Under a new legislation signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, named SB 673, an emergency alert system will be initiated to assist in locating missing Black youths and young women aged between 12 and 25. This law will take effect on January 1, empowering the California Highway Patrol to launch the Ebony Alert, a request-based activation for local law enforcement when there’s a report of missing black youth or young women under unusual or suspicious circumstances, including instances of suspected abduction.
The Ebony Alert aims to provide critical resources and attention to ensure that missing Black children and women are sought after similarly to other missing persons. “The Ebony Alert will ensure that the attention and necessary resources are effectively deployed to bring home missing Black children and women just as we do for any missing person,” conveyed State Sen. Steven Bradford, the Democratic legislator who championed the bill.
In essence, the Ebony Alert mirrors the widely recognized Amber Alert. When prompted, the California Highway Patrol is authorized to use highway signs to disseminate the Ebony Alert information, and to urge news agencies to distribute the same content.
Bradford voiced his sorrow and frustration over the disproportionate number of Black children and young women on missing persons lists, terming it a public crisis within the state of California. Bradford asserted that the Ebony Alert could finally bring about change.
Data from the National Crime Information Center revealed that last year, the United States had over 130,000 reported cases of missing Black children under 18. With the new system, law enforcement can solicit the Ebony Alert if they suspect the missing person could be a victim of trafficking, if they believe their physical safety is jeopardised owing to factors such as their age, health status, disability, environmental conditions, or if they are believed to be in the company of a potentially dangerous individual.
This is not the first alert system designed to emphasize the high rate of missing persons of color in the United States. In 2022, Washington Governor Jay Inslee sanctioned a law that pioneered the first alert system for missing Indigenous peoples.
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System indicates that at present, the United States has over 23,000 open cases of missing persons.
