To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) missing children and (b) missing adult incidents were reported to Police Scotland in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority area.
Police Scotland collate missing persons statistics and have provided information from the legacy National Missing Person Database and the current National Missing Person Application which is used to record data on missing people.
Prior to 2016 missing persons incidents recorded by the Police Scotland were recorded and broken down by police divisional areas not by individual local authorities. From 2016 Police Scotland has been recording and reporting both missing persons incidents and missing persons episodes.
A missing person incident is an instance where Police Scotland receive a call reporting a missing person and the incident is logged on the command and control system (STORM). A missing person episode is when someone is reported missing to Police Scotland and a police investigation is then initiated and recorded.
Therefore, depending on the circumstances, a missing person incident may or may not become a missing person episode, such as when someone is reported missing and found quickly without the need for a full investigation.
The information the member has asked for can be broken down as follows:
Missing Person Incidents recorded in each police division from 2010.
Police Division | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
North East | 2 316 | 2 097 | 2 098 | 2 018 | 1 840 | 2 045 | 2 038 | 2 324 | 2 717 | 1 931 | 779 | 785 |
Tayside * | - | - | - | 1 564 | 2 175 | 2 208 | 2 282 | 3 242 | 3 327 | 3 004 | 1 417 | 1 322 |
Highland and Islands | 1 572 | 1 750 | 1 401 | 1 648 | 2 262 | 1 512 | 1 306 | 1 842 | 2 051 | 1 850 | 772 | 713 |
Forth Valley | 2 214 | 2 085 | 1 969 | 1 793 | 2 085 | 1 955 | 1 730 | 2 088 | 2 202 | 2 253 | 1 230 | 992 |
Edinburgh | 2 933 | 2 636 | 2 727 | 3 238 | 4 947 | 4 458 | 4 300 | 4 069 | 3 293 | 3 539 | 2 512 | 2 308 |
The Lothians and Scottish Borders | 2 457 | 1 995 | 1 992 | 2 262 | 3 131 | 2 929 | 2 985 | 3 137 | 3 463 | 2 880 | 2 244 | 1 883 |
Fife | 3 215 | 2 467 | 2 441 | 2 341 | 2 361 | 2 809 | 3 673 | 4 155 | 3 397 | 3 019 | 1 794 | 1 698 |
Greater Glasgow | 6 979 | 6 646 | 5 831 | 5 378 | 6 432 | 5 749 | 6 501 | 6 792 | 6 306 | 4 907 | 2 552 | 2 221 |
Ayrshire | 3 105 | 3 252 | 2 668 | 2 708 | 2 765 | 2 820 | 2 935 | 3 302 | 3 237 | 2 958 | 1 712 | 1 290 |
Lanarkshire | 3 956 | 3 921 | 3 561 | 3 541 | 3 864 | 3 600 | 2 740 | 3 239 | 3 280 | 2 988 | 2 478 | 2 211 |
Argyll and West Dunbartonshire | 975 | 914 | 800 | 858 | 1 042 | 923 | 947 | 1 326 | 1 626 | 849 | 337 | 374 |
Renfrewshire and Inverclyde | 2 030 | 2 151 | 1 873 | 1 778 | 2 043 | 1 522 | 1 650 | 1 568 | 1 648 | 1 652 | 613 | 543 |
Dumfries and Galloway * | - | - | - | 274 | 566 | 816 | 802 | 777 | 720 | 703 | 263 | 413 |
Total | 31,752 | 29914 | 27,361 | 29,401 | 35,513 | 33,346 | 33,889 | 37,861 | 37,267 | 32,533 | 18,703 | 16,753 |
* Due to changes in how data has been recorded on police legacy systems it is not possible to identify data for those two Divisions from 2010 to 2013
Police Scotland have recorded missing episodes from 2016 which are broken down by local authority area:
Local Authority | 2016-17 |
Children (17 and Under) | Adults (18 and over) | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | 553 | 472 | 1025 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 193 | 136 | 329 |
Angus Council | 286 | 77 | 363 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 216 | 68 | 284 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 2313 | 1597 | 3910 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 78 | 23 | 101 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 3 | 21 | 24 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 452 | 228 | 680 |
Dundee City Council | 721 | 251 | 972 |
East Ayrshire Council | 170 | 89 | 259 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 90 | 45 | 135 |
