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Media Enquiries
For all media enquiries, please email

NPIA Press Office

Report a Sighting
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Members of the public should call the 24 hour Missing People charity Freefone number 0500 700 700

Missing Persons Bureau

The NPIA Missing Persons Bureau (MPB) works alongside the police and related organisations to improve the services provided to missing persons investigations and increase effectiveness.

We act as the centre for the exchange of information connected with the search for missing persons nationally and internationally. The unit focuses on cross matching missing persons with unidentified persons/bodies.  Other key activities include:

  • Maintaining records of missing persons and unidentified persons/bodies to provide an investigative support service to police.
  • Maintaining a dental index of ante-mortem chartings of long term missing persons and post-mortem chartings from unidentified bodies.
  • Managing Missing Kids website designed to assist missing children investigations
  • Managing and co-ordinating the Child Rescue Alert service.

Cold Case Review of Unidentified Fatalities

In the first exercise of its kind, the National Policing Improvement Agency and British Transport Police have launched a review into a series of unidentified fatalities dating back 35 years.  Read the full story. 

 

Missing Persons Taskforce

The Missing Persons Taskforce was launched by the Prime Minister in December 2009 and has set itself a remit of improving the multi-agency response during the period in which persons are missing. Membership of the Taskforce include NPIA, CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) centre, Missing People Charity as well as the ACPO Lead for Missing Persons DAC Richard Bryan, Helen Southworth MP and a number of key Government departments.

The Missing Persons Bureau have been working very hard on the Missing Persons Taskforce and of course NPIA had senior representation on the taskforce itself.  We are delighted that the Prime Minister has endorsed the group's recommendations.

We will have a key role to play in many of the recommendations, but particularly those involving risk assessment models for missing incidents, greater data sharing capabilities, the harnessing of existing good practice and the dissemination of that to all forces in the country and the support for data collection and analysis to improve our understanding of the missing persons landscape.

Reporting Someone Missing

If someone you know is missing and you want to report their absence you need to contact your local police station. The MPB works with the police but are unable to receive reports of missing people directly from the public.  UK Police forces

Reporting a Sighting

If you wish to report a sighting or have any information about a missing person, please call 'Missing People' confidentially on Freefone 0500 700 700 in the UK or +44 (0) 20 8392 4545 from outside the UK or follow the link and complete the appropriate form. Alternatively, you can call us or contact your local police force.