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Source · IOPC Learning Case

Recommendation - Metropolitan Police, November 2023

Metropolitan Police Service Ref: 2022/176939

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Case background

Text published by the IOPC.

We identified organisational learning from a review following a local police investigation.

A woman reported her sister as missing to police, but an inspector decided that there was a lack of significant concern to commence a missing person report. The following morning, the employer of the missing sister contacted police with information that increased concern for the woman.

Police officers visited her home address, where they found her dead.

The woman's next of kin was her husband, who was out of the country at the time the police were initially contacted.  There was insufficient evidence to suggest police contacted the husband and agreed to communicate with him through his sister-in-law.

The investigating officer ascertained that there is no official requirement currently covered by the MISPER (Missing Person) policy to inform the next of kin.

Recommendations and responses

1 indexed

Recommendation 1

Link to recommendation · Accepted

Addressed to: Metropolitan Police Service

Linked bodies: Metropolitan Police Service

IOPC recommendation

The IOPC recommends that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) include a clarifying prompt in the Informant Engagement Guidance to ensure relevant family members are updated when a communication route with the informant is agreed.

This follows an IOPC investigation review of a case concerning information relayed to a person's Next of Kin.  A call was made to the police by a woman’s family relative regarding a concern for welfare but the woman’s  Next of Kin was abroad.  Police communicated with the relative whom made the initial concern for welfare call but did not communicate directly with the Next of Kin.

It appears that there is no formal guidance with regard to contact with the Next of Kin within the force policy or procedures.  By clarifying agreed contact with the Next of Kin in such cases, it would ensure that appropriate engagement is achieved.

Response published by the IOPC

Recommendation accepted:

The Metropolitan Police Service (“MPS”) has reviewed and accepts this recommendation by the IOPC.

MPS officers investigating missing person incidents have access to a suite of bespoke operational guidance on SharePoint, and engagement with this guidance is both frequent and in high volume. The relevant section of this guidance pertaining to this learning, is ‘Informant/Family Engagement & Support Expectations’ which directs key practice in the professional handling and updating of those reporting incidents to the MPS.

Missing person incidents are frequently complex and it can sometimes present that family members or next of kin are not the informant. Some cases can present where there is risk to the missing person from family members or where no family members exist or are currently in the life of the missing individual; therefore, the wording of officer guidance has to consider this and present with flexibility.

Check the original case on the IOPC website