Missing women inquiry floats dozens of ideas to protect vulnerable B.C. women

VANCOUVER - The missing women's inquiry has released four reports meant to spark debate about how to protect and police British Columbia's most vulnerable women.

The reports make dozens of recommendations to improve safety for the women of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and for those who still insist on hitchhiking along northern's B.C.'s so-called Highway of Tears.

There's been a series of unsolved murders along Highway 16, which runs between Prince George and Prince Rupert, and dozens of women disappeared while serial killer Robert Pickton stalked the Downtown Eastside.

The reports released Tuesday recommend police patrolling the highway no longer drive past hitchhikers fitting a certain profile, that a type of Amber Alert be implemented for missing sex trade workers and that more female officers patrol the Downtown Eastside.

The reports also suggest that a restorative justice plan be created to improve the relationship between police and the neighbourhood that's home to vulnerable people.

The inquiry, which is looking into why Pickton was allowed to continue killing women for years, invites comments on the reports' recommendations until April 15.