Buried Justice: a Critical Review Into the Cross-matching of Unidentified Bodies and Missing Persons Reports in England and Wales

This thesis offers a pioneering critical review of the cross-matching of unidentified bodies and missing persons reports in England and Wales, bridging a crucial gap in academic research. Effective cross-matching is vital for resolving missing persons cases, providing resolution to bereaved families, aiding investigations, and facilitating legal proceedings. Despite its significance, the cross-matching process is underexplored in England and Wales due to limited research on its challenges and opportunities. Through gathering information from 40 police forces, 17 coroner areas, and 238 local authorities, the researcher comprehensively examined the end-to-end process regarding the treatment of unidentified bodies on a local, national, and international scale. The demographic characteristics associated with unidentified deceased individuals in England and Wales were analysed through data gathered from the UK Missing Persons Unit, covering cases of unidentified human remains in England and Wales over the 10-year period of 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020. The data included a total of 528 cases, which comprised 455 solved cases (86%) and 73 unsolved cases (14%). Through nine interviews with police officers, coronial officers, families of missing persons, and other key contributors, the research explored opportunities to improve practice in order to improve the success rate of solving cases of people who die and remain unidentified after death.

Key findings include the uncovering of a system that means identifying the unidentified is extremely difficult and one which often employs methods (such as the cremation of human remains) which may make this impossible. A lack of national guidance has led to inconsistencies surrounding the management of information relating to unidentified bodies cases. Police forces, local authorities, and coroners use technological systems that lack effective search functions for unidentified bodies cases to be surfaced, and the lack of a naming convention for such cases creates a further hinderance. Of all the police forces in England and Wales, the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police investigate the most unidentified bodies cases. Drawing from the findings, the thesis presents five recommendations to advance the field: a comprehensive audit of unidentified bodies cases in England and Wales, improving practice relating to method of disposal, enhancing existing guidance, updating classification systems, and fostering collaborative networks for sharing best practices - ultimately driving transformative progress in the realm of unidentified bodies and missing persons over the next one to five years.