Freedom of information response

Innovative practices for dealing with missing children from residential care:

In Thurrock there are three forums that provides key strategic and operational structures to explore young people who go missing and who may be at risk from exploitation. Although, this is not specific to  young people who go missing from residential care, it does consider all missing children. These are as follows:

Thurrock Multi Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) Meetings

The Thurrock MACE meetings (MACE), sits every six weeks, collating information and data from partners to help to identify developing patterns or themes in relation to children at risk of exploitation and children who go missing across the Borough. These are proactively used to inform multi-agency strategic and operational responses to safeguard and protect victims and to target, and disrupt with a view to prosecute possible perpetrators.

Missing children Panels:

The  Missing Children Panel  (MCP) reviews the cases of all children who have been reported as missing during the week; those who are assessed to be at high risk of CSE / CE, or those children who are currently being exploited. It hears the cases of children more broadly, assessed at risk of, or being exploited in a wider context, such as trafficking and / or being groomed by gangs.

The MCP is a multi-agency forum that provides an opportunity for the group to ensure there is an effective system for professionals to share information and plan together using a contextual perspective, how to locate them and prevent future missing episodes. Other Local Authority Looked After Children placed in Thurrock, and children who are Looked After and placed by Thurrock out of Borough are also considered at this panel. The MCP’s also considers children and young people who remain missing with a view to identifying a plan to locate and safeguard them and to disrupt ‘pull factors’ associated with people, or places of exploitative concern

Child Exploitation tracker Meetings:

CSE/CE tracker meetings are multi-agency operational meetings, where children assessed as medium – high risk of exploitation are considered. This panel reviews the actions taken to safeguard children at risk of exploitation, and considers any further actions that are required within the multi-agency.  

Strategy discussion are held regularly for any child that is identified as going missing.

Strategies used to target resources to missing children from residential care

We do not have any specific strategies for missing children from residential care. However,  below is an array of strategies  used across the board.

Strategies that are being used:

• Linking in with BTP – British transport Police
• Linking in with Local Shopping Centre Security.
• Linking / referral to programs such as , Wize Up.
• Linking in with Licencing if there are concerns of mode of transport being used - taxis / cabs or any venues that come to our attention that requires a licence such as hotels.
• Optica Checks – Police check / trace locations of mobile phone use.
• Police – Community Policing as well as Missing Liaison Officers.
• Banking – Go Henry Cards
• Providing structure into daily lives – education provisions, promoting hobbies.
• Oyster Cards.
• Complex strategy discussions
• Mapping
• Linking in with YOS.
• Attending Strategy meetings.
• Exploring places and spaces.
• Project Goldcrest.
• Community Policing.
• 12-week intervention programmes from specialist in-house practitioners.

Spatial behaviour of children who go missing from residential care (i.e., where they go whilst missing)

At the weekly MCP’s (as defined above), we explore patterns, themes and hotspots of locations for children who go missing. The reason can vary from staying out at the homes of their friends, going to local shopping centres or travelling into London. Some young people who go missing from residential care, choose not to divulge any information about where they have been whilst missing or who they have been with.

Experiences and perceptions of partnership working with children's residential care homes and how this can be (or has been) improved

We work closely with children's homes and other partners including police colleagues within strategy meetings to ensure effective planning for missing children.

Facilitators and barriers to identifying the reasons why children go missing from residential care

From information gathered from RHI’s and at MCP’s, one of biggest barriers to understanding why children go missing from residential care is that the young people are reluctant to share the information of their whereabouts with us as they do not want the Police to attend the location that they are staying at.

Prevention activities in relation to children who go missing from residential care

If there are concerns that the young person is vulnerable to or being exploited, then a CE Risk & Vulnerability assessment will take place. Should the young person be assessed to be at medium to high risk, then they will have their own Risk Management Plan devised which outlines bespoke disruptive techniques and safety planning.

The effectiveness of Return Home Interviews and The Philomena Protocol with children who go missing from residential care in identifying the reasons why they go missing, and where they go whilst missing

Essex Police are not using the Philomena Protocol. This is being used within MET.

Should the young person choose to accept a RHI, then these can be very informative in providing a narrative of their missing experience. This in turn provides a platform for contextual safeguarding, enabling patterns and themes to be identified.