January 3, 2023
Colorado's Missing Indigenous Person Alert system
KSUT | By Clark Adomaitis
The Missing Indigenous Person Alert went into effect in the state of Colorado. It’s a public alert system for active cases of missing and murdered indigenous people.
The new alert system is part of a number of changes that Colorado has made to bring more resources to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases. Native American and Alaskan people are two and a half times more likely to be involved in violent crimes than the general population. The rates among indigenous women are even higher. Audrey Simkins is an Investigative Analyst at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
"Given their ‘at-risk’ nature of some of the folks who go missing in that population group if you will, so it was just one more tool dedicated to aid in the recovery of missing folks from those communities." (Simkins)
The new system pushes emails and text alerts to broadcasters across the state as well as members of the public who opt in to receive messages. Simkins and her colleagues hope that the system will lead to more cases being solved.
"When someone is missing in the state of Colorado, members of the public may be able to provide useful tips and information to that law enforcement agency who might be investigating that case."(Simkins)
According to the American Library Association, Colorado is home to approximately 50,000 Native American people.
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