In 2017-18 Police Scotland conducted 22,966 investigations for people who were missing with one in two of those investigations for a person who had been missing previously. 

This fell to 14,670 in 2024-25 with a drop to one in three investigations involving a person who had previously been missing.

The National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland – the first of its kind in the UK – works to prevent people going missing and respond quickly when they do. It sets out how partners including Police Scotland, the NHS, education services and third sector organisations can work together when someone is identified as being at risk of going missing. This work has been backed by Scottish government funding of £750,000 so far with a further £150,000 this year which supports two national missing persons co-ordinators.

Community safety minister Siobhian Brown said: “It is devastating for families and friends when a loved one goes missing. Since we first published the framework in 2017, the proportion of people going missing once who do so again has dropped from one in two to one in three and our collaborative approach has seen a decrease in the number of investigations needed.

“Scotland is leading the way in shared efforts to reduce the number of people who go missing each year. To help further reduce the risk of people going missing and to limit the harm when they do, we are introducing new measures to make it easier to identify those at risk. The refreshed National Missing Persons Framework for Scotland 2025 builds on good practice to continue to support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.”