Recently a girl near where I live went missing. Until then I had never heard of AMBER Alerts. This program was created 12 years ago in Texas when Amber Hagerman went missing. A neighbor heard her scream and notified the police but there was no way to quickly distribute the information. While Amber was found dead a few days later, the result of this incident is lasting.
Now when ever a case of a missing child meets the criteria and
has enough information for an AMBER Alert to be helpful, the information is sent out through the AMBER portal. This sends the updates to registered cell phones, emails, faxes, bill boards and many other places. It often gets broadcasted on TV, the radio and put in both local and national papers.
According to the AMBER Alert website the criteria recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice is:
- a reasonable belief by law enforcement the an abduction has occurred
- the child abducted was 17 or under
- the law enforcement agency believes that the child is in danger of bodily injury or death
- there is a descriptive enough description about the victim and the abduction for law enforcement to believe that the public will be able to assist in the recovery of the child
Currently there are two active alerts out. One for Treshaun Williams a 1 year old from Alabama and one for Brooke Bennett a 12 year old from Vermont. It is really sad that these people are gone in the first place but with the AMBER Alert out there is a much bigger chance that they will be found. The alert system has helped over 200 children be found and is giving hope to many more.
Do you know someone who has gone missing? Did something like this help?
What are your thoughts on alert systems like this? Do you think they work well? How could they be improved?
Picture found on CBSnews.com
