MISSING PERSONS
POLICE CAN’T PLUG MENTAL HEALTH GAP
Chief Inspector Alan Rhees-Cooper of the West Yorkshire Police and Paul Matthews, National Board Member and PFEW Missing Persons Lead, share the national position adopted in respect of agencies and companies categorising at-risk individuals as missing persons. By Stavan Desai
• A 37-year-old male came into the job centre threatening suicide and has
• I am calling from DWP. The claimant is saying she is suicidal. I have tried
• I work for the DWP. We have had a letter from a female stating that due to
to contact her throughout the day without success.
her claim being declined, she will hold the department responsible if she commits suicide.
42 | POLICE | APRIL 2023
now gone missing. A 41-year-old British male is reported missing after threatening self-harm whilst on the phone with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP).
• A call from DWP: We received a call this morning at approximately 8.45am from
a female stating she is suicidal. She stated that she had medication such as insulin, and diazepam, next to her and she intends to take it.
These are some of the calls from the DWP reporting individuals as ‘missing persons’ because of self-harm concerns. It is important to understand the national position adopted in respect of agencies such as the DWP reporting individuals as ‘missing persons’ driven by such concerns. I am aware that some police forces are receiving similar calls from utility
companies when a client is struggling to pay their bill or when their services are disconnected for non-payment of dues. In essence, these calls do not relate to missing persons but are requests for the police to conduct a welfare check at the home address of the clients.
I am sure we all recognise the pressures both on the ambulance service and on the mental health service. It is for this reason that the police often fill in the gaps. However, when seeking to improve services and the multi-agency response to these incidents, we must consider what is in the patient’s best interest. Fundamentally, these are mental health
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