In anticipation of an upcoming vote next week, the head of the Federal Communications Commission is talking up a proposal that would allow for a new Emergency Alert System event code.
At its August meeting, the FCC is set to vote on a plan to create a dedicated event code for missing and endangered persons. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says the new, three-character code MEP will be particularly important in helping locate missing Native and indigenous women.
On July 31, Rosenworcel spoke at the Women Empowering Women for Indigenous Nations (WEWIN) meeting in Prior Lake, Minn.
“I traveled here to be with you today because I wanted you to know that this is happening,” Rosenworcel said in her comments. “I also wanted to say thank you. The action the FCC is taking next week is in direct response to a call sent out by Native communities after enduring a crisis of the missing for far too long.”
[Related: “FCC Is Set to Expand EAS to Include Missing Persons Alerts“]
In her address to WEWIN, Rosenworcel shared the following facts:
- The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimates that 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 a half times their share of the United States population.
- Roughly one in three missing persons reports are for adults. “We are talking 188,000 people last year who went missing.”
Rosenworcel reminded the audience that, while law enforcement agencies have used AMBER Alerts on TV and radio to help recover abducted children, there is no similar code in the Emergency Alert System dedicated to sounding the alarm over other missing and endangered persons over the age of 17.
“While only one third of those who go missing are adults, they account for 70 percent of people who are never found,” said Rosenworcel.
She closed her comments saying, “We can do more. Next week, we will vote to create this new MEP code. It is change you demanded and deserve.”
