FOI 1029/26

REQUEST

Q1 What system or process do you use for classifying a missing person's ethnicity and nationality?

Q2 How is a missing person's ethnicity and nationality determined?

Q3 How many Vietnamese adults have been recorded as missing and not found since 2022?

Calendar or financial years are acceptable.

Q4 How many Vietnamese adults have been recorded as missing and subsequently found since 2022?

Q5 How many missing people currently on your recording system have an unspecified nationality?

Q6 How many missing people currently on your recording system have an unspecified ethnicity?

RESPONSE

We consulted with our Public Service Centre (PSC) and our Business Intelligence Analysts who have provided the following information.

Question 1

South Wales Police (SWP) have been recording self-defined ethnicity at first point of contact for many years, however in June 2025, we had the request added to Controlworks for recording at first point of contact to increase the gathering of this information. This information migrates to our Crime and incident reporting system (Niche RMS).

Our operators ask for the self-defined ethnicity (SDE) of the caller, and not the subject/misper. The information captured at first point is self-defined.

Question 2

A missing persons ethnicity and nationality are determined in the description obtained at first point of contact and updated into Controlworks.

Question 3

Zero

Question 4

Five adults were reported missing and all have been recorded as ‘Returned’.

Question 5

Question 6

Please note that ‘NS.Not stated' refers to where this selection has been entered onto Niche as a choice e.g. person did not state it, whereas 'Not recorded' is label for where no data found e.g. null value and nothing has been entered onto our crime and incident reporting system (Niche RMS).

At South Wales Police we monitor and collate statistical data on crimes, incidents and other data relevant to our daily business. The results retrieved are dependent on how the information has been entered onto the system. As such, the information provided should not be considered statistically accurate and/or definitive and therefore, care should be taken when using this data for any further statistical, analytical or evaluative purposes.

South Wales Police takes instances of missing persons very seriously. Each Basic Command Unit has a specialist team dedicated to missing persons investigations. There is also a dedicated team within the force Public Protection and Safeguarding Unit. This team is available to investigate missing person episodes 24/7. These teams are closely aligned to other specialist resources such as CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) teams and POLSA (Specialist Search) officers. The missing persons teams work closely with partners including Adult and Children Services, to ensure each missing person inquiry is investigated thoroughly and expeditiously.