Impact of Police Cuts on Missing Person Investigations

For several decades, the Police Service of England and Wales grew by nearly a third whilst the population grew only by 10%. This sustained growth ended in 2010 when a spending review led by the Government called for a 20 per cent cut. As of March 2018, there are 21,330 fewer Police Officersthan on 31 March 2010; a reduction of 15%. Over the same period, the number of civilian staff fell by 21%, which gives a total reduction 18% of the workforce between 2010 -2018 (Dodd, 2018). In contrast, missing person reports represent one of the biggest demands placed upon Policing with certain investigations can be resources intensive and lengthy (Shalev Greene & Pakes, 2013; NCA, 2016, 2020). This high demand sits against the backdrop of unprecedented cuts on police numbers. Currently, it is unknown how such dramatic changes in police forces impacted on missing persons investigations, which is the aim of this study. Following ethical approval by the University of Portsmouth FHSS ethics committee, the study used an online survey to examine police officers and police staffs’ perceptions of (1) training needs; (2) demand versus availability of resources; (3) impact of cuts on quality of investigations; and (4) impact of cuts on staff’s wellbeing. Data was collected from 373 police officers and police staff working on missing person investigations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.