British Psychological Society Research Seminar on Stranger Child Abduction

1. British Psychological Society Research Seminar on Stranger Child Abduction CEOP, a National Crime Agency Command, London 12th June 2014

2. Agenda • Stranger Child Abduction in the UK (Craig Collie, University of Portsmouth) • Police perspective - investigative challenges and community impact (Local investigations) (Charlie Hedges, CEOP) • Police perspective - investigative challenges and community impact (Child Rescue Alert) (Charlie Hedges, CEOP) • Offenders - what do we know, what don't we know (Helen Whittle, Behavioural Analysis Unit, CEOP) • Prevention – beyond stranger danger? (Geoff Newiss, PACT)

3. Discussion 1: • Where are the gaps in knowledge?

4. Gaps in knowledge or understanding Prevalence • True number of abductions unknown (hidden by recording under other crimes e.g. rape or murder) • Under-reporting of offences (e.g. why are offences/attempts not reported, how to encourage reporting) • Drivers of increase/decrease in child abduction • Influence and impact and increased opportunities created by the internet (any evidence of displacement from offline to online offending?) The abduction • How to define opportunism? The offender may still have rehearsed and planned the event even if (s)he hadn’t planned to do it at that particular time • Motivation (differences and implications e.g. gang; maternal; sexual) • Any crossover/overlap with internal trafficking • Attempted abductions (How do they differ to completed abductions? What can we learn from failed attempts? What are the consequences of attempts for the offender i.e. what does he/she do next?) • Timescale of the abduction (opportunities to intervene/exploit) • Geography of offences, locations (encounter, attack, release or disposal), distance travelled to and from offences • Investigators don’t always know the abduction site • A vehicle sighting might be one of the first lines of inquiry • When should attempts be subject to a full and urgent police response? • Differences between kidnap, false imprisonment, abduction, trafficking

5. Gaps in knowledge or understanding The victim • Understanding victimology and what that tells us about the offender • Understanding vulnerabilities of victims ( lack of understanding of risk, opportunistic, etc) and relationship between vulnerability and opportunity • Particular risk to/vulnerability of children from low SES families and children with disabilities and mental health issues or those with an autistic spectrum disorder • Relationship between “missing” and abduction The offender • Perceptions of threat based on offender characteristics e.g. gender, relationship to victim • Offenders with no previous criminal record (Is this really their first offence? How do we find them? What was their journey from thought to action?) • Characteristics of offenders – who commits these offences and can we extrapolate any information on the offender from the MO of the abduction? • Relationship between online and offline offending • Risk assessment of offenders and link to behaviour • Predicting future behaviour • Hidden identities and factors relevant/influencing their release

6. Gaps in knowledge or understanding The investigation and prosecution • When an abduction occurs, investigators might not know whether it is stranger abduction (or whether it is indeed an abduction), can research on the early stages of the offence/investigation identify signs/indicators of what has happened? • Police response (Overt/covert; intelligence; public/private...) • Outcome of case (e.g. influences) Prevention and intervention • Prevention and intervention – what works? • How effective has the sex offender register been and what has been its impact on abductions • Rehabilitation of offenders • Victim support by charities (e.g. good practice; are police aware of support services available for victims and families?)

7. Interactive presentation: • Police perspective - investigative challenges and community impact (local investigations) Charlie Hedges, CEOP

8. How significant a problem is stranger child abduction? • “Stranger danger” – false perception of prevalence but you don’t want your child to be that one victim • Media hype • Parents want reassurance • Insurance companies want to include abduction and Child Sexual Exploitation in their policies • Need a middle ground between inaccuracy of there being “an offender behind every tree” and the other extreme of “it’s all hype” • Something in the news somewhere in the UK every day – we lose the picture in crime reporting • crime statistics report the most significant/serious crime which occurred in that event (e.g. homicide or rape) • Could examine child murders and sex offences to see how many start with abduction • Abduction is the MO, a means to an end

9. How significant a problem is stranger child abduction? 2 • Danger in categorising all abductions together • losing sight of differences • missing more discrete and implicit behaviours/experiences • E.g. rapists are not a homogenous group and by putting them all together, there is a danger that we will miss some of the detail

10. What are the investigative challenges posed by abductions? • First challenge - All we know is a child is missing – we don’t know what has happened (runaway, abduction etc) • Investigation can’t be channelled/focussed in one area alone too early on, has to be as broad as possible and all possible scenarios considered (e.g. abduction, runaway, accident) • Balance verification and responding quickly • What did the reporter see? Did they misinterpret what they saw? • What is a stranger? Children can’t always tell the difference and the lines may be blurred in online relationships • Police response might depend on whether offender believes he/she has been seen • Respond in a way the offender would consider appropriate

11. What are the investigative challenges posed by abductions? 2 • Language/terminology of first report – can be difficult to work out exactly what happened • Differences between police, public and media definitions/understanding of “abduction” and “kidnap” • Reporter’s heightened state of arousal • Age of the reporter (age of victim in attempts too) • Important to have assessment of risk when the call comes in (as in missing cases), sometimes definitions get in the way • First responder needs to be trained to elicit the information (lack of resources in this respect but it is better now than in the past) • Better to “go high” immediately than “start low and fight way up”

