Missing People
We have made our extensive hand-held scanner network available to the charity to distribute High Risk Missing People and Child Rescue Alerts.
Missing People
We have made our extensive hand-held scanner network available to the charity to distribute High Risk Missing People and Child Rescue Alerts.
The mobilisation of up to 124,000 postmen and women and other frontline colleagues doubled the number of people supporting the efforts of the charity, increasing the chances that missing individuals will be found.
To date we have issued over 240 alerts to our people. Missing people appeals are also published on our dedicated Missing People alerts webpage and on our TV screens. This means that everyone working for Royal Mail can help find missing people and reunite families.
Why is it so important?
We only raise an alert for very vulnerable missing people at risk of harm and where we have information about where they might be so we can geo-target appeals. They may be a child away from home, an elderly person with dementia or a vulnerable adult. You do not need to do anything other than call our helpline on 116 000 to give us your sighting and we will pass the information straight to the police so that they can reach that person and make sure they are safe and well.
When someone goes missing, every minute is crucial. This is especially so for children; 76,000 children go missing each year and are more likely to be reported missing each year than adults. However, statistics show that the sooner a child is found, the more likely they will be safe.
Our partnership seeks to improve the chances of success by increasing the number of people looking out for missing adults and children at high risk. Anybody can be affected by a disappearance, and when someone goes missing, it often impacts entire local communities. The reasons someone go missing are complex and numerous; children in particular are most likely to go missing due to mental health issues, issues associated with living in care, or domestic violence.
Click here (pdf, 181.13 KB) to find out more about why people go missing.
Missing People chief executive, Jo Youle, says:
‘When someone goes missing and is at risk, every minute after a disappearance is crucial to bringing them home safely. Our partnership with Royal Mail is a truly inspired way to spread an alert quickly and to the very people who are the eyes and ears of their local communities.'
Please refer to our FAQs page for commonly asked questions or send your query to community@royalmail.com