent:

• The risk of harm to the child and his/her vulnerability if he/she is absent;
• Consideration of any external influences which may result in a child’s removal without consent;
• The likelihood of the child being harboured;
• Potential risks within the area the child is to be placed.

The child should have this protocol explained to him/her and the potential dangers that they may encounter so that he/she understands the implications of running away. All children in care should have the right to independent Advocacy as part of their care reviews and placement planning

All children must have a Placement Plan which takes account of any likely risk of the child becoming Absconding, becoming Missing or Absent without Consent. If there are known/likely risks, the Placement Plan should incorporate measures to reduce or prevent the child becoming absent, and information that would help facilitate the location of the child should they go missing.

Where there are child protection concerns relating to a child and/or where the child has gone missing from the placement or from any previous placement, the Placement Plan must include information agreed between the local authority and the placement provider about the day-to-day arrangements put in place to keep the child safe.

The child’s Looked After Review should be brought forward in the following circumstances:

• Where the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the placement;
• Where the Home, parents or area authority are concerned that the child is at risk of harm;
• Where the child so requests, unless the Independent Reviewing Officer considers that the review is not justified.

At the request of the child or where there are concerns about a child who frequently becomes absent or missing, the home's manager should consider raising concerns with the Child's Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) or arranging a meeting between the child and the placing authority to consider the reasons for the child going missing and agree strategies to reduce the risk.

It is advisable that a Police 'Misper' form should be completed for all children, at the point of admission. The Child's Placement Plan should be reviewed regularly and after any absence.

A recent photograph of the child/young person should be retained by the carer for missing from care purposes. Copies of these photographs should also be held on the young person’s electronic or paper record. Digital photographs are preferable and they should be regularly updated. If these are obtained post-placement, careful consideration should be given as to how these photos are taken so as not to stigmatise the child. Unless it is in the best interests of the welfare of the young person, the photographs should not be used for any other purpose without the young person’s consent.

The Police will investigate all cases falling within this guidance and will respond in accordance with Derbyshire Constabulary’s Missing Persons policy.

Children’s services staff will be expected to help the Police in locating missing children and to work cooperatively during any enquiry, for example ringing/speaking to the missing person on their mobile, and searching the home address of the missing person, going out looking for the missing person, including searching the area where the person was last seen (if different to their home) and places where they may be, checking the local hospitals. The Police may be able to check the missing person’s mobile phone and computer and can carry out house to house inquiries.

Even after reporting a child missing, staff and carers should recognise that the local authority is responsible for children in their care at all times and this responsibility is not relinquished when they have reported a child missing to the Police.

Patterns of running away/going missing from children’s homes should be discussed regularly with the Police missing persons unit and other agencies as part of the wider strategy for keeping children safe. If the running away/going missing of a child is causing specific concern, e.g. by its frequent repetition or indicators of particular risk such as contact with an adult or adults deemed to be a risk to children, and in any case where a child goes missing more than four times in a month there should be a multi-agency strategy meeting to discuss the combined response to such incident and concern.

This meeting should be attended by

• A representative of the Police;
• A representative of the local authority responsible for the child’s care of sufficient seniority to be able to take authoritative decisions about the steps needed to locate and protect the child and the child/young person’s social worker;
• The registered manager of the children’s home or the manager of the fostering service/ team;
• The child, where possible;
• The parents where appropriate;
• Where the child is not placed within the boundary of their responsible authority a representative from the authority in which the child is currently living (perhaps from the local team responsible for child protection);
• Other relevant agencies e.g. representatives from the Youth Offending Team, Multi Agency Team, CAMHS, Teacher, YOUTHINC, Education Welfare Officer, School or Children in Care Nurse;
• The IRO should be informed of the meeting and will attend where there is any concern about the response to or resolution of the missing incidents.

These discussions should also take place when children are reported missing from homes outside of the authority. The named social worker for the child should co-ordinate these meetings to review the placement if missing episodes are persistent.

When a child or young person appears to have gone missing, staff should take all reasonable and practical steps in order to identify whether the child is away from placement without authorisation or missing by:

• Determining the nature and reasons for absence (consider recent events or precipitating factors);
• Ascertaining the likely intentions of the young person;
• Establishing the whereabouts and well-being of the young person.

