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Programme

5 July 2021

9.00am – 9.30am: Registration

9.30am – 10.30am: Opening and Welcome

  • Bob Nichol- Pro Vice-Chancellor, University of Portsmouth
  • Karen Shalev Greene, University of Portsmouth
  • ACC Catherine Hankinson/Chief Inspector Alan Rhees- Cooper
  • Louise Newell, UK Missing Persons Unit, National Crime Agency

10.30 am – 11.30 am: Plenary session - Lived Experiences of 'Missing': A Call for Action

  • Maureen Trask
  • Tanja Conway-Grim

11.30 am – 11.45 am: Break

11.45 am – 12.30 pm: Marketplace of ideas 1

Developing a Cold Case System for Missing and Unidentified People-Dave – Grimstead, Locate International, United Kingdom

12.30 pm – 1.30 pm: Lunch Break

1.30 pm – 3.00 pm: Parallel sessions

Session 1: The Aftermath of Missingness
  1. After a Missing Person Living with Dementia is Found and Returned Home: Police Protocol and Perspectives- Laura McLennan, University of Waterloo, Canada
  2. Helpful and Unhelpful Elements of Therapeutic Interventions for Families with Missing Loved Ones- Dot Whyte, Abertay University, United Kingdom
  3. Searching for Closure: Families of Missing Migrants in the United Kingdom – Samuel Okyere, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Session 2: Theory and Behaviour
  1. In Search of the Perfect Definition of Missing- Chief Inspector Alan Rhees Cooper, National Police Chief’s Council, United Kingdom
  2. Factors to Determine the Risk of Getting Lost and Going Missing Among Persons Living with Dementia: A Scoping Review- Hector Perez, University of Waterloo, Canada
  3. Examining the Connection Between Missing Persons and Victimisation: An Application of Lifestyle Exposure Theory- Lorna Ferguson, University of Western Ontaria, Canada

3.00 pm – 3.30 pm: Break

3.30 pm – 5.00 pm: Parallel sessions

Session 3: Forensics and Missing Persons
  1. I-Familia: A New Service by INTERPOL to Identify Missing Persons Globally Through Family DNA Matching- Francois-Xavier Laurent, Interpol
  2. Coronial Investigations into Missing People – Lessons from Australia- Stephanie Dartnall, Charles Stuart University, Australia
  3. Missing Persons in Mass Graves- Ellie Smith and Melanie Klinkner, University of Bournemouth, United Kingdom
  4. Global Perspectives: Epidemiology of Those Who Remain Unidentified After Death - Emma Tilley, Staffordshire University, United Kingdom
Session 4: Understanding and Improving Outcomes for Missing Persons
  1. Assessing Protective Factors and Warning Signs in Missing Person Cases Leading to Suicides- Galit Draizin Itzhaki, Israel
  2. An Examination of Fatal Outcome Missing Persons Reports in the UK- Jessica Whibley, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  3. The Nature of Harm Missing Adults Experience and a Suggested Multi-Agency Response- Jane Hunter, Missing People, United Kingdom

5.00 pm – 5.15 pm: Break

5.15 pm – 6.00 pm: Marketplace of Ideas 2 – Return Discussions in Edinburgh

  • Tommy Petillo – Purple Alert Coordinator, Alzheimer Scotland
  • Katie Gambier-Ross - PhD Student at ECRED - ACRC Research Fellow
  • PC Yocksan Bell - Missing Persons Operational Coordinator, Police Scotland.

6.00 pm: Close Day 1

6 July 2021

9.00am – 9.30am: Registration

9.30 am – 10.15 am: Marketplace of ideas 3 – County lines CCE Missing post 18 - Is there a better way?

SPACE, United Kingdom

10.15am – 10.30am: Break

10.30 am – 12 noon: Parallel sessions

Session 5: Community responses to missing
  1. Shared Responsibility: Conceptualising how a Public Health Approach May Enhance Police Response to Missing Persons- Katie Gambier-Ross, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  2. Missing Persons Expert Network-Charlie Hedges, Charlie Hedges Advisory, United Kingdom
  3. Search and Rescue Volunteer Retention and Attrition- Craig Collie, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Session 6: Needs of families
  1. Physically Absent, Psychologically Present’: The Emotional and Financial Impact of Current and Future Legislation upon Families of Long-Term Missing Adults- Harriet Rees, University of Winchester, United Kingdom
  2. Anyone Having Information: Practices of Searching for Missing Persons in Israel- Ori Katz, Israel
  3. Families of Missing Migrants – Recent Research on their Search for Answers and the Impacts of Loss: Lessons across four countries – Gabriella Sanchez, Danish Institute for International Studies, Denmark

