I met with the Chief Constable of West Mercia Police, David Shaw and Superintendent David McWilliam at Monkmoor Police Station. Some 1500 people are reported missing in Shropshire each year, a significant proportion from the many care homes in the county that house vulnerable young people from across the UK. I learnt about the burden on resources and the cost of searching for missing persons and steps that might reduce the problem. It was a fascinating insight into one of the areas of policing that rarely attracts any publicity or praise.