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ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S POLICY CHANGES 

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF AN EFFECTIVE ASHANTI ALERT SYSTEM 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is applauding crucial changes to the deployment of the Ashanti Alert, which provides rapid dissemination of information to law enforcement agencies, media, and the public about adults who have been reported missing. This revised policy follows relentless advocacy by the Senator, who has worked publicly and behind the scenes to ensure that the Ashanti Alert is utilized effectively and able to save lives.

“I’m pleased to see the Commonwealth approach this issue in a thoughtful manner and act to ensure that the Ashanti Alert is able to achieve its intended purpose of saving lives. While it’s impossible to design a perfect system that prevents every tragedy, it’s my hope that Virginia’s revised missing person report form will increase transparency and clarity, and that the Commonwealth’s commitment to proactively contact local police to see if an Ashanti Alert is necessary will prevent urgent cases from slipping through the cracks. I look forward to seeing the Virginia State Police work to inform local law enforcement about the Ashanti Alert process and ensure that it is closely followed,” said Sen. Warner.

The revised policy – detailed in a letter from the Commonwealth of Virginia – comes in response to a formal inquiry by Sen. Warner, who wrote to the Youngkin administration in December expressing concern with the Ashanti Alert’s deployment. In the letter, the Senator underscored the case of Marie Covington, whose Ashanti Alert was issued two days after she was reported missing and two hours before she was found murdered. In the letter, the Senator posed a number of questions about the alert’s deployment, and urged the Youngkin administration to re-examine the criteria used to decide when and whether to issue an alert.

A champion for the Ashanti Alert, Sen. Warner secured unanimous passage of the Ashanti Alert Act through the Senate on December 6, 2018 and the bill was signed into law on December 31, 2018. Since its implementation, Sen. Warner has consistently secured $1 million annually in government spending to support states who chose to implement an Ashanti Alert system. That funding was included in the Fiscal Year 2023 government spending bill.

The Ashanti Alert Act is named after Ashanti Billie, the 19-year-old who was abducted in Norfolk, Va. on September 18, 2017. Her body was discovered in North Carolina 11 days after she was first reported missing. At the time of Ashanti’s abduction, she was too old for an Amber Alert and too young for a Silver Alert. The Ashanti Alert, like the other alert systems, would notify the public about missing or endangered adults through radio and television broadcast systems to assist law enforcement in the search.

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