WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Federal Communications Commission has announced a proposal to create a new emergency alert for missing and endangered people.
The agency said the emergency alert system, which provides emergency information via television and radio, will “provide timely alerts to draw public attention to missing local and indigenous persons and other groups, and build on efforts to collect comprehensive data on these cases.” .” .”
“Creating a new Missing and Endangered Persons alert category can close this gap, help ensure no missing or endangered person is left behind, and save lives,” Democratic Agency Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
The FCC plans to vote on the proposal during its March 14 meeting.
Under the proposal, emergency missing person alerts, similar to AMBER alerts, are expected to enable a more efficient and coordinated response across multiple jurisdictions.
The proposal is the latest federal or state initiative launched in recent years to address the growing crisis of missing persons and murder cases involving Native Americans across the United States, which advocates say has been largely ignored , as CNN previously reported.
California, Colorado and Washington are some of the states that have implemented their own alert systems to assist in the search for a missing indigenous person.
“Here at the FCC, we are exploring changes to our emergency alert system that could make it easier for our public safety partners to use television and radio to sound the alarm in these cases,” Rosenworcel told CNN. “We hope this can build on the progress made with tools like AMBER alerts, which have contributed to the return of so many missing and vulnerable children.”
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