Recommendation - Hertfordshire Constabulary, April 2026

The IOPC recommends that Hertfordshire Constabulary take steps to assure itself that police officers and staff likely to be involved in the handling of cross-border missing person investigations, especially those where mental health and safeguarding risks are present, are aware of:

• Significant local policy, guidance (including Concern for Welfare Policy), standard operating procedures (SOP) (including the Missing Persons SOP), protocols and working practices relevant to handling of cross-border missing person investigations.
• The importance of early communication, timely escalation and effective coordination with other forces when investigations cross borders.
• The importance of the development of robust ownership protocols.
• The need for swift decision-making.
• Relevant existing guidance from the NPCC and College of Policing (including National Decision Model, Code of Ethics, Missing Persons APP, and transfer of missing persons cases guidance).

This recommendation follows a Death or Serious Injury investigation which involved a cross-border missing person investigation. There was confusion between the two forces with regard to which force should take primacy of the investigation. This, along with available resourcing issues, meant a response delay of 19 hours. The man's home address was in the Essex policing area but the initial call was placed in the Hertfordshire policing area. The last known location of the man was also in Hertfordshire but was six miles from the Essex policing area border.

This recommendation should provide a clearer understanding of the procedure/process to follow when investigating missing persons involving cross-border incidents, and to help prevent delays caused by confusion over primacy of the investigation.

Accepted

Hertfordshire Constabulary has fully reviewed the learning identified through the IOPC investigation. Steps taken are as follows.

Changes already made prior to the learning being disseminated:

• The Concern for Welfare call script underwent a significant change in December 2025. The Missing Person identification question is now very early in the list of questions. It asks whether the person’s whereabouts are not known at that point, and recommends that if the person appears missing, then they should be treated as missing advising the call handler to change the category to Missing and complete the Misper script.
• As part of the script changes, there is also a new mandatory field above the ‘Missing’ question requiring call handlers to record local system and Police National Computer (PNC) check results. This was not in the previous script as a dedicated question requiring answering.
• Concern for Welfare refresher training took place within the Force Control Room (FCR) in February and March 2026, and the principles set out within the IOPC findings were reiterated, namely ‘if the person appears missing, treat as missing and let the Force Incident Managers (FIMs) determine’.
• The Concern for Welfare and Missing Person Toolkit and Guide has been substantially re-written, with its layout changed to make it clearer and more user-friendly. This is readily available to all FCR Call Handlers, Controllers, Supervisors and FIMs. It has also been placed on the Constabulary’s frontline toolkits page.
• FIMs’ guidance was re-issued in July 2025 reminding FIMs and Deputy FIMs of their roles and responsibilities with regard to Missing Persons.

Further actions agreed following receipt of the learning:

• Further training to be undertaken within the FCR of the differences between Concern for Welfare and Missing Persons, with case studies particularly where a report starts as a Concern and then develops towards Missing. Training to include:
  • The importance of PNC and Intelligence checks in all cases.
  • The importance of clarity in requests made to other forces, whether by STORM incident transfer, by email, and by phone. A phone call conversation being a necessary step in addition to electronic requests (STORM / email) where any case is complicated, or it is clear that the request could be misinterpreted or may be ambiguous.
• Refresher training for the FCR FIMs and Deputy FIMs covering the importance of Missing Persons assessment and clear and unambiguous direction (which is not only limited to Missing Persons, as it should apply to all incident types where direction and control are required).
• Refreshed direction to FCR intelligence operators around the checks required, and the need to ensure risk is not only identified but is clearly stated on the incident report to be brought to the attention of the FIMs or Response Inspector / Detective Inspector depending on the phase the report or investigation is in at that point.
• A key responsibilities quick guide or similar to be developed for Response Inspectors and Sergeants to explain the remit of the Missing Persons Team, providing a simple overview for frontline responders. This complements the more detailed information held in the Missing Persons Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and the digital information bank on the COMPACT system (where missing persons enquiries are managed), alongside regular inputs to Sergeant and Inspector training days.
• As part of the refresher training and guidance, the following will be included:
  • The force of first report and the requirements on the force to assess and take actions.
  • The difference between the first report, requests for enquiries, and Missing Persons transfer requests.
  • The Missing Persons transfer process between forces.
  • The key aims of Missing Persons investigations and the core duties of police (which ultimately is to locate the person safely).
  • The difference between a Concern for Welfare, a Missing Person Report and a Missing Person Investigation.