Runaway shocker

8:35am Thursday 22nd May 2008

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SHOCKING new figures have revealed that more than 300 people ran away from home in St Helens in the last year - including scores of children and young people.

In response to an independent Freedom of Information request, police confirmed to the Star that 316 people were reported missing from homes in St Helens in a 12-month period from March 2007 to February 2008.

"When youngsters run away they are at risk of becoming a victim of crime, having to commit crimes out of necessity or, in extreme cases, they can be sexually exploited.

Marissa Hankinson, of North West runaways charity �The Relationships Centre�

It is feared that many of these runaways could be walking straight into a life of drugs, alcohol and crime.

In total there were an astonishing 653 missing person reports in the borough in the last year - an average of roughly two calls every day.

Of those runaways reported to police, 85 were reported missing on more than one occasion and three are long-term missing persons.

It is estimated that efforts to track down local runaways costs St Helens taxpayers around £1m a year.

Marissa Hankinson, of North West runaways charity The Relationships Centre', told the Star: "Children tend to run away from home as a coping strategy because of a conflict at home, domestic abuse or bullying at their school.

"When youngsters run away they are at risk of becoming a victim of crime, having to commit crimes out of necessity or, in extreme cases, they can be sexually exploited.

"At The Relationships Centre, as part of our Talk... Don't Walk' programme, we work with the family and the young person when there's a conflict and act as mediators to ensure the issue is addressed. If you need runaway support you can call us on our hotline on 0800 083 9636 and we will signpost the best support or guidance available for you."

A national survey carried out by the Children's Society earlier this year found that around one in five young runaways are at tangible risk' when they spend a night away from their families and that one in 12 are hurt or harmed.

The independent research, a survey of more than 11,000 young people, estimated that around one in six young runaways end up sleeping rough when they leave home and found that they are significantly more likely to go on to have problems with drugs, alcohol and offending.

Worryingly, they also found that only a small minority of young runaways seek help from professional agencies while away from home.

In response to the Children's Society report, Children's Secretary Ed Balls introduced government plans to prevent youngsters from disappearing off the radar if they run away from home.

He outlined plans to review emergency accommodation provision and the guidance offered to youngsters who run away from home or from care.

Locally, St Helens Council have confirmed that they adhere to regional protocols and have forged strong ties with the police's Missing from Home officer, who holds a comprehensive database of children who are currently missing or are persistently missing from home.

A spokesperson for St Helens Council said: "This data, along with data regarding children and young people suspected to be subjects of sexual exploitation, is shared at a regular Protecting Vulnerable People' meeting - a multi-agency meeting chaired by the police. Strategies of intervention, support and assessment are considered there.

"Those young people considered to be in need, vulnerable or at risk will be referred to social care and initial assessments or child protection investigations will be undertaken. This may be a joint intervention with the police. An assessment may identify the need for additional support, which will result in the matter being signposted to support services within the borough - such as the NSPCC."