Unless there is an obvious immediate serious risk to the young person or the public, reasonable and practical steps that the substitute carer (e.g. foster carer, residential worker) should take before contacting the Police include:

• Searching own premises, grounds and immediate locality;
• Telephoning and sending a text message to the young person’s mobile phone and checking their Facebook page if this is accessible;
• Checking the places frequented by the young person;
• Attending at addresses frequented by the young person to see if they are there;
• Making enquiries with the young person's relatives;
• Making enquiries with the young person's friends;
• Making enquiries with the young person’s school, college, providers of education or work placement, community groups or places of worship if appropriate;
• Making enquiries with the other young people in the foster home or children’s home to establish if they have seen or heard anything (this can also stop distressing rumours from circulating);
• Making enquiries with and obtaining further information from other carers and professionals involved with the young person.

If the whereabouts of the young person are known, or believed to be known, the carer should only request Police assistance to recover the young person if

• The carer is being prevented from obtaining access to the young person;
• There is evidence to suggest that the young person is at immediate risk of serious harm;
• This is necessary to prevent a breach of the peace due to a threat of violence or disorder.

Circumstances of the Absence

When a child or young person goes absent, it is necessary to consider the circumstances of absence to determine whether the circumstances suggest that:

• The young person has deliberately or carelessly absented themselves; or
• Something serious has gone wrong and the child may be at risk of harm.

If the circumstances suggest the young person has deliberately or carelessly absented themselves, it is then necessary to consider their vulnerabilities and previous behaviour.

If there is concern that the child or young person may be at risk of harm they should be categorised as a missing person.

There will be a wide range of circumstances when children and young people are missing with cause for concern. These will range from young people at risk of homicide; abduction or risk of exploitation to young people will go voluntarily into risky situations.

The Police also carry out a risk assessment and identify three levels of risk. Young people up until their 17th birthday will always be categorised as being at high or medium risk. The following points should be considered:

• The age of the young person;
• The vulnerability of the young person, e.g. special educational needs physical/learning disability;
• The young person’s legal status, and who has Parental Responsibility;
• Previous patterns of behaviour e.g. the absence is “out of character” and is considered as being unusual. Also consider where they were found on any previous occasions;
• The state of mind/perceived risk, e.g. the young person is considered to be at particular risk by virtue of self-harm or being harmed by others;
• Exploitation, e.g. financial, criminal or sexual;
• Risk of trafficking;
• Whether the young person is perceived as running to someone or running from a situation.

A risk assessment concludes with the decision that a young person falls into one of the following four categories:

1. Away from their placement without authorisation;
2. Away from their placement without authorisation and with cause for concern;
3. Missing with cause for concern;
4. Repeated missing or absconded from local authority care;

Young people can move from one category to another, so risk assessments should be repeated at regular intervals.

Staff in all organisations concerned should avoid dismissing the potential significance of repeated running away. Often such children are immediately labelled as the problem and insufficient consideration is given to why they persistently abscond. Persistent running needs to be explored, particularly at the time of post return interviews.

If the level of risk increases due to a change of circumstances or due to the length of absence, the category of absence should be changed by the Police from unauthorised absence to missing.

Regardless of the level of risk, all absences should be upgraded to a missing person if they continue for 72 hours or more unless:

• The young person is in regular contact with the carer, reporting person, or a professional by phone and there are no immediate concerns for their welfare; or
• It has been confirmed that the young person has been staying overnight at friends or relatives and there are no immediate concerns; or
• The young person returned home within the last 72 hours, went absent again and there are no immediate concerns (the 72 hours start again from the time of the second period of absence); or
• The carer/reporting person knows the addresses where the young person is likely to be staying, there is no immediate risk and these can reasonably be checked by the local authority.

The initial risk assessment that was completed on placement should be taken into account.

If the absence is considered to fall within the definition of missing, the carer or a children's social care professional must inform the Police as soon as possible.

If an assessment of risk of sexual or criminal exploitation has been made under the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures, Children at Risk of Exploitation (CRE) Procedure, the Police should be informed and also made aware of the assessed level of risk.

Any information subsequently obtained on the location of the young person, or information subsequently obtained that affects the risk assessment, should be reported to the Police without delay.

The carer, wherever possible, should complete the Initial Reporting Form, including the risk assessment section, prior to Police attendance.

If a child or young person regularly goes missing, those details of the form that are unlikely to change often (name, address, date of birth, description, relatives, friends, care order details) should be completed in advance and saved electronically as a template to reduce the bureaucracy each time the young person goes missing.

The Police will require:

• Information required to complete the Initial Reporting Form including the risk assessment;
• Details of all the enquiries conducted so far;
• A photograph of the missing young person.

A copy of this documentation should also be provided to the social worker to retain on the case-file.

