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| More than half of all reported child abduction cases involve a stranger | More than half of all reported child abduction cases involve a stranger |
| (6 months later) | |
| A 2004 Home Office research study examined 798 police reports of child abduction in England and Wales in an effort to map the situations that lead to children being taken. Just over half of the cases examined were attempted abductions. | A 2004 Home Office research study examined 798 police reports of child abduction in England and Wales in an effort to map the situations that lead to children being taken. Just over half of the cases examined were attempted abductions. |
| Of the total, 56% (447) involved a stranger, of which 375 were attempted abductions and 72 were successful. A further 23% (183) of all reported abductions were parental, usually when a child is caught up in custodial disagreements. | Of the total, 56% (447) involved a stranger, of which 375 were attempted abductions and 72 were successful. A further 23% (183) of all reported abductions were parental, usually when a child is caught up in custodial disagreements. |
| In recorded cases of abductions and attempted abductions by strangers, motives for the offence are largely unrecorded but the Home Office paper says it is "reasonable" to assume many to be sexually motivated, as the most common scenario was male offender attempting to entice a child into a car or physically attempting to drag a victim from a public place. | In recorded cases of abductions and attempted abductions by strangers, motives for the offence are largely unrecorded but the Home Office paper says it is "reasonable" to assume many to be sexually motivated, as the most common scenario was male offender attempting to entice a child into a car or physically attempting to drag a victim from a public place. |
| Data collection on missing children is neither co-ordinated nor centralised, which makes it difficult to understand the scale of the problem. Reports made by law enforcement agencies, child services and other organisations are recorded differently at local, national and international levels. | Data collection on missing children is neither co-ordinated nor centralised, which makes it difficult to understand the scale of the problem. Reports made by law enforcement agencies, child services and other organisations are recorded differently at local, national and international levels. |
| Researchers are forced instead to gather information from missing persons data and related crime reports such as those on trafficking, grooming and abduction. | Researchers are forced instead to gather information from missing persons data and related crime reports such as those on trafficking, grooming and abduction. |
| In 2009-10 there were approximately 230,000 reports of missing people under the age of 18. | In 2009-10 there were approximately 230,000 reports of missing people under the age of 18. |
| Research conducted in 2003 suggested that 8% of children and young people reported missing had been forced to leave. This included stranger and parental abduction, and being thrown out of home. Abduction by a non-custodial parent is an offence under Section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984. | Research conducted in 2003 suggested that 8% of children and young people reported missing had been forced to leave. This included stranger and parental abduction, and being thrown out of home. Abduction by a non-custodial parent is an offence under Section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984. |
| The principal source of annual child abduction statistics in England and Wales is taken from crime records published by the Home Office. Figures for Northern Ireland and Scotland are not annually reported in this document. | The principal source of annual child abduction statistics in England and Wales is taken from crime records published by the Home Office. Figures for Northern Ireland and Scotland are not annually reported in this document. |
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