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Mentor urges semiannual missing-children reports, calls for trafficking statistics
Summary
Sherry Wen asked the committee for semiannual public reports on missing-children cases broken down by runaways, custody disputes, abductions and trafficking, and requested training and accountability for law enforcement and politicians.
At the public-comment portion of the meeting, Sherry Wen, a mentor to young people, urged the committee to publish semiannual (or quarterly) aggregate reports on missing‑children cases and to include breakdowns by runaway, custody dispute, abduction and suspected trafficking.
"How many of these cases are Richmond children?" Wen asked, requesting aggregate numbers that protect minors' privacy but provide transparency about patterns. She said that public reporting and better training could help hold law enforcement and elected officials accountable while improving victim identification and services.
Council members thanked Wen and asked staff to coordinate responses; one council member suggested the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office and police could provide relevant data and that the Family Justice Center planning might intersect with these data and services. Staff agreed to follow up on potential report formats and how sensitive case details could be protected while supplying useful aggregate statistics.
The committee did not set a deadline but invited Wen to provide contacts and to participate in future conversations about report structure and training needs.