The Police officer attending to take the report will take the following action:

• Check all details on the Initial Reporting Form in consultation with the carer and/or social worker and confirm the risk assessment. On those occasions when it has not been possible for the carer to complete the Initial Reporting Form prior to Police attendance, the Police officer will complete the form with the assistance of the carer;
• Confirm the risk status of the young person as high, medium or low;
• Obtain a recent photograph of the missing young person;
• Search the young person’s room in order to ascertain further information that will assist in locating the young person. This will be undertaken in a way that is sensitive to the needs of other children/young people placed.

The Police will investigate all cases falling within the definition of missing in accordance with the Police Missing Persons policy and National Guidance.

Carers will be expected to help the Police in finding the young person and to work cooperatively with the Police during any enquiry.

Even after reporting a person missing, carers should recognise that they are responsible for young people in their care at all times and this responsibility is not absolved when they have reported a young person missing to the Police.

The Police have responsibility for considering whether to inform the media regarding missing Looked After Children and young people to assist in locating that individual and warning the public if that individual poses a significant threat. However decisions to publicise a missing young person in care will only be taken after discussions have taken place between the Police and a senior representative (head of service level) of the local authority to agree a media strategy.

The social worker should consult relevant family members.

Any decision to publicise must be authorised by a member of the Senior Management Team and the approval of a senior representative of local authority children’s services must be sought.

Where agreement over publicity cannot be reached between the Police and local authority, the ultimate decision on publicity is that of the Police. However, the Police must have cogent reasons to publicise against the wishes of the local authority and these reasons must be recorded.

Wherever possible, there should be an appropriate time-scale to enable those with parental responsibility to be informed and forewarned so that the first they hear of the young person being missing is not through the media presentation.

Unless it is absolutely necessary, the young person will not be identified as a young person in care.

Any actions taken to recover the child and return them to the home must focus on promoting the child's welfare and must take account of their care or legal status, age, understanding and level of risk posed to the child or others. If children are found but refuse to return to the home, staff must consult the manager (who should consult the child's social worker) or, in an emergency/where the child or others are seriously at risk, call the Police. The use of physical interventions, such as restraint should not be used unless there is an immediate risk of significant harm, serious damage to property, as a last resort and if staff are confident that such interventions will work/de-escalate the situation and make the child safe; if this outcome is not likely, they should withdraw and immediately consult their manager or the Police.

If the young person returns or is located, all individuals who have previously been notified of the absence should be advised of the young person’s return without delay. The local authority is responsible for recovering and returning the child or young person to their home or placement after they have been located (for example arranging for them to be collected from the Police Station).

If there are thought to be specific issues of safety or public order difficulties involved in recovering and returning the young person then co-ordinated action should be agreed with the Police.

If the Police locate the young person, they should not leave the young person at a location where they are likely to be exposed to the risk of harm or where they are likely to go missing again prior to the parent, carer or local authority being able to make arrangements to recover the young person.

If the Police are considering leaving a young person at an address to be collected by the local authority, the officer must contact the relevant social worker or Out of Hours Service to ensure that any risk factors known to the local authority are shared and taken into account.

On occasions the Police may need to consider returning the young person direct to their home or placement, or consider taking the young person to a local Police Station after confirming a collection time with the carer or local authority.

Young people should not be returned to the place they ran away from until their safety is evaluated if a child or young person refuses to return home or to their placement.

If there is concern that the young person is at risk of significant harm:

• The Police will work with Children's Social Care to protect the young person;
• Consideration will be given to taking the young person into Police Protection, applying for an Emergency Protection Order, or applying for a Recovery Order.

Where the young person is NOT at risk of significant harm:

• If they are under 16 or subject to a Court Order, the Police and Accountable Manager from Children's Social Care will liaise to discuss what action should be taken to safeguard the young person's welfare;
• If they are over 16 and subject to a care order, there should be a formal review of their care plan at the earliest opportunity Medical Assessment.

As soon as the young person is located, consideration should be given to whether they need medical attention. If required, a medical examination should be arranged once appropriate permissions have been obtained; this assessment should be recorded and placed on the young person’s case file.

If there is any suggestion that the young person has been the victim or perpetrator of crime, consideration must be given to the securing of evidence including forensic examination.

Where an allegation of physical or sexual abuse is made or becomes evident, the Safeguarding Children Board Procedures must be implemented and contact made immediately with the Police Safeguarding Unit (SGU) and the Children's Social Care's Safeguarding.

When a member of children’s home staff or a foster carer realise that a child is missing from their care they should consider which definition the absence falls within using all the relevant information and current risk assessments that they have available.

Children's social care professionals (including residential staff or foster carers) must keep the young person's absence under continuous review in case the level of risk to the young person changes.

