Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to combat not only abduction and kidnappings but also the racial disparities that flourish in them. Senate Bill 673, also known as “Ebony Alerts,” creates a separate alert system for Black women and youth who are either “at risk, developmentally disabled or cognitively impaired” or are missing “under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.” SB 673 will reduce kidnapping misclassifications based on race and implement a more equitable method to disseminate information about abduction-related crimes.
SB 673 is important because it solves underlying issues with previous legislation. In the past, America has relied on an alert system called America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, also known as Amber Alerts. The U.S. government has relied on Amber Alerts since the early 2000s. However, many researchers raise concerns about the relationship between a victim’s ethnic background and their chance of being considered and published as an Amber Alert. After all, there are certain criteria needed for a case to be classified as an Amber Alert, or else people would be getting constantly notified. Some of these classifications include imminent danger to the victim, description of the victim and abductor and other critical data elements. If these requirements are not met, then the missing victim shall be labeled as a runaway rather than an abductee. Many Black victims are misrepresented as “runaways” instead of “abductees,” resulting in little to no media coverage and dissemination of vital information. Ebony alerts will address this clear racial inequity issue.
While Black children make up 33% of missing persons cases, African Americans make up only 13% of the population. Essentially, this means that a disproportionate amount of people who are going missing are African-American. Supporters of this bill highlight systemic racism that targets Black people and how it could be attributed to the lack of coverage for ethnic minority missing children. Conversely, the opposite is true of white missing persons to the point that the phenomenon has a name: Missing White Woman Syndrome. The syndrome is described as “the media’s fascination with, and detailed coverage of, the cases of missing or endangered white women — compared to the seeming disinterest in covering the disappearances of people of color.” This was the case with Gabby Petito, who was murdered in 2022 by her fiance, making national headlines. All victims deserve the justice and remembrance they deserve. Violent crimes are painful for not only the victim but also their families and loved ones. By spreading awareness about crimes like these, kidnappings and murders can be reduced.
It’s important to note that the main entity that determines if a child has been abducted is law enforcement. If a child is determined to be a runaway, they will not be broadcasted on the alert system. The child will still be searched for, and police will ask for tips, but the Amber Alert aspect will not be utilized. In the case of Charlotte Sena, a 9-year-old abducted from a campsite with her family, an Amber Alert wasn’t published until 15 hours later. This was a vital period of time that should’ve been used to search and spread information about her disappearance. Still, law enforcement was hesitant about broadcasting an alert for fear that a family member may have kidnapped her. Mercifully, twenty hours after issuing the alert, Sena was found hidden in a cupboard and had been abducted by a stranger to her and the family. Children of all races are slipping through the cracks and to combat human error in mislabeling these victims, a better solution would be to implement a middleman, such as another law enforcement individual, to verify that this child is missing or has run away.
SB 673 will combat the racial disparity in crime and search for missing youth and adults. This issue has been going on for far too long. Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing. Hopefully, with this bill in effect for the last month, the number of kidnappings and juvenile arrests will be reduced.
