Recommendation - Essex Police, June 2026
We identified organisational learning following a Death or Serious Injury investigation which involved a cross-border missing person investigation in relation to a man who sadly died by taking his own life.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Essex Police take steps to assure itself that staff involved in the handling of cross-border missing person incidents are fully aware of, and consistently apply, relevant policy and guidance.
This recommendation follows a Death or Serious Injury investigation which involved a cross-border missing person investigation in relation to a man who sadly died by taking his own life. The original investigation found that a response delay resulted partly from staff not fully adhering to the relevant policies and procedures in place. This includes assessments and rationale not always being documented when incident grading were changed or units deallocated; delays in responding to update requests by another force; and lack of escalation to supervisors where response times were not met.
This recommendation will help ensure that all officers and staff have an improved awareness of relevant policy, effective coordination, timely escalation and clear ownership in cross-border missing person investigations.