» News » Blogs

The AMBER Alert System began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. Other states and communities soon set up their own AMBER plans as the idea was adopted across the nation.

How does it work?

Once law enforcement has determined that a child has been abducted and the abduction meets AMBER Alert criteria, law enforcement notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials. AMBER Alerts interrupt regular programming and are broadcast on radio and television and on highway signs. AMBER Alerts can also be issued on lottery tickets, to wireless devices such as mobile phones, and over the Internet. Through the coordination of local, state and regional plans, the US Department of Justice is working towards the creation of a seamless national network.

AMBER Alert has been very effective in the United States. AMBER Alert programs have helped save the lives of over 200 children nationwide. The alerts serve as deterrents to those who would prey on children. Cases have shown that some perpetrators release the abducted child after hearing the alert on the radio or seeing it on television.

The NSCFC, that is, the National Society for Children and Family Contact here in the UK, have said that the equivalent of Amber Alert is a must in this country to protect our children.
In light of Madeleine McCann’s abduction, NSCFC is imploring the powers that be to adopt and implement the equivalent of Amber Alert as is used in the USA, here in the UK.

As well as the States, the AMBER Alert system has been implemented in Canada. In Ontario, the program is a voluntary cooperative between the Ontario Association of Broadcasters, Ontario law enforcement agencies and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Since the program’s inception in 2003, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation - and Bell Canada the communications corporation - have joined as corporate partners. Sergeant Bill Lee of the Ontario Provincial Police, who is the coordinator of the AMBER Alert programme for the province of Ontario, says that the system has been activated 13 times since it was implemented in 2003. “In all cases, suspects have been arrested. In ten of the thirteen cases, the child was recovered although in the remaining three cases the children were not recovered, having been murdered“, he adds.

AMBER for other emergencies

Importantly, Ontario is looking at extending the use of AMBER to other types of emergency. The government was said to be considering emergency broadcast system along the lines of the AMBER system for power outages, pandemics and other emergencies. Sergeant Lee explains: “They are in discussion with the various stakeholders right now to implement strategies and protocols. I anticipate it will be within a year.”

In addition to its potential to be used for other types of emergency, there is now a Silver Alert system in various parts of the States, which is used to locate elderly people who have gone missing.

The NSCFC has said that it can see no good reason why this system should not be adopted here in the UK, and implores all those who consider the children of this nation to be the most important of all, to endorse this much needed system without further delay. The system should at the very least be evaluated here, not only to alert people to the abduction of children and elderly people, but to warn about other emergencies as well. It appears that some police forces in England are using the system, and it will be interesting to see whether, and to what extent, AMBER is developed here.

Peter Brodie, Editor
Emergency Management Portal