FOI 0194-2025/26 Missing Persons

Request
Please could you provide the following information and where possible, please can responses be split by gender (i.e. numbers of boys and girls).

In the past 12 months:

Q1. How many boys have been reported missing from home?

Q2. Of these missing from home cases, how many were missing for 3 days or longer?

Q3. How many boys are believed to be victims of criminal exploitation?

Q4. How many adults under the age of 25 are believed to be victims of criminal exploitation?

Q5. How many boys are believed to be involved in gangs?

Q6. How many adults under the age of 25 are believed to be involved in gangs?

Q7. How many boys have been arrested for knife offences?

Q8. How many adults under the age of 25 have been arrested for knife offences?

Q9. How many boys have been arrested for possession of crack cocaine?

Q10. How many boys have been arrested for possession of heroin?

Q11. How many adults under the age of 25 have been arrested for possession of crack cocaine?

Q12. How many adults under the age of 25 have been arrested for possession of heroin?

Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police.

I can confirm that some of the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police. 

Decision
I have today decided to disclose the following information to you.

Q1. Please see the below table showing the occurrences reported in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025 with a missing person module linked, where the missing person is aged under 18, broken down by gender.

Gender	Total
Female	638
Male	616
Not Recorded	18
Total	1272

Q2. The number of days an individual has been reported as missing is not routinely recorded on police systems. However, I have provided data on the ‘hours since last seen’ field, which is more routinely used. Please note that there are some instances where the field is not completed, and these are represented as NULL. The table below shows the number of missing persons provided at Q1 who have been missing for 72 hours or more.

No. of Hours Missing	Total
72+	28
NULL	109

Q3. Please see the below table showing the number of active CCE (Child Criminal Exploitation) person flags as at 1 July 2025 where the person is under 18, broken down by gender.

Female	Male	Total
21	106	127

Q4. Please see the below table showing the number of active (as of 1 July 2025) Victims/Potential Victims of Modern Slavery/Human Trafficking, where the person is between the ages of 18-25, broken down by gender.

Female	Male	Total
15	55	70

Q5 & Q6. North Yorkshire Police can neither confirm nor deny (NCND) whether information relevant to this request is held, as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 31(3) – Law Enforcement

Section 24(2) – National Security

Sections (24) National Security and (31) Law Enforcement are qualified exemptions and as such there is a requirement to articulate the harm and conduct a test of the public interest

Evidence of Harm
As you may be aware, disclosure under FOIA is a release to the public at large. Whilst not questioning the motives of the applicant, by confirming or denying whether information is held, would provide those persons intent on committing crime the capacity, tactical abilities and capabilities of the force. This would compromise law enforcement and would be to the detriment of providing an efficient policing service and a failure in providing a duty of care to all members of the public. Modern-day policing is intelligence led and this is particularly pertinent with regard to law enforcement. The public expect police forces to use all powers and tactics available to them to prevent and detect crime or disorder and maintain public safety. The prevention and detection of crime is the foundation upon which policing is built and the threat from terrorism cannot be ignored. It is generally recognised that the international security landscape is increasingly complex and unpredictable

The security of the country is of paramount importance and North Yorkshire Police will not disclose information if to do so would undermine national security. Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing operations and providing assurance that the Police Service is appropriately and effectively engaging with the threat posed by offenders involved in county lines activity and terrorism offences, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding both national security and the integrity of the Police service in the highly sensitive areas of which they work.

Information that undermines the operational integrity of the police will adversely affect public safety and have a negative impact on both national security and law enforcement.

Factors in favour of confirming or denying under Section 31
Confirming or denying that information is held relating to gangs known to North Yorkshire Police would provide an insight into the police resources and enable the public to have a better understanding of the effectiveness of the police.

It would show how public funds are being spent in relation to protecting the public.

Information would ensure transparency and accountability and enable the public to see what tactics are deployed by the Police Service to tackle/assist in fighting crime.

Factors against confirming or denying under Section 31
It has been recorded that FOIA releases are monitored by criminals and terrorists and so confirming or denying that information is held relating to gangs known to North Yorkshire Police would undermine and compromise law enforcement and it would also hinder any local, regional or national operations.

It can be argued that there are significant risks associated with providing information in relation to any aspects that can assist criminal planning and that any nation’s security arrangements, by releasing the information, may reveal the relative vulnerability of what we may be trying to protect.

The Police Service would not wish to reveal resource information that would undermine the law enforcement operations and would impact on police resources, as more crime would be committed because criminals/terrorists would know which forces had less/more capability. This in turn would place the public at a greater risk and a fear of crime would be realised, especially for more vulnerable areas.

Factors favouring confirming or denying under Section 24
The public are entitled to know how public funds are spent and how resources are distributed within an area of policing. To confirm or deny whether information is held relating to gangs would enable the general public to hold the police to accountable. With the call for transparency of public spending this would enable improved public debate.

Factors against confirming or denying under Section 24
Confirming or denying whether information is held render policing and security measures less effective. This would lead to the compromise of ongoing or future operations to protect the security or infra-structure of the UK and increase the risk of harm to the public.

Irrespective of whether information is held, the public entrust the Police Service to make appropriate decisions with regard to their safety and protection and the only way of reducing risk is to be cautious with what is placed into the public domain.

Balance test
The security of the public and the country is of paramount importance and the Police service will not divulge the resources, if to do so would place the safety of individuals at risk, due to providing freely available (single point) information under such requests and which in turn would undermine National Security or compromise law enforcement.

Whilst there is a public interest in the transparency of policing resources and providing assurance that the police service is appropriately prepared and effectively engaging with the threat posed by various groups or individuals, there is a very strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police resources and operations in the highly sensitive areas such as extremism, crime prevention, public disorder and terrorism prevention.

As much as there is public interest in knowing that policing activity is appropriate and balanced this will only be overridden in exceptional circumstances. It is my view that the factors favouring confirming or denying that this information is held do not outweigh those which favour neither confirming nor denying whether information is held.

However, this should not be taken as necessarily indicating that any information that would meet your request exists or does not exist.

Q7. Please see the table below showing the number of individuals aged under 18 arrested for knife offences (where the arrest reason contains ‘knife’ or ‘blade’) in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, broken down by gender.

Arrest Type	Female	Male	Total
Knife Offence	2	27	29

Q8. Please see the table below showing the number of individuals aged between 18-25 arrested for knife offences (where the arrest reason contains ‘knife’ or ‘blade’) in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, broken down by gender.

Arrest Type	Female	Male	Total
Knife Offence	6	57	63

Q9. There were no individuals under the age of 18 arrested for possession of Crack Cocaine in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025.

Q10. Please see the table below showing the number of individuals aged between 18-25 arrested for possession of Crack Cocaine in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, broken down by gender.

Arrest Type	Female	Male	Total
Possession of Crack Cocaine	-	1	1

Q11. Please see the table below showing the number of individuals aged under 18 arrested for possession of Heroin in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, broken down by gender.

Arrest Type	Female	Male	Total
Possession of Heroin	0	1	1

Q12. Please see the table below showing the number of individuals aged between 18-25 arrested for possession of Heroin in the period 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025, broken down by gender.

Arrest Type	Female	Male	Total
Possession of Heroin	1	1	2

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.