Support and advice in making this decision will be available from the children’s social care department responsible for the child and from the responsible out-of-hours service.

If the absence is considered to fall with the definition of missing, residential staff, foster carers and IFA placements must without delay inform:

• The Police;
• The parents and those who have parental responsibility;
• The social worker or the accountable manager;
• For Derby - Derby City Care Line if out of hours and the social worker and accountable manager the next working day;
• For Derbyshire out of hours team, if Out of Hours, and the social worker and accountable manager the next working day.

If the absence is not considered to fall within the definition of missing, staff and carers should review the consideration regularly and in any case, if the period of absence continues for six hours, further consideration should be given as to whether the absence should fall within this protocol.

Six hours should be regarded as the maximum period before reconsideration and in many cases, a shorter period would be more appropriate, except during the night, when a review should be conducted and recorded at 2300 hours and then again at 0800 hours the following morning. local authority staff are able to seek advice from Police colleagues at any point if this is helpful to the assessment of risk.

Any case of an absent child which causes significant concern, or where circumstances give rise to suspicion of harm, should be brought to the attention of the accountable manager from the authority responsible for the child’s care and the duty inspector for the Police area from which the child is missing as soon as possible.

Independent care providers must notify the local authority of all new cross boundary placements and also when placements end. This is to ensure that the local authority and other agencies are aware of all LAC children placed in Derbyshire and Derby and can offer the appropriate support if there are risks of missing episodes.

Where there is a difference of opinion between children's social care staff and the Police over the appropriate category of absence, the Police will make the final decision about the Police response. However the Police officer/member of Police staff should refer all such cases of dispute to the Duty Inspector.

Where a professional within children's social care is not satisfied with the decision of the Duty Inspector, they should refer the matter to the relevant Children’s Social Care Manager as soon as possible.

When notifying/informing the Police (in the area where they have become away from their placement without permission/absent e.g. if on an activity away from the home), social worker or others e.g. Youth Offending Worker/Team, it is vital to provide information about the circumstances and risk factors that led to the notification; but it is also important to discuss possible strategies for finding and recovering the child safely. Agreement should also be reached about others who may need to know the child is Absent or Missing e.g. the child's parents.

It is advisable that a Police 'Misper' form should be completed for all children, at the point of admission. The child's Placement Plan should be reviewed regularly and after any absence, but the person taking the report by the Police will require the following information:

• Child’s details – age, gender, ethnicity, first language;
• Legal status and any court orders that apply; this should include if the child lives in residential homes or is in a foster /IFA placement. This should also include information regarding any court orders imposed as criminal Additional Measures;
• A copy of the risk assessment if a child has had previous missing episodes or if there was potential for missing episodes to occur;
• A description of the child and their clothing;
• Any money that may have been taken;
• Details of when the child was last seen and with whom;
• A recent photograph;
• Family addresses;
• Other addresses the child may make contact with;
• School attended;
• Known associates and addresses frequented;
• Relevant health information i.e. details of any epilepsy, asthma, diabetes or other health matters;
• Any previous history of absconding/absenteeism and circumstances of where found;
• The names and addresses of the child’s GP and dentist;
• The circumstances under which the child is absent;
• Any factors which increase the risk to the child;
• Name of staff member who has completed search of home for the child (NB: Police reserve the right to conduct further searches);
• The reporting carer (residential or foster carer IFA) should also inform the Police who the placing authority is and furnish relevant telephone contact and names and e-mail addresses;
• The reporting carer/residential worker should also inform the relevant social worker from the placing authority as soon as possible and request acknowledgement that the message has been received;
• The reporting carer (residential/foster carer/IFA) should also inform the Police of the named social worker or manager with relevant telephone contact numbers and e-mail addresses.

The Police, social worker and others notified must then be updated as circumstances change and when the child returns.

Staff must record the incident on the following and update these records as circumstances change or decisions/actions taken:

• Daily Log;
• Child's Daily Record/File;
• Absence Log.

Throughout the processes outlined in this chapter, carers and social workers must keep a full record of all actions taken and messages received and given. Police will likewise keep a record on the appropriate missing person report. All incidents reported to the Police as missing will be recorded on the CCM recording system.

Alongside the care plan, a Placement plan should be completed between the responsible local authority and the provider of the child’s placement. The expectations as to how they will meet the child’s needs should be set out in the plan, which must describe how the provider will maintain the child’s positive routines as part of their commitment to enable the child to experience a constructive placement, supporting them to achieve their potential. It should include details about:

• Any specific behaviour-management strategies that the provider is expected to follow;
• The provider’s role in meeting the child’s health needs;
• The provider’s role in supporting the child’s education; and
• The provider’s role in supporting contact with the child’s family, including information about any restrictions of contact;
• The actions that the provider will take to ensure that missing episodes are managed and also request their missing children protocols and procedures.

