Missing Children: Who Cares?
Jigsaw4u has provided a service for young people who go missing from home since 2005. We work in both Sutton and Merton; going out to see young people who have been reported missing, trying to find out where they went, what the issues might be that led them to runaway and identifying if they need any support. Jigsaw4u has lead the way in what is considered good practice in Return Home Interviews, which is the process of seeing a young person once they’ve return from their missing episode.
On top of seeing the young people and liaising with social care and the police, Jigsaw4u’s ‘Young Runaways’ project also constantly tries to raise awareness about missing young people and sexual exploitation. With that in mind, Jigsaw4u was recently involved in a project in partnership with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The HMIC independently assesses police forces and policing across activity from neighbourhood teams to serious crime and the fight against terrorism.
In March the HMIC launched the Children’s Voices report documenting the findings of the research conducted with children and young people over the summer of 2015. This report included responses from 45 young people across the country, which included young people from Merton and Sutton who have received support from Jigsaw4u. If you are interested in hearing what the young people have to say you can access the report here.
This work informed the larger HMIC’s report Missing Children: who cares?
Alternatively, if you would like to listen to the discussion of the research on the Radio 4 Today programme please see the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0742jt4 The short clip begins at 01:51:20.
If you have any questions about the support Jigsaw4u provides for missing young people check out their page or ring the office to speak to one of the team. If you are worried that a young person has runaway, call the police to report them missing.
