Recognizing risk: the attitudes of police supervisors to the risk assessment process in missing person investigations

Missing person investigations are widely regarded as a demanding challenge for the police service. This article examines the attitudes and experiences of police supervisors to the risk assessment process in such investigations. A total of 334 police officers, from 3 police forces were surveyed. The results highlight concerns in relation to knowledge transfer, training, leadership, and utility of risk assessment tools. The findings show that half of those surveyed had not read the national or the force guidance in relation to missing persons. A third of participants believed that the training they had received was ineffective. Officers also expressed a lack of confidence in the support offered by senior officers. The article concludes with recommendations for future activity—particularly in relation to further review of the new ‘absent’ classification and how supervisory staff should be trained to be as effective as possible during the early stages of a missing person enquiry.