Journalist Charlotte Ashe unmasks the big lies. But exposing this lie could endanger the one person she’s trying to save…
Missing or Absent?
Despite loving to plot, I still tend to follow the muse and write ‘what comes up’. Most of my initial writing is as much feeling my way into the story as it is hitting those plot points. Much of Charlotte’s original opening scene for Less You Know didn’t make the final cut. Likewise, Detective Bryant and her motivation became more three dimensional the more I wrote.
Detective Bryant was initially just there as a source of antagonism (and ‘she’ was a ‘he’). Yet the conflict between Bryant and Charlotte needed to go deeper than a mere personality clash because any good copper is going to follow procedure no matter what their personal feelings.
As Bryant became more fully-fleshed, I had to accept that I needed to understand what that procedure would be in the circumstances surrounding Allie’s disappearance.
And to know that I had to read many news articles and reports about how the UK tpolice handle Missing Persons. This is what I discovered…
Missing Persons in the UK
One of my dog-walking friends began his policing career in the UK. Several years ago South Australia had a recruitment drive to bring experienced policefrom the UK to Adelaide. Richard is one of those who accepted ‘the challenge’. He has kindly put up with my naive questions and given me insight into policing on both sides of the globe.
But all procedures change. It has been almost a decade since Richard joined SA Police. So I turned to secondary sources to broaden my understanding.
Which was when I discovered a significant change in how the UK handle Missing Persons.
How “at risk” is Allie?
Allie is nearly thirty. She has been let down by her friends at Christmas. And though her house is in a mess circumstances are such that she could have created the havoc herself. The first responders, however, follow procedure and call in the detectives: Bryant and Forrester.
The detectives question Charlotte and can see no reason to rate Allie’s disappearance as anything other than Low Risk. In fact, they aren’t too keen to admit she’s missing.
Bryant puts forward the suggestion Allie is merely ‘absent’ and most likely recovering from the disappointment of her lousy friends abandoning her at Christmas by taking off for some fun in the sun, possibly with her boyfriend.
Missing or Absent?
The distinction is a fine one but an important part of an initial police assessment.
Until April 2013, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) defined a Missing Person as “anyone whose whereabouts is unknown, whatever the circumstances of disappearance”. Once so deemed they were then classified as high, medium or low risk based on the degree of vulnerability of which age was (and is) a considerable factor; no missing person under the age of 18 would be deemed low risk. These classifications determined the “speed and scale of the initial police response.”
Police must complete a Risk Assessment that takes them through a series of questions to help them decide the level of risk. I managed to find a copy of a Risk Assessment report and had a lot of fun playing the part of Bryant and completing the report.
It certainly came in handy in the final edits of Less You Know.
Changes to the Definitions
In April 2013, however, the ACPO refined the definition. It introduced “Absent” as a defining category. This allowed for frequent absconders or those for whom disappearances were common (such as those fleeing justice or those who frequently fail to tell relatives they were going away or staying out overnight).
An Absent person is defined as a “person not at a place where they are expected or required to be”. The ACPO procedural report goes on to require that people categorised as such should not be perceived to be at any apparent risk.
So how does this relate to Allie Brown?
Bryant determines Allie is not a vulnerable person and that she is most likely voluntarily absent from her home. Charlotte can’t (or won’t) explain why Detective Bryant should prioritise Allie’s disappearance (she can hardly admit to meddling with the crime scene!). As such, Bryant classifies Allie at no apparent risk.
By insisting that they wait before passing the information to Missing Persons, Bryant is following protocol.
The Seventy-Two-Hour Window
In the book, I mention a 72 hour window. In reality, this is in two parts: the first 24 hours and the following 48. After the first 24 hours, Bryant would need to review her report. If she still deems Allie at no risk or a low risk (if she re-assigns her as ‘Missing’ rather than ‘Absent’), she has another 48 hours to undertake a follow-up review and decide whether to hand the case to MISPER.
FYI Bryant takes on a slightly larger role in book 3 in the series and I can’t wait for you to learn more about her.
In fact, I can’t wait to discover that myself!
Check out the trailer for Book 3 FROM THE ASHES
About the Series
Each of the books in the Ashes to Ashes series can be read as a stand-alone suspense thriller. Bad Things Happen (book #1) is Joey Baptiste’s story; Less You Know (book #2) is Allie Brown’s story. If you like the sound of my Ashes to Ashes series the eBooks can be found on Amazon, Kobo and elswhere. My print books are available everywhere. Just ask you friendly bookstore owner.
About Rowena Holloway
I consider myself a reformed academic who discovered fiction writing was preferable to the real world. My love of suspense fiction is thoroughly indulged through writing novels and short stories about Fractured Families and Killer Secrets. My novels have been nominated for the Ned Kelly Award and semi-finaled in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and my short stories have been included in several anthologies including the Anthology of Award Winning Australian Writing. I also review my favourite books, interview fellow writers, and blog about books and writing.
- the links to various sites in this article are purely for your convenience. I do am not affilliated with any businesses and do not generate income when you click a link.
