Ross Kemp backs Northumbria Police schemes to help find vulnerable missing people

TV presenter and former Eastender Ross Kemp has backed a pair of Northumbria Police schemes to help find missing vulnerable people.

Ross joins fellow actor Vicky McClure in speaking out in favour of the force's adoption of the Herbert Protocol and the Safe and Found Online system - both of which help families provide vital information about vulnerable loved ones which can help find them should they go missing. This can be particularly vital in cases where older people may be suffering from dementia.

Ross is an ambassador for the Safe and Found Online tool. He said: "I would like to say a huge thank you to Northumbria Police for adopting the Herbert Protocol and using Safe and Found Online. It is a great conduit for potentially life-saving information to instantly pass between the public and the police when time is critical.

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"Hopefully it will give assurance to families that if their loved ones go missing they can be found quickly and returned home safely."

The second tool, the Herbert Protocol, is named after George Herbert, a decorated D-Day landings war veteran who was living with dementia but frequently went missing from his Norfolk care home. The police there developed the system to help find those with dementia who had gone missing.

Along with the Herbert Protocol, Northumbria has also adopted the Forcer Protocol, which gives police access to missing Armed Forces Veterans' details should they have been signed up to the service.

This can include information such as a recent photograph, a physical description of the person, any medical conditions they have, their mobile phone number, known locations or places they may visit, contact details of friends, and whether they have been missing before. Veterans or their families have to give consent to those details being shared.

Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Ashurst, who heads up Northumbria Police’s Missing Persons Team, said: "We’re delighted to be working with Safe and Found Online to develop our use of the Herbert and Forcer protocols in Northumbria and appreciate Ross’s support, which is very much valued.

"We believe using the service will make a real positive difference to how quickly we can trace missing, vulnerable people in our communities. This really reinforces our commitment to locating those who have gone missing from home and I know that in other areas the protocol has seen real tangible evidence that it is an incredibly helpful tool in finding people in these circumstances."

Det Ch Insp Ashurst added that those with friends or family who live with Alzheimer's disease or dementia should sign up to the fully secure service.

This comes after last week Line of Duty star Vicky met Northumbria's Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine and a number of other officers, and found out how the force supports those with dementia at the moment - and how it has pledged to do more.

She features in a social media campaign which will see footage of her being questioned - "Line of Duty-style" - about the Herbert Protocol. She also quizzed Supt Nicola Walker, who heads up the force's safeguarding work, about what it does to support those with dementia.

For more information on the Herbert Protocol, visit here. You can also register for Safe and Found Online To download a copy of the Herbert Protocol form, visit the Northumbria Police website. Physical copies of the form can also be obtained at any police station front office. To report a missing person, always call 999.