The FCC has created a new emergency alert code for radio, television and wireless phones to help find missing and endangered persons who aren’t covered by AMBER Alerts.
We reported earlier that this vote was pending. The commissioners approved unanimously.
Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has sought to draw attention to the issue in recent statements and a meeting last week in Minnesota with a group of women from tribal nations.
The “Missing and Endangered Persons” or MEP alert code, she said, “will sound the alarm when people are missing and endangered, help raise awareness, and support recovery.”
Rosenworcel said the Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates there are more than 4,000 cases of missing and murdered American Indian and Alaska Natives that are unsolved. “According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the numbers missing are more than two and half times their share of the United States population. While there are new methods to collect data on missing and endangered Tribal and Native people, the true magnitude of this problem is hard to capture through data alone,” she said.
Rosenworcel highlighted the effectiveness of AMBER Alerts, which are used when a child goes missing. “But for an AMBER Alert to go out, a missing person has to be 17 years old or younger. And roughly one in three missing persons reports are for adults. We are talking 188,000 people last year who went missing.”
Rosenworcel called attention to the work of Lavina Willie-Nez, the AMBER Alert Coordinator from the Navajo Department of Police, as well as the National Congress of American Indians, Native Public Media and several members of Congress.
“As a result of the action we take today, we will save lives,” she said.
Tribal, state and local law enforcement agencies originate alerts using the Emergency Alert System by selecting from a group of event codes based on the nature of the situation. “CAE” signifies a Child Abduction Emergency, known as an AMBER Alert.
In addition to the new MEP code for EAS, the rule will facilitate alerts on wireless phones. According to the FCC, “Missing and endangered persons alerts will be sent through the Wireless Emergency Alert system through the use of existing alerting methodologies, which will ensure a swift implementation of the new code. The FCC expects these wireless alerts will utilize the existing Imminent Threat class and the Public Safety Message WEA alert class.”
