Figures issued by the council this week show there were 1,121 missing children incidents reported in Coventry in 2024. The data was released by the council through a freedom of information request.
The alarming stat relates to just 366 children, meaning many are being reported missing multiple times. The data, taken from the period 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2024, also shows markers were put alongside these cases, with 352 relating to ‘risk of exploitation’ and 269 being marked ‘mental health issues’.
Coventry City Council’s definition of a missing child is: “Any child/young person under the age of 18 and whose whereabouts cannot be established and not at a place where they are expected or required to be.”
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When a child is reported missing and subsequently found, a ‘return home interview’ is the usual procedure. According to the council’s response 710 of these meetings were completed for the above time period with less than five of them resulting in ‘harm risk’ markers being applied – the actual figure or nature of the risk can not be released in the interests of confidentiality.
West Midlands Police state you do not have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing – if you think a person is in danger you can report them missing right away.
If the missing person is in immediate danger, is a young child or vulnerable to harm you should call 999.
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