How do race and class affect how police and the media respond to missing persons cases and crimes?
The controversy over missing black and Latina girls in the Washington, DC area prompted public outcry. As the story evolved, we learned that there isn’t a spike in missing girls, but nearly 40 percent of missing persons under 18 years old are black. Members of Congress are hosting a town hall in May to address this issue.
Guests:
Monique W. Morris, Ed.D., founder and president of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, adjunct associate professor at Saint Mary’s College of California, and author of Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools
Margaret Prescod, founder of the Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders and host of Sojourner Truth on Pacifica
Amba Johnson, director of DreamCatcher Youth Services
Web Resources:
Programs in San Francisco that serve at-risk or homeless youth
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
National Conference of State Legislatures: Homeless and Runaway Youth
CBS: Missing teens in D.C.: Cases highlight dangers for runaways
The New York Times: Missing Girls in Washington DC Widen City’s Racial Divide
NPR: The Missing Kids Of Washington, D.C., And Social Media
LA Weekly:Grim Sleeper Returns: He's Murdering Angelenos, as Cops Hunt his DNA