Northamptonshire Police encourage sign up to missing military veteran scheme

Northamptonshire Police is encouraging military veterans and their families to sign up to a potentially life-saving safeguarding scheme called the Forcer Protocol. 

The Forcer Protocol was founded by Claire Lilly and is named after her former husband Lance Corporal Alan Forcer, a veteran who suffered with depression and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following service in Kosovo and Northern Ireland. Tragically he died by suicide in 2020 after going missing.  

The Forcer Protocol enables police to ensure key information is available to them when searching for military veterans who are lost or reported missing.  

The service is free and run independently from police with the provider Safe and Found Online.

Veterans, their families and carers can complete an online form and provide a variety of information which is held digitally on a secure platform, including photographs, a physical description, any medical conditions, mobile phone numbers of the veteran and friends, vehicle details, whether they have gone missing before, and whether they pose a risk to themselves. 

The information entered into the personal profile is completely confidential. Police can only access the profile, if the person featured is reported missing.  

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Preece said: “The Forcer Protocol is vital in ensuring the safety of vulnerable veterans within our communities. 

“We are really pleased to be adopting this initiative in Northamptonshire, working alongside the Armed Forces Covenant and Op Nova to ensure a joined-up approach to best protect those who are in crisis when they need help the most.  

“It’ll be a valuable tool to help us find missing veterans, providing us with key information in seconds. Having access to information, such as risk factors, triggers and key vulnerabilities helps us to accurately assess the risk associated with that missing person and tailor the search accordingly. It also helps connect veterans to specialised aftercare support once they have been found. 

“We want to encourage all veterans, their families, friends and carers to sign up to the scheme.”   

Police will only access the information in cases where the person is reported missing or lost.  The following three step approach is used: 

1. The person is reported missing to Northamptonshire Police. As part of the initial assessment for a missing person, the call handler will ask the reporting person if the missing person is known to be a veteran
2. Following this, the police control room supervisors will directly access the information provided on the online form, through Safe and Found Online. Officers will then identify risk, investigate and look for the missing person without delay.
3. Once the missing person is located, a subsequent referral can be completed to Op Nova, a specialist charity providing practical and emotional support. Op Nova is delivered by the Forces Employment Charity which provides support for veterans who may be feeling detached and in between military and civilian worlds. To find out more about Op Nova, please visit the website here: forcesemployment.org.uk/programmes/op-nova/

Register now on the Forcer Protocol pages of the Safe and Found website: safeandfoundonline.co.uk/register.php