1st Edition
Missing Persons A handbook of research
A missing person is an individual whose whereabouts are unknown and where there is some concern for his or her wellbeing. In the UK, around 250,000 people are reported missing every year, with the majority being children under the age of 18. Despite the fact that missing persons are a social phenomenon which encompasses vast areas of interest, relatively little is known about those who go missing, what happens to them while they are missing, and what can be done to prevent these incidents from occurring.
This groundbreaking book brings together for the first time ideas and expertise across this vast subject area into one interconnected publication. It explores the subjects of missing children, missing adults, the investigative process of missing person cases, and the families of missing persons.
Those with no prior knowledge or professionals with focused knowledge in some areas will be able to expand their understanding of a variety of topics relevant to this field through detailed chapters which advance our understanding of this complex phenomenon, discuss what is unknown, and suggest the best and most important steps forward to further advance our knowledge.
List of Tables
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations
Notes on Contributors
Forward
Introduction
PART I: MISSING CHILDREN
Chapter 1: Children Missing from Care
Carol Hayden
Chapter 2: Hidden Links? Going Missing as an Indicator of Child Sexual Exploitation
Nicola Sharp-Jeffs
Chapter 3: Child Abduction
Geoff Newiss
Chapter 4: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children and Trafficked Children
Chloe Setter
Chapter 5: Geography of Missing Children
Penny S Woolnough and Graham J Gibb
PART II: MISSING ADULTS
Chapter 6: Intentionality and Missing Adults
Lucy Holmes
Chapter 7: Mental Health Issues and Missing Adults
Penny S Woolnough, Llian Alys and Francis Pakes
Chapter 8: Missing People with Dementia: Combining New and Traditional Responses
Philip Coales and Rupert McShane
Chapter 9: Missing Adults: Asylum Seekers and Human Trafficking
Patricia Hynes
Chapter 10: To Honour and Obey? Forced Marriage, Honour Based Violence and Going
Missing
Nicola Sharp-Jeffs
Chapter 11: Geographies of Missing Adults
Penny S Woolnough, Olivia Stevenson, Hester Parr, Nicholas R Fyfe
PART III: INVESTIGATION OF A MISSING PERSON CASE
Chapter 12: Managing a Missing Person Investigation
Charlie Hedges and Karen Shalev Greene
Chapter 13: Search and Rescue
Dave Perkins, Pete Roberts and Colin Hope
Chapter 14: Risk Assessment
Naomi Eales
Chapter 15: Cold Case Investigation
Louise Vesely- Shore and Jane Birkett
Chapter 16: Missing Abroad
Joe Apps
Chapter 17: Forensic Identification
Sue Black and Jan Bikker
Chapter 18: Disaster Victim Identification
Jan Bikker
PART IV: FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS
Chapter 19: The Emotional Impact on Families when a Loved One Goes Missing
Jo Youle and Helen Alves
Chapter 20: Presumption of Death and Guardianship
Holly Towell
Chapter 21: Resolution of Missing Incidents
Lucy Holmes
Biography
Karen Shalev Greene is the founder and Director of the Centre of the Study of Missing Persons at the University of Portsmouth. Her research focuses on missing persons and she collaborates with academics, law enforcement agencies and NGOs across the UK and internationally.
Llian Alys is a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow, a Full Associate of the International Academy for Investigative Psychology and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She currently works as a Research Psychologist providing consultancy on defence and security issues. She has previous experience in academia (as a Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Bedfordshire) and in law enforcement (as Research and Policy Officer in the UK Missing Persons Bureau and Crime Analyst in the Serious Crime Analysis Section, both now part of the National Crime Agency).
‘An indispensable resource for all concerned with missing children and adults, bringing together in one volume contributions from recognised experts in all aspects of missing people. From the moment someone goes missing, through processes of identification, to what happens when a missing person returns, it provides rich reviews of research data and analysis, and detailed discussions of practice and procedure. All those working with missing persons will welcome this volume.’ - Jenny Edkins, Aberystwyth University, UK
