Geographies of missing people: processes, experiences, responses

Transcription

1 Geographies of missing people: processes, experiences, responses Economic and Social Research Council funded research project Dr Olivia Stevenson, University of Glasgow.

2 Professor Nick Fyfe (University of Dundee & Scottish Institute for Policing Research); Dr Hester Parr (University of Glasgow); Dr Olivia Stevenson (University of Glasgow); Dr Penny Woolnough (Police Scotland & Scottish Institute for Policing Research). Partners: UK Missing Persons Bureau; UK Missing People Charity; Police Scotland and Metropolitan Police Service.

3 Geographies of missing people: processes, experiences, responses 1. To examine the scope capabilities and capacities of organisations, families and individuals to track missing adult people over space and through time; 2. To investigate the experiential geographies of missing people and their families; 3. To advance policy, operational and conceptual understandings of missingness.

4 UK Research Sites Grampian region - NE Scotland Population: 426,000 Mountains to West Rivers to the East Semi urban-rural London SE England Population: 8 Million 33 boroughs Extensive transport links Located on the river Thames

5 Case study approach working with two police forces: Metropolitan Police Service, Police Service Scotland; Interviewing a sample of returned people reported missing in each police area, focusing on their missing journey ; Interviewing local police officers and carrying out case reconstructions will be used to examine police organisational responses to specific missing person cases in the two case study areas; Interviews with a sample of families of people reported missing in order to understand how families mobilize and deploy their own resources to search for missing loved ones. 45 Interviews with returned missing people; 12 Case reconstruction and 23 Interviews/focus group with police officers; 11 Interviews with key partners and national agents; 25 Interviews/focus groups with family members of returned missing people; Of which 11 interviews with family members of longer-term outstanding missing people; Total interviews 104 of minutes plus documentary work.

6 Missing journeys Storying journeys Journey-making: Planning & Leaving Movements & Routes Encounters & Risk Hiding & Disguise Police intervention & Returns Jackie s story

7 When I woke up in the morning, the night before even, I knew that I was going to disappear [...]. [T]he nurses saw me, [...] they chased after me outside for a bit, and I ran into some trees so they couldn t see where I was [...]. I felt this feeling of exhilaration that I had managed to get out, managed to do what I planned to do. Female, repeatedly reported as missing. It is very difficult to say [...] I just decided, [...] she went out for a bit, so I just chucked basic living, clothes [...], and things that I would sort of need, toothpaste and stuff into the car and just disappeared. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. On the Friday night I had already planned basically that I was going [ ]. [So I told her I was working on the Saturday morning, [...] and went out early [...] for a very, very long walk. [...] [I]t wasn t like I planned on just walking out and not speaking [...] but as the day went on I just couldn t face talking [...]. I don t know just sort of hiding away from it all. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. It was like give me space [...]. I did say I m off and just walked out the door and they did say where you going and I just didn t answer. Female, reported as missing once.

8 All around me were places that I had been with people and I knew people pass through [...], only a few blocks away was my office and I kind of obviously steered clear of that. [...] I was deliberately avoiding going anywhere that I could easily bump into somebody on the street. Male, reported as missing. once. I knew the beach, I knew where the public loos and this sort of thing [...]. I just sort of slept on the bench thing for about three days, but I used to go to Tesco s [...] to go to loo and to wash. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. It was about 2 o clock in the morning and I was just walking. I was just wandering the streets [...], just having this need to keep going forward, but at the same time not having any clue as to where I was going to end up. Female, repeatedly reported as missing. I just kept walking round in circles, which were about three miles per cycle and I just kept walking them. Every time I passed the big hospital I had this feeling of its okay, people expect people to be walking around here, and so every time I reached there I would stop for 5 or 10 minutes and felt okay about stopping there. Female, repeatedly reported as missing.