East Lothian Council | 320 | 118 | 438 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 29 | 32 | 61 |
Falkirk Council | 144 | 158 | 302 |
Fife Council | 1135 | 452 | 1587 |
Glasgow City Council | 1466 | 1159 | 2625 |
Highland Council | 539 | 440 | 979 |
Inverclyde Council | 79 | 55 | 134 |
Midlothian Council | 345 | 133 | 478 |
Moray Council | 119 | 101 | 220 |
North Ayrshire Council | 466 | 147 | 613 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 1171 | 501 | 1672 |
Orkney Islands Council | 6 | 18 | 24 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 235 | 128 | 363 |
Renfrewshire Council | 276 | 118 | 394 |
Scottish Borders Council | 247 | 225 | 472 |
Shetland Islands Council | 9 | 10 | 19 |
South Ayrshire Council | 173 | 61 | 234 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 615 | 430 | 1045 |
Stirling Council | 174 | 56 | 230 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 466 | 134 | 600 |
West Lothian Council | 1050 | 339 | 1389 |
Total | 14139 | 7822 | 21961 |
Local Authority | 2017-18 |
Children (17 and Under) | Adults (18 and over) | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | 466 | 709 | 1175 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 345 | 260 | 605 |
Angus Council | 327 | 65 | 392 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 372 | 108 | 480 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 1948 | 1376 | 3324 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 57 | 35 | 92 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 16 | 15 | 31 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 246 | 151 | 397 |
Dundee City Council | 823 | 366 | 1189 |
East Ayrshire Council | 240 | 63 | 303 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 56 | 29 | 85 |
East Lothian Council | 243 | 100 | 343 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 37 | 27 | 64 |
Falkirk Council | 156 | 182 | 338 |
Fife Council | 1124 | 426 | 1550 |
Glasgow City Council | 1323 | 1057 | 2380 |
Highland Council | 772 | 382 | 1154 |
Inverclyde Council | 104 | 64 | 168 |
Midlothian Council | 397 | 148 | 545 |
Moray Council | 226 | 246 | 472 |
North Ayrshire Council | 449 | 162 | 611 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 1260 | 619 | 1879 |
Orkney Islands Council | 23 | 19 | 42 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 252 | 163 | 415 |
Renfrewshire Council | 248 | 125 | 373 |
Scottish Borders Council | 136 | 210 | 346 |
Shetland Islands Council | 57 | 11 | 68 |
South Ayrshire Council | 285 | 61 | 346 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 1089 | 414 | 1503 |
Stirling Council | 124 | 52 | 176 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 725 | 214 | 939 |
West Lothian Council | 830 | 338 | 1168 |
Total | 14756 | 8197 | 22953 |
Local Authority | 2018-19 |
Children (17 and Under) | Adults (18 and over) | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | 617 | 663 | 1280 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 412 | 204 | 616 |
Angus Council | 135 | 38 | 173 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 387 | 84 | 471 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 1509 | 1365 | 2874 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 56 | 25 | 81 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 9 | 6 | 15 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 279 | 165 | 444 |
Dundee City Council | 344 | 205 | 549 |
East Ayrshire Council | 327 | 121 | 448 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 41 | 20 | 61 |
East Lothian Council | 393 | 101 | 494 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 15 | 15 | 30 |
Falkirk Council | 133 | 147 | 280 |
Fife Council | 841 | 482 | 1323 |
Glasgow City Council | 1087 | 960 | 2047 |
Highland Council | 777 | 392 | 1169 |
Inverclyde Council | 100 | 60 | 160 |
Midlothian Council | 419 | 120 | 539 |
Moray Council | 280 | 326 | 506 |
North Ayrshire Council | 429 | 187 | 616 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 1404 | 597 | 2001 |
