California Feather Alert System

The Feather Alert System is a California program, operated by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), that notifies the public when an indigenous person is reported missing. Feather Alerts, similar to Amber Alerts, make information immediately available to the public to help efficiently locate missing indigenous persons. Under this program, law enforcement must determine if the requirements are met within 24 hours, after which, the Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center (ENTAC) is responsible for activating a Feather Alert. If a law enforcement agency fails to make the determination within the required 24 hours, the Tribe of California, or a California Native American tribe that is on the Native American Heritage Commission’s contact list, may request CHP directly to activate the alert. The Feather Alert was developed in 2023 as a law enforcement resource to aid in the search of unexplainable disappearances of indigenous persons  in California and reduce long-term disappearances of indigenous persons within the state.

The requirements for activating a Feather Alert, as directly listed in the California Code, CA Gov Code § 8594.13 (e)(1-5), are as follows: 

• The missing person is an indigenous woman or an indigenous person.
• The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized available local and tribal resources.
• The law enforcement agency determines that the person is missing.
• The law enforcement agency or tribe believes that the person is in danger and is missing under circumstances that indicate any of the following:
  • The missing person’s physical safety may be endangered.
  • The missing person may be subject to trafficking.
  • The missing person suffers from a mental or physical disability, or a substance use disorder.
• There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.

For additional information, visit the California Highway Patrol Feather Alert webpage. 

Topics

• Domestic and intimate partner violence
• Gender-based violence in general
• Trafficking in persons

Geographical location

• North America
• United States
• California
• Indian country

Keywords

• abduction
• criminal law and procedure
• duty to report
• duty to investigate
• indigenous populations
• disparate impact
• MMIW+
• protection of displaced women
• public administration
• state responsibility
• violence against women
• vulnerable victims

Year

• 2023

External URL

• California Feather Alert System

Type

• Legislation

Jurisdiction

• California