For details about recording the initial incident (when the child is reported as absent/missing) see Section 7.2, Information Sharing/Recording

Throughout, staff must update the following records:

• Daily Log;
• Child's Daily Record/File;
• Absence Log.

When the child returns, all those notified of the absence must be informed.

If the child was involved in sexual exploitation, the Regulatory Authority must be notified.

If there is a pattern of persistent incidents or the circumstances gave rise for serious concern, the home's manager must notify the child's Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO).

When a child who has been missing has been located, the Children’s Homes Manager with the social worker and line manager should decide in consultation with the Independent Reviewing Officer, carers and the young person whether they should convene an early statutory review of the young person’s care plan.

The statutory review will provide an opportunity to check that the care plan has been appropriately amended to address the reasons why the young person was absent and includes a strategy to prevent reoccurrences.

The Police and other relevant agencies should be given an opportunity to contribute to the review, in particular to indicate whether they have any concerns about the quality of care provided to the young person and whether this could have influenced the young person's decision to run away.

If a child is, or has been, persistently absent without permission from the Home and/or the Manager considers that the child is at risk of harm, the Manager will ask the placing authority to review the child’s Care Plan. The Manager will consult the child’s social worker/YOT Worker and Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO) with a view to reviewing the Care Plan.

If it is decided not to review the Care Plan, the home's manager should still review the Placement Plan.

There is additional guidance in Section 2: Other Factors that Should be Considered below.

HIGH RISK A Child is automatically High Risk in the following circumstances	OTHER RISK FACTORS These are risks/indicators that should be considered when assessing other Children, who do not automatically fall into the High Risk Category
If the Child is Remanded or otherwise Lawfully Detained, s/he is absconded; The child's death may occur; The child may be at risk of serious injury or harm, e.g. from adverse weather conditions or the child's inability to stay safe; The child requires essential medication/medical attention; The child is likely to suffer Significant Harm; The child may come into contact with a person who may pose them a risk. The child may be injured, including self injury, and require medical attention; There is a warrant for the child's arrest; The child may commit a violent or criminal offence; The child may be abducted; If the child's name is on the list for a child subject to a Child Protection Plan; The child is subject to Police Protection; The child is subject to an Emergency Protection Order or Recovery Order.	Any guidance agreed within the child's Care Plan or Placement Plan; Vulnerability due to age; Particularly vulnerable (e.g. Learning/Physical disability, on child subject to a Child Protection Plan); In need of regular medication (e.g. diabetic); Previous history of being missing; History of self harming; Possible involvement in crime; Health, including mental health; Weather (e.g. severe cold or heat), or geography (e.g. remote area); Dependency on drugs and/or alcohol; Known vulnerability of the child, raising concern that they may have been led into danger, including sexual or criminal exploitation; Known associates that give rise to heightened concerns over the missing Child's safety (e.g. associates known to be involved in criminal activities); Degree of risk to the public; Recent significant events, contributory factors and the child's state of mind at the time of the absence; Time of day/night; Legal status.

The following should be considered alongside Section 1: Indicators/Categories of Risk:

Age and level of understanding	Age and level of understanding. Age is a factor, but not alone. Also consider level of understanding, ability to make informed decisions, the child's ability to operate in urban or rural environments, social and life skills, disability etc. The more able the child is, the less concern staff should have.
Number of Absences	Consider the number of times the child has absented him/herself and from what situations. For example, children who have absented themselves from similar accommodations and returned safely may be of less concern than those who are not known to staff or who do not normally absent themselves.
Behaviour whilst absent	Consider what the child does or is suspected to get involved in whilst absent on previous occasions. Also consider how recent such problems have been. Higher levels of concern should be attributed to those who are known, recently, to have placed themselves or others at risk of significant harm. The factors that may result in higher levels of concern are that the child has previously: Made contact with people who pose a risk to the child; Been abducted; Self injured or attempted suicide; Committed or been associated with a serious or criminal offence; Been subject to sexual or criminal exploitation; Or other serious risks/concerns.
Circumstances on the day	The following are examples of circumstances, which may be considered in deciding the level of concern on the day. The fact that they apply to a child does not automatically mean there is a high level of concern; the decision rests with the manager having considered all the circumstances. Out of character/unusual behaviour prior to disappearance; Absence with no prior indication; Possibility of sexual or criminal exploitation or being drawn into offending behaviour.