(MENAFN) Scotland has experienced a significant reduction in missing persons incidents since implementing a national prevention and inter-agency cooperation framework, the Scottish Government announced Wednesday.

Official statistics reveal police investigations into missing individuals dropped sharply from nearly 23,000 cases in 2017/18 to approximately 14,700 in 2024/25. Repeat disappearances have also decreased notably; now, only one in three cases involves the same person, down from one in two previously.

Introduced in 2017, the National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland—the first of its kind in Britain—coordinates efforts among Police Scotland, the National Health Service, schools, and voluntary organizations to identify and assist vulnerable populations. The government has invested £900,000 ($1.22 million) to support national coordinators and local community projects within the program.

The framework delegates emergency responses to police, while health services and schools focus on identifying individuals at risk. Charities provide essential community support, and shared data on vulnerable groups—such as children in care and people with dementia—enable faster, more effective responses when someone disappears.

On Wednesday, officials introduced a refreshed framework for 2025, featuring enhanced frontline staff training, improved agency collaboration, and new early intervention protocols.

Hester Parr, chair of the national working group on missing people, stated that the updated guidance "builds on existing success but also charts a path to continuous improvement."

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