9 It wasn t that I needed to go to the pub. I think I just wanted company, I was very, very lonely as well and I often found myself not so lonely among strangers. Male, reported as missing once. I met him on the street [...]. I think he was just going home and he said how he was lonely [...]. [D]o you want to come home with me? I ve got a spare bed he said. [...] And I said I don t see why not. Female, reported as missing once. I got chatting to one bloke [...] and he said he knew a place where I could stay. So he took me there and I didn t know the people and it was a pretty rough [...] and I suspected they were drug addicts. I was really nervous [but] I d had the bottle of vodka [...] so I could sleep, heavily intoxicated but I got to sleep. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. I got there they started to inhale heroin and [...] I have never ever seen that before. I didn't know where I was, [...] they locked the front door and they wouldn't let me out. Then I ended up jumping out the window trying to get away. (Anonymous respondent).

10 [T]here was some clothes behind some charity bins so I left what I had on. [...] So I made a change of clothes not to be distinguished from what I was wearing before. Female, reported as missing once. I realised that there is cameras along the road so depending upon what I am wearing I might be distinguishable. [...] [T]here was a backpack with me at the time, which I basically left, [...] because it was [...] distinguishable. Female, reported as missing once. One day I slept inside the basement bit of a house [...]. There was mail there [...] so I took a load of different letters [...] and used that as ID. So when I got stopped for example by the police I gave them this person s name and they said well have you got any ID and I said I ve got some letters on me. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. So I just went to hide cause I run, I m a runner and I ve got a favourite route that s off road, it s not far from where I live and there's a sort of derelict building in it, so I just went in there and sat in there and there was a bit of shelter from the rain but also I was hiding, I couldn t be seen easily and just sort of sat there and they found me cause somebody thought about my running routes, I don t know why. Male, reported as missing once.

11 Ultimately I knew I had to go home on Sunday night because I had my work on the Monday [...]. The walk back was more [...] sort of walking a gauntlet, [...] basically coming out of a fantasy world and back to reality. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. [T]he police are the soundest. They re the ones that are least judging. Female, repeatedly reported as missing. Well it was a bit embarrassing to have the police come and take you away. [...] I felt like a criminal, which I m not, you know, I am just a normal everyday person that maybe just had a bit of a breakdown that s all. Female, reported as missing once. When the police came, I just felt like crikey you are treating me like a criminal, like I have done something really wrong. I was thinking that I didn t kill myself, so I have obviously done something right. But then I felt quite angry that I was being handcuffed and I didn t feel I was a risk at that point, I felt it was an overreaction and I didn t want my family to see me in handcuffs. But this police sergeant said I am not taking them off, I m keeping them on until you get back to the ward. Female, repeatedly reported as missing.

12 safe and well check with referral to other agencies. safe and well check with sensitive and emphatic orientation to their journey. safe and well check : scripting to prevent repeats or gathering data.

13 Everybody wants you to explain yourself and I couldn t. [...] For days afterwards I was still the same so, you know, it was on the verge sort of I can still walk out [...]. I still threaten it. Female, reported as missing once. My consultant psychiatrist [...] came and spoke to me about it [...] [but] [t]alking to the police I think could have been really helpful. [...] I wanted to talk to the police to get rid of that feeling of being a criminal. Male, repeatedly reported as missing. r Olivia Stevenson, University of Glasgow. Do not quote without permission

14 Missing journeys Jackie's Story

15 To create a national learning resource of missing experience in partnership with the UK Missing People Charity and mount case studies and research results on their web-site for awareness raising and education. To work with the charity to develop guidance from these accounts and to input into family support services and training and police officer training. To use these accounts to complement the existing but limited research in academic and practitioner journals on missing people. To help people reported as missing feel as if they are not alone but that there are national resources available to help them make sense of their experience with reference to others. To contribute to a international research agenda on missing people and raise the profile of the issue.

16 We invite you to sign up for a geographies of missing people training pack. To do this please contact Dr. Olivia Stevenson on Olivia.Stevenson@glasgow.ac.uk or via the project website