Photo and description
Height, build, hair, eyes, marks, glasses and what they usually wear, with the date it was last updated.
Precinct Care
Missing from care: profiles and return home interviews
A missing person profile ready in advance for every young person, in the format police forces use for children in care, so nobody is searching for a photo at 2am.
When a young person goes missing, the first hour matters. Police need a recent photo, a description, the places they may go and who they may be with. Most homes keep this on paper, out of date.
Precinct Care builds the profile from the young person's file and keeps it ready, in the Philomena Protocol format. For adults who may go missing, it uses the Herbert Protocol format instead.
Where we are: Precinct Care is in final development, shaped with registered managers, Responsible Individuals and Reg 44 visitors. We are booking demonstrations now and taking a small number of pilot homes. The snippets on this page are from the working system, filled with made-up people and records.
What the missing profile holds
Where they may go
Places they have gone before and places that matter to them.
Who they may be with
Friends, family and any adults of concern, from the contacts in their file.
Health needs
Allergies and medication, so police know if they need anything urgently.
Phone and social media
Their number and the apps they use, with usernames held by the manager.
Previous episodes
Past missing episodes and the patterns staff have noticed.
Send it to the police in one step
From the young person's file, staff open the profile and press Send to police. It goes securely, and the file records that it was sent and by whom. The profile says what to do first: if they are at immediate risk, call 999; otherwise call 101 and tell the manager on call, the social worker and the out-of-hours team.
After they come back
The missing episode is recorded with times, and the return home interview is tracked until it is done. Managers see on their dashboard when a return home interview has not been booked. Missing episodes are included in the Reg 44 visit pack and the Ofsted inspection pack.
Keeping young people safe online too
QLine IT also provides managed phones for young people, which can help locate a missing young person's phone under an agreed plan.
Questions we're asked
What is the Philomena Protocol?
The Philomena Protocol is a scheme used by many police forces in England for children in care who may go missing. Care providers keep key information ready in advance in a standard format, so it can be handed to police straight away.
Who keeps the profile up to date?
The profile is filled from the young person's file, so when staff update the description, contacts or photos, the profile changes too. If anything is missing, the file says so.
See Precinct Care for yourself
Book a 30-minute demonstration. We'll show you the screens your staff, managers and inspectors would use.
Precinct Care
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