12 noon – 1.00 pm: Lunch

1.00 pm – 2.30 pm: Parallel sessions

Session 7: Trafficking and Migration
  1. The Link Between Missing Children and Child Trafficking in Kenya- Maryana Nandeche Munyendo, Missing Child Kenya, Kenya
  2. Association Between Trafficking and Missing of Young People from Vietnam to the United Kingdom- Geoff Corre, Safeguarding Solutions and Locate International
  3. Families of Missing Migrants – Recent Research on their Search for Answers and the Impacts of Loss. International Organization for Migration, Germany
Session 8: Resource Allocation in Focus
  1. Assessment of How Resource Intensive Missing Person Investigations are. Karen Shalev Greene, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  2. Impact of Police Cuts on Missing Persons Investigations - Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Greenhalgh, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, United Kingdom
  3. Racial Bias During Resource Allocation in Missing Person Investigations - Amy van Langeraad, Goldsmith’s University, United Kingdom
  4. Development and Evaluation of Policing Resources for Missing Persons Living with Dementia - Noelannah Neubauer, University of Waterloo, Canada

2.30 pm – 3.00 pm: Break

3.00 pm – 4.30 pm: Parallel sessions

Session 9: Search and Rescue
  1. Drones for Good: Using AI-Assisted UAS to Find Missing Persons in Challenging Areas- Ignacio Martinez-Alpiste, University of West of Scotland, United Kingdom
  2. Breed or Deed: Why not use a Pug? An exploration of why Certain Dog Breeds are Favoured and Selected by Search and Rescue Dog Handlers. Christopher Sutherland, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  3. The Intelligent Search Process- Christopher Young, Chairman Bay Area Search and Rescue Council, USA
  4. Disaster Responder Learning During Full Scale Exercises- Michael Humann, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Session 10: Considering High-Risk Groups of Missing Person
  1. Missing from Care: The Response for Looked After Children- Josie Allan, Missing People, United Kingdom
  2. Trajectories of Missing Children with County Lines CCE Indicators - Predictable Therefore Avoidable? - SPACE, United Kingdom
  3. Relationships Between Demographic and Behavioural Factors and Spatial Behaviour in Missing Persons Cases- Freya O’Brien, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

4.30 pm – 4.45 pm: Coffee break

4.45 pm – 5.30 pm: Marketplace of ideas 4 – Scotland’s National Missing Person Framework: The Local Implementation of National Best Practice

Nikki Reeves, Missing People, United Kingdom

5.30 pm: Close Day 2

7 July 2021

9.00am – 9.30am: Registration

9.30 am – 10.15 am: Market place of ideas 5 – The “INCLUDE” Guide to Good Practice: For Professionals Involved with Child Abductions. Based on the Views of the Children and Young People.

  • Sara Lembrechts- University of Antwerp/University of Ghent, Belgium
  • Aagje Ieven- Missing Children Europe, Belgium

10.15am – 10.30am: Break

10.30am – 12 noon: Parallel sessions

Session 11: Managing Risk
  1. The impact of COVID-19   lockdown restrictions on missing person reports- Freya O’Brien, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
  2. Improving the Delivery of Safe and Well Checks- Jane Hunter, Missing People, United Kingdom
  3. Can the victim-offender Relationship be used to Inform Search Strategy in Searches for Murder Victims?- Kirsty Bennett, Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom
Session 12: Social Media and Engagement with Missing Persons Searches
  1. Lost from Conversation: Strategies to Incorporate Returned Missing People into Media Stories- Sarah Wayland, University of New England, Australia
  2. A Longitudinal Approach to Understanding Missing Persons Publicity Appeals on Twitter- Simona Ciobotaru, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  3. A Comparison between Missing Persons Appeals Distributed by News Media and on Social Media- Stefana Juncu and Simona Ciobotaru, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

12 noon – 1.00 pm: Lunch

1.00 pm – 2.30 pm: Parallel sessions

Session 13: Psychological Tools and the Search for Missing Persons
  1. Profiling the Profiler – Knowledge Strategies for Use Quality in Missing Person Profiling- Rebecca Stenberg, Linkoping University, Sweden
  2. Do Task Importance and the Intention to Search Impact Missing Person Sightings?- Kara Moore, Oklahoma State University, USA
  3. Can an Empathy Induction Increase Searching Behaviour for Missing Persons?- Kara Moore, Oklahoma State University, USA
Session 12:  Child abduction
  1. The Child-Parent Relationship in Situations of International Parental Abduction- Sandrine Petit, Enfants Disparus, ICMEC, USA
  2. Analysing Stranger Danger Messages in Lessons for Children and Parents- Geoff Newiss, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom
  3. Parental Views on Stranger Danger and Granting Childhood Independence- Craig Collie, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

2.30 pm – 3.00 pm: Break

3.00 pm – 5.30 pm: Missing Children Europe Symposium: Running Away: Drivers Awareness Responses

  1. Key Findings and Recommendations: Missing Children Europe Data Report on Runaway Children- Aagje Ieven (Secretary General) and Eugenia Miyashita (Project Officer Runaways and Hotlines)
  2. Key Findings and Recommendations: Child Helpline International Data Report on Runaway Children- Averill Daly (Data & Research Officer)
  3. Key Findings and Recommendations: EU-wide Focus Groups with runaway children and a Delphi Study of professionals- Margot Goblet (University of Liège)

5.30 pm – 5.40 pm: Closing remarks

Craig Collie- University of Portsmouth

Further information

If you have any questions or comments regarding the call for papers, or about the conference, please feel free to contact one of the conference organisers: