DIFFERENCE TOGETHER.

WE CAN DRIVE CHANGE.

>> BLACK PEOPLE COMPRISE ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF ALL REPORTED MISSING PERSONS CASES IN CHICAGO OVER THE PAST 2 DECADES.

THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE MISSING PERSONS ARE BLACK GIRLS AND WOMEN BETWEEN THE AGES OF 10 20.

THAT'S ACCORDING TO A NEW INVESTIGATIVE SERIES ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS BY CITY BUREAU AND THE INVISIBLE INSTITUTE.

IT'S AN INVESTIGATION THAT PRESENTS MANY QUESTIONS FOR THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT ABOUT HOW DETECTIVES STREET MISSING PERSONS CASES.

JOINING US NOW TO TELL US MORE ALREADY, 2 AUTHORS OF THAT REPORT, TRINA REYNOLDS TYLER OF THE INVISIBLE INSTITUTE AND SARAH CONWAY WITH CITY BUREAU.

THANKS TO YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US.

SO AS WE DISCUSSED, YOU'VE INVESTIGATED A NUMBER OF CASES IN WHICH BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS HAVE GONE MISSING AND HOW THE POLICE RESPOND TO THOSE DISAPPEARANCES.

TRINA, FIRST TO YOU.

WHAT PROMPTED YOU ALL TO UNDERTAKE THIS INVESTIGATION?

WHAT YOU FIND?

WAS INTERESTING WHEN I WAS TRAINING AS A DATA I WAS HAVING SHIP AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS, GOOD ANALYSIS GROUP IN THE FIRST >> DOCUMENT I LEARNED TO SCRAPE USING STATISTICAL SOFTWARE WAS A FOIA REQUEST WHICH HAD THE OPEN MISSING PERSONS CASES IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO.

FAST FORWARD TO THE SURFACE, A PROJECT THAT USES MACHINE LEARNING TO PARSE THROUGH NARRATIVE TAX OF POLICE MISCONDUCT RECORDS.

WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY 54 COMPLAINTS BETWEEN 2011 2015 RELATED FAMILIES STAFF FRUSTRATED WITH THE WAY CHICAGO POLICE TREATED WHEN THEY WERE TAKEN TO REPORT SOMEONE MISSING.

SARAH TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE WHAT FIND.

SURE.

SO WITHIN THE INITIAL FIRST 54 COMPLAINTS WE FOUND THAT THEY WERE GROUPED AROUND THE GLASS, OFTENTIMES MOST OF THE COMPLAINTS WERE FROM BLACK WOMEN REPORTING THEIR CHILDREN MISSING.

>> AND WITHIN THAT, WE SAW A COUPLE THREADS.

ONE OF THEM WAS THAT WHEN MOTHERS OR SISTERS WILL GO TO REPORT A LOVED ONE MISSING, THEY WOULD BE TOLD TO WAIT 24 HOURS OR TO BE TONIGHT, A MISSING PERSONS REPORTS.

THAT WAS ONE OF OUR FIRST INITIAL FINDINGS IN OUR INVESTIGATION.

JUST VIOLATION OF STATE LAW.

YEAH.

AND CPS ON THEIR DIRECTIVES SAY THAT NO ONE CAN BE TOTALLY ANY AMOUNT OF TIME NOR CAN ANYONE BE DENIED A MISSING PERSONS REPORT FOR ANY REASON IN CHICAGO.

AND THEN FROM THAT, WE STARTED TO SEE THAT.

PEOPLE IN THESE COMPLAINTS WERE SAYING THAT THEY HAD ABUSIVE LANGUAGE FROM POLICE OFFICERS.

THEY HAD FELT THAT SOMETIMES POLICE HADN'T ACTUALLY LOOK FOR THEIR LOVED ONE AND THOSE COMPLAINTS REALLY THE BEGINNING POINT FOR INVESTIGATION TO THEN LOOK INTO OVER A MILLION RECORDS OVER THE PAST 2 YEARS NOW IS COMPRISED OF POLICE MISSING PERSONS I'M A MEDICAL EXAMINER, DEATH DATA AS WELL AS UNDERLYING DOCUMENTS OTHER REPORTS.

LOT OF TO LOOK THROUGH TO COME UP WITH THIS REPORT.

SO AS YOU MENTIONED, YOU FOUND THAT MANY BLACK CHICAGOANS DIDN'T THINK THAT POLICE WERE TAKING THEIR CASES SERIOUSLY ENOUGH, NOT DOING ENOUGH TO FIND A LOVED ONE'S.

HERE'S A CLIP OF TAMMY PITTMAN, MOTHER OF SEAN TABLE ON A HAN WHOSE BODY WAS FOUND IN AN ABANDONED GARAGE.

>> IT'S A BETWEEN A AND DAUGHTER.

YOUR CHILD IS MISSING IS NOT YOU KNOW, YOU BE THINKING, WHAT IS THIS, WHETHER THIS WOULD BE EVERY MOMENT YOU THINK AND WHERE ARE THEY WHERE THE FIRST TIME I WENT TO POLICE THEY HELP ME I GUYS >> HE'S GROWN.

SHE PROBABLY RAN AWAY.

I WAS LIKE SHE DIDN'T RUN AWAY AND I SHE'S NOT ANSWER HER PHONE.

>> AND TAKE US SERIOUSLY.

TO ME.

THEY JUST BRUSHING OUT BASICALLY MAYBE POLICE DEPARTMENT FAIL ME.

CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT FAILED ME.

>> YOU ALSO REPORT IN 4 CASES, DETECTIVES SAID THAT THE MISSING PERSON HAD RETURNED HOME WHEN THE LOVED ONES WERE LIKE NO, OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE NOT RETURNED HOME.

WHAT HAS BEEN CPD IS RESPONSE TO YOUR REPORTING.

>> IT'S INTERESTING WHEN PROVIDED THE FINDINGS ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, THEY HAVE HAD NOTHING TO SAY MOSTLY.

THEY WE INVESTIGATE CASES ACROSS CODE RACES 6 EQUALLY.

BUT IN FACT, THEIR DATA IN THE PAST 5 YEARS IS MISSING.

45 1% OF THE OFFICE ARRIVAL TIME THEY THEMSELVES CANNOT EVEN DO THEIR OWN MEASUREMENT OF THE WAYS THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT ARE RESPONDING TO MISSING PERSONS CASES.

>> WE ALSO WERE YOU ALSO SPOKE WITH ANOTHER MOTHER SHORTLY, KILLED, TALKING ABOUT THE DIP DISAPPEARANCE OF HER DAUGHTER.

SONIA WRAPS.

>> THE POLICE JUST WEREN'T DOING IT'S LIKE THEY DIDN'T CARE BECAUSE SHE'S BLACK.

AND FROM THE SOUTH SAID NOBODY'S TRYING TO FIND IT WAS LIKE BECAUSE SHE WAS.

A SUBSTANCE ABUSER.

HIGHLIGHT DIDN'T MATTER.

BECAUSE SHE WAS AT THE AND THE LIFESTYLE THAT SHE WAS LIVING SHE STILL WAS SOMEBODY'S THAT WAS MAD CHAP.

AND IT WAS HE STARTED TELLING US, WELL, YOU KNOW, SHE LIVED HIS LIFE IN U N SHE WAS DOING THIS.

BUT SHE STILL DESERVES TO BE FOUND THAT DON'T MAKE HER NOT ME A HUMAN IN AND SOME BUDDIES FAMILY LOVE.

I LOVE >> SARAH, YOU ALSO WITH MORE THAN A DOZEN FAMILIES WHO SAY THAT THEY FELT AND THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE HAD BEEN IN ADEQUATELY TO GET.

WHAT DO THEY BLAME?

IS IT RACISM?

IS IT INCOMPETENCE?

WHY DID YOU THINK POLICE HAVE IGNORED THESE CASES AS AS THEY BELIEVE THEY HAVE FAMILIES EXPRESSED TO US THAT THEY FEEL IT'S BOTH RACISM, SEXISM AND ZIP CODE THAT THEY LIVE >> THEY FELT THAT THEIR LOVED ONES WERE OFTEN BLAMED FOR THEIR OWN THAT WAS ONE OF THE FINDINGS IN OUR REPORTING.

WAS THAT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FOUND TO DON'T RETURN HOME.

THERE'S OFTENTIMES UNDERLYING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES THAT ARE DRIVING THIS THIS THAT COULD BE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.

A COULD BE SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER.

IT COULD BE SOMEONE SERVE STRUGGLING WITH DEPRESSION.

YOU KNOW, A VARIETY OF THINGS.

AND THAT WAS THAT I WOULD SAY A COMMON THING THAT CAME UP WHEN WE TALKED TO FAMILIES IS NOT ONLY THE ALONE S AND ISOLATION THAT THEY'VE EXPERIENCED.

YOU KNOW, ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE REALLY NOT CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER.

IN MANY WAYS.

IT'S A VERY ISOLATING EXPERIENCE TO HAVE SOMEONE GO MISSING.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU ARE TURNING TO THE STATE ENTITY, WHICH IS THE POLICE TO HELP YOU OFF AND FAMILY TO YOU KNOW, THAT THEIR LOVED ONE WAS BLAMED.

I'M THINKING OF, YOU KNOW, DAISY HAYES, SHE WENT MISSING HER DAUGHTER, THERESA SMITH, RECALLED TO US THAT A DETECTIVE SAID, YOU KNOW, YOUR MOTHER FREQUENTS THE LIQUOR STORE.

DAISY HAYES.