Orkney Islands Council | 34 | 9 | 43 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 105 | 79 | 184 |
Renfrewshire Council | 213 | 122 | 335 |
Scottish Borders Council | 210 | 207 | 417 |
Shetland Islands Council | 30 | 9 | 39 |
South Ayrshire Council | 340 | 106 | 446 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 792 | 472 | 1264 |
Stirling Council | 164 | 66 | 230 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 797 | 256 | 1053 |
West Lothian Council | 864 | 268 | 1132 |
Total | 13543 | 7777 | 21320 |
Local Authority | 2019-20 |
Children (17 and under) | Adults (18 and over) | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | 227 | 301 | 528 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 132 | 115 | 247 |
Angus Council | 103 | 61 | 164 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 104 | 43 | 147 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 824 | 766 | 1590 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 118 | 49 | 167 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 7 | 14 | 21 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 126 | 108 | 234 |
Dundee City Council | 303 | 201 | 504 |
East Ayrshire Council | 353 | 143 | 496 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 172 | 68 | 240 |
East Lothian Council | 302 | 119 | 421 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 29 | 41 | 70 |
Falkirk Council | 307 | 209 | 516 |
Fife Council | 809 | 516 | 1325 |
Glasgow City Council | 1035 | 1170 | 2205 |
Highland Council | 514 | 392 | 906 |
Inverclyde Council | 77 | 44 | 121 |
Midlothian Council | 222 | 138 | 360 |
Moray Council | 75 | 73 | 148 |
North Ayrshire Council | 346 | 162 | 508 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 1374 | 586 | 1960 |
Orkney Islands Council | 56 | 21 | 77 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 79 | 118 | 197 |
Renfrewshire Council | 301 | 125 | 426 |
Scottish Borders Council | 132 | 180 | 312 |
Shetland Islands Council | 23 | 10 | 33 |
South Ayrshire Council | 256 | 157 | 413 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 451 | 367 | 818 |
Stirling Council | 195 | 92 | 287 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 133 | 109 | 242 |
West Lothian Council | 492 | 246 | 738 |
Total | 9677 | 6744 | 16421 |
Local Authority | 2020-21 |
Children (17 and under) | Adults (18 and over) | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | 108 | 208 | 316 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 80 | 113 | 193 |
Angus Council | 105 | 93 | 198 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 50 | 54 | 104 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 899 | 843 | 1742 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 129 | 81 | 210 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) | 2 | 12 | 14 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 138 | 116 | 254 |
Dundee City Council | 380 | 296 | 676 |
East Ayrshire Council | 244 | 148 | 392 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 182 | 58 | 240 |
East Lothian Council | 218 | 97 | 315 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 45 | 54 | 99 |
Falkirk Council | 321 | 254 | 575 |
Fife Council | 493 | 383 | 876 |
Glasgow City Council | 846 | 1087 | 1933 |
Highland Council | 290 | 215 | 505 |
Inverclyde Council | 19 | 32 | 52 |
Midlothian Council | 150 | 127 | 277 |
Moray Council | 28 | 35 | 63 |
North Ayrshire Council | 341 | 206 | 547 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 911 | 539 | 1450 |
Orkney Islands Council | 14 | 9 | 23 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 90 | 144 | 234 |
Renfrewshire Council | 290 | 104 | 394 |
Scottish Borders Council | 59 | 174 | 233 |
Shetland Islands Council | 18 | 13 | 31 |
South Ayrshire Council | 248 | 135 | 383 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 421 | 388 | 809 |
Stirling Council | 210 | 131 | 351 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 111 | 95 | 206 |
West Lothian Council | 435 | 249 | 684 |
Total | 7875 | 6501 | 14379 |