Racial Bias in Risk Allocation and Resource Utilisation: A Contributing Factor to Ethnic Minority Overrepresentation in Missing Person Investigations?

Statistics from the National Crime Agency reveal that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are over-represented within the missing population in the United Kingdom, and previous archival studies have shown there is a discrepancy in the recovery of ethnic minority missing persons compared to White missing persons. A wider body of research shows that racial bias is prevalent in the criminal justice system and law enforcement, resulting in different outcomes for victims depending on their racial background. Such outcomes have yet to be examined in the context of missing persons. Therefore, this study tries to address this gap in the literature by examining whether racial bias within the investigative process is a potential factor contributing to the documented over-representation. Using a 2 x 2 between- groups vignette study, police officers in the UK with experience in missing person investigations were presented with one of four hypothetical missing person scenarios. Race of the missing person (Black or White), and risk factors present (no suicide or suicide risk), were manipulated. Participants were asked to make a risk assessment and indicate how likely they were to use available investigative resources to find the missing person. Quantitative results indicate that police officers were not more likely to allocate resources to the White missing woman in either risk condition, although a thematic analysis reveals patterns in risk allocation that are different dependent on race. These findings give insight to the decision-making process of police officers that have implications for the development of policies within missing person investigations.