HER BODY STILL NEVER BEEN WAS FOOTAGE FROM CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY BUILDING THAT SHE LIVED IN, THAT SHE WENT INTO HER APARTMENT AND NEVER CAME OUT OF HER, YOU KNOW HER MAN THAT SHE HAD BEEN SEEN WAS SEEN.

THEN LATER TAKING THE SUITCASE OUT OF HER APARTMENT AND THROWING IT IN THE TRASH.

YOU KNOW, WE WANT FEW UNDERLYING INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTS THAT SHOWED THAT THE FBI WAS COMMUNICATING WITH CPD ABOUT THAT CASE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A ONE IN A MILLION CHANCE THAT THEY BE ABLE TO RECOVER HER BODY FROM THE GARY INDIANA LANDFILL AND JUST KIND OF GOES TO ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE PEOPLE CAN BE EXPERIENCING A LOT OF PHONE OR BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS.

WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, DISPROPORTIONATELY EXPERIENCED VIOLENT CRIME IN CHICAGO IN THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE WHEN THEY DO GO MISSING, OFTENTIMES THEIR LOVED FEEL THAT THEY ARE BLAMED FOR THEIR MISSING NURSE.

IT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING EVER CONSIDERED A POSSIBILITY WHEN WHEN THESE WOMEN GO MISSING DO YOU EVER GET THE SENSE THAT THE POLICE OFFICERS IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS FOLLOWED THAT?

>> WELL, INTERESTING, RIGHT, IF YOU ARE TO SUBMIT A PUBLIC RECORDS, REQUEST FOR THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING INSTANCES.

>> IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO, YOU YOU WON'T FIND MUCH INFORMATION WHEN WE'RE LOOKING INTO THE DISAPPEARANCES OF SOME OF THESE FOLKS, WE WE KNOW THAT BY THE NATURE OF THEM, FOR EXAMPLE, THE INNOCENCE OF TO KILL A TRIBUTE.

14 YEAR-OLD IN 2019, RIGHT AWAY FROM A DCFS GROUP HOME LITERALLY A DAY AFTER UP IN TURN THIS OVER 30 YEAR-OLD MAN'S ARMS.

HE BEGAN TO BEAT HER, RIGHT?

SHE WAS LATER FOUND IN THE GARY, INDIANA.

HER CASE IS CLOSING ON CRIMINAL IN THE MISSING TO EVEN THOUGH HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION OPENED AS A RESULT OF HER CASE.

YOU SEE THAT SHE THERE WAS CLEARLY SOME SOME KIND OF THEMES THAT RELAY THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING WAS OCCURRING.

BUT IT'S AGAIN, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT.

IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THEIR DATA, YOU THINK THAT CHICAGO IS IN THE HOT SPOT FOR CHILD PROSTITUTION.

IT IS.

AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN THE COMPLAINTS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY, WE NEED THE SURFACE?

THERE WAS ONE COMPLAINT WHERE OFF-DUTY OFFICER DELIVERED 14 YEAR-OLD GIRL TO A HUMAN TRAFFICKING STING.

ONCE HE DELIVERED HER AND DROVE OFF WITH A PASSENGER IN HIS CAR, A LAW ENFORCEMENT BROUGHT THE MEAN HE WAS ABLE TO RESIGN AND THE FEMALE PASSENGER APPARENTLY GAVE UP A SEPARATE OFFICER WAS LATER CONVICTED OF TRAFFICKING, MOSTLY RUNAWAY GIRLS CHICAGO.

>> THERE'S BEEN A NEWLY FORMED.

WE'VE GOT ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT OR NEWLY FORMED STATE TASK FORCE ERA.

DO YOU HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS AND WHAT IS THAT TASK FORCE EXPECTED TO STATE REP CAMPBELL OR STATE SENATOR MATT THEY FORMED A TASK FORCE.

>> THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, EVERYONE EXPERTS RESEARCHED.

>> HUMAN TRAFFICKING, TOO IMPACTED FAMILIES DIZZY.

HIS DAUGHTER, THERESA SMITH IS ACTUALLY IN THE TASK FORCE.

THEY REALLY DON'T WANT REBUILD THE, YOU KNOW.

>> I GUESS LIKE THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING TO MONTANA, WHICH HAD A TASK FORCE THAT LOOKED INTO THIS VERY SAME ISSUE.

BUT WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN MONTANA, MINNESOTA AS WELL, YOU HAD A TASK FORCE ON MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN, GIRLS AND NOW HAS THE STATE THE THE NATION'S FIRST OFFICE FOR MISSING AND MURDERED BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THAT STATE.

SO THE STATE TASK FORCE REALLY DOES WANT TO LOOK AT THE UNDERLYING PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES THAT ARE DRIVING THIS CUP CRISIS AND ALSO TO UNDERSTAND HOW THERE COULD BE IMPROVEMENTS OR ALTERNATIVES