Abstract
Much attention has been given to the causes as to why children go missing and the risks involved with being missing, such as drug use, poor health and being the victim of crime. However, missing children's involvement in crime has received much less attention. The present study examines 51 children who have been reported missing three or more times over one year in the area of Oxford and their involvement with crime. The results show that 82 per cent of those children were involved with crime and were arrested at least on one occasion and that the most common offences were assaults, GBH, theft and shoplifting and criminal damage. The paper also discusses the background characteristics of the children, possible applications of the findings and recommendations for future research.