12. What is the risk posed by attempted abductions? • How many attempts become actual abductions? • How concerned should we be? • We know about motivation for abductions but not in terms of attempts – is the excitement or thrill of the attempt enough? • Often police are just not aware of them (not reported) • Cases not necessarily dealt with effectively • BUT it is difficult to deal with such cases • Need to invest more time • We deal with them a lot but know little about them • Victim doesn’t know what the offender’s intention was • We just DON’T KNOW whether they’re going to go on to commit a murder

13. What is needed? • Further guidance and good practice advice required for practitioners • Difficult – some dislike the idea of “guidance” due to the risk of constriction of thinking, they want police to use their discretion and judgement • There is currently no separate authorised professional practice on abductions – information is included in other manuals e.g. the Murder Manual • Research concerning attempted abductions to understand prevalence, motivations and relation to successful abductions and other forms of offending • Gathering intelligence from partners concerning attempted abductions (possible role for school liaison and community support officers) • Consider age of victim – teenagers might be more likely to tell friends

14. Discussion 2: • How can we improve clarity of data? • What are the key challenges?

15. Data • Context needed in reporting of police stats • Need to be clear about what type of data and what purpose – e.g. improve data for police intel and improve data for research • There’s a difference between intel and statistical data • Is it a realistic expectation for police to record all attempts/unreported events? • Harmonisation of police recording procedures • Prevalence surveys may be subjective (different perceptions/interpretations – public, police, children) • Agencies/teams supporting the police don’t always receive case updates making evaluation of advice given and operational learning difficult

16. Discussion 3: • Who is involved in Child Rescue Alert cases? • What are the main barriers and obstacles to working together? • What is needed?

17. Child Rescue Alert Who is involved? • Police • NCA • Charities • Media (social and traditional) • Public Questions/challenges: • How often should it be used? Branding vs “CRA fatigue” • How to encourage people to sign up? • Remit - should CRA inform the public and/or receive information from the public? • What is the most effective way to present information to maximise the quality and relevance of leads from the public (e.g. most useful descriptors, best use of language)? • How to make sure you identify the “golden nuggets”? • How much is known from a risk assessment perspective (risk to child, reaction of offender)?

18. Child Rescue Alert 2 What is needed? • Clear guidance to avoid duplication • Training and policy in forces • Needs to be used often enough that people feel comfortable using it but not so often as for it to lose impact – focussed use • Ability to prioritise information as it comes in • E.G. filter messages – did you see the child yourself? • Need to be able to manage the response • Cannot control the media • More calls received following alert in UK than in other European countries • Know what NOT to do, to avoid spurring the offender to harm the victim • Research/greater understanding of false sightings and how to identify them

19. Discussion 4: • How can research translate into practice and assist in this area? • How can research translate into practice and improve prevention strategies?

20. Areas where research could add value • Graduation from non-contact to contact offending • The inter-relationships between physical child abduction and other types of offending • Is the abductor a different type of person to the “usual” sex offender? • Assumptions about “type” of offender can derail investigation. Important that practitioners understand that they are not a homogeneous group • Role of grooming – pre and post abduction • Offender decision-making • Types of MO • Reoffending patterns • Warning signs/behaviours • Police decision making in focusing investigation • Risk assessment • Any influence/impact/increase in opportunities created by internet

21. Areas where research could add value • Prevention and intervention strategies for offenders and victims • The role/awareness of family members • Computer technology developing at an alarming pace – training and awareness needed • What factors encourage or discourage reporting? • Environmental and educational approaches • Treatment of juvenile sex offenders • What is sexually harmful behaviour for children and young people? • Early interventions and risk assessment • How to encourage parents to seek assistance for their children?

22. Challenges for research Research is essential for practitioners but… • There can be misinterpretation and cherry-picking of research findings by practitioners • Academics need to ensure practitioners understand caveats/limits of findings – emphasise this • Research needs to be written in such a way that it is easily accessible to practitioners • There is a need to balance how much you say and what you don’t reveal (so you don’t educate offenders) • There needs to be more collaboration between researchers/academics and practitioners • Good practice – contracting/tendering for researchers to explore practitioner-identified research questions

23. Interactive presentation: • Prevention – beyond stranger danger? Geoff Newiss, PACT www.childabduction.org.uk

24. Prevention • Attempted abduction cases are mentioned via social media all the time even though completed abductions are rare • It is not a “historic” problem as we are sometimes told • How do we help children and young people to understand the risk from online and real world strangers? • definitional issues e.g. what a child considers a “stranger” or a “friend” • Need to consider children with learning needs and disabilities • Behavioural skills training is most effective (Miltenberg & Olsen, 1996) – practice and rehearse skills • Make children aware of different lures (e.g. sample, authority, incentive, etc) in broad sense (e.g. don’t have to do everything that an adult tells you) • The earlier the better. PSHE curricula is not compulsory. Some schools might do it, others will not • Building self-esteem and confidence in children and young people is important

25. Contact details • Dr. Karen Shalev-Greene, Centre for the Study of Missing Persons, University of Portsmouth Email: karen.shalev-greene@port.ac.uk www.port.ac.uk/departments/academic/icjs/csmp/ • Dr.LlianAlys, Chartered Psychologist and researcher (previously - University of Bedfordshire) Email: Llianalys@yahoo.co.uk