Law Enforcement Policy Regarding: Alert for Missing Persons

WHEREAS, there being no uniform national or local public policy establishing a public alert for missing persons from ages nineteen to sixty-four; and

WHEREAS, despite representing 13.5% of the population, African Americans accounted for 33% of the 651,226 people whose names were entered into the national missing person database in 2017, including 169,426 children; and

WHEREAS, researchers have found that several media outlets are more likely to cover missing white women and girls and will cover the cases with more intensity than when the missing person is African-American; and

WHEREAS, each year thousands of African-American families are left wondering what has happened to their loved ones who have sometimes been missing for decades; and

WHEREAS, searches for missing people can be delayed because many states do not have an alert system for missing persons unless they are children or senior citizens; and

WHEREAS, according to the Black and Missing Foundation, as of 2014, more than 64,000 black women and girls remain missing across the United States, and many people of color are initially considered runaways severely impeding and delaying the search for and recovery of the missing person.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP will host town hall meetings with lawmakers, law enforcement, justice department officials, and child advocate groups regarding missing black women and their children to educate and motivate more action on finding them; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP insists that all media coverage be equal regardless of race so that African American missing women and children's families are treated fairly in the time of their greatest need; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP urges State governments to create comprehensive notification and alert systems for ALL MISSING PERSONS regardless of race, color, or age; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP advocates for more federal funding to be allocated to agencies, groups, and organizations for the purpose of researching and locating missing women and children of color.