JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Legislature enacted a new Purple Alert during this year’s session to assist families and police in searching for missing people who are mentally or cognitively disabled.
A Purple Alert joins a public notification system operated by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation through its Department of Public Safety, which includes Amber Alerts for missing or abducted children and Silver Alerts for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Any local law enforcement agency can activate a Purple Alert.
A Purple Alert is a specialized alert for missing people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, brain injuries or other physical, mental or emotional disabilities not related to substance abuse, Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
If a Purple Alert is required, local police must notify media and alert subscribers in the area where the missing person may be, and police must report the missing person to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Similar bills have also been passed in Florida and Maryland, with Florida’s plan set to be enacted in 2022 and Maryland’s approved this year.
The new law was authored by state Assemblyman Clay Mansell. It was passed unanimously by both houses of the state legislature and signed by Governor Tate Reeves in April. It goes into effect on July 1.
This article originally appeared in the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under fair use.
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