Police Scotland investigated nearly 23,000 missing person reports in 2017/18, relating to nearly 12,500 people.
Around 25 per cent of these investigations (5,833) were in relation to 300 people, each of whom had been reported missing ten or more times.
Overall, missing person investigations across Scotland rose by 4.4 per cent (977) in 2017/18 compared to the previous year.
ACC Bernard Higgins said: “People go missing for many different and complex reasons.
“Many will go voluntarily, but others may feel it is their only option and some may be in extreme distress.
“We cannot underestimate the impact such cases have on families and people’s loved ones and the support of communities is vital in helping us trace missing persons.
“We are absolutely committed to tracing those who have been reported missing and our officers and staff work tirelessly in every case to achieve a positive outcome for families.
“While no crime has usually been committed, missing persons investigations are one of the biggest demands on modern policing and can be very challenging.
“This is the only second year we have been able to publish data taken from our National Missing Persons Database but already a clear picture is developing of who goes missing and from where.”
Over 99 per cent of people who are reported missing are traced alive, 0.4 per cent are traced deceased and 0.1 per cent remain untraced.
Of those traced deceased, 77 per cent were adult men, the majority of whom had not been missing before and had no know mental health vulnerability.
ACC Higgins added: “Most reports are about missing children, happily, most return or are found quickly.
“Our response to missing people reports is evolving based on our data. Prevention is key to managing the scale of missing person reports and to protecting people who may be vulnerable.
“We work closely with partner organisations to protect those most at risk of going missing and prevent missing person episodes wherever possible.”
Community Safety Minister Annabelle Ewing said: “I welcome the publication of these figures and the valuable breakdown they provide into this complex area.
“Last year I launched the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland which aims to prevent people from going missing and limit the harm associated with going missing.
“It is clear to see that this information can only help agencies, as they work together, to target support and prevent people from going missing.”
Of those who were reported missing:
- 64 per cent were children
- 53 per cent related to people aged from 13 –16 years
- More 2,600 people went missing more than once
- Men are more likely to go missing (58 per cent)
- 24 per cent of investigations involved someone with a mental health vulnerability
- Two per cent involved someone with dementia
Police Scotland, with partners, will carry out a range of activity on social media throughout this week in a bid to highlight its work on missing persons.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
