An AMBER Alert was recently issued in Arizona urging citizens to be on
the lookout for an abducted girl and boy and their abductors. During
these times, when a child’s safety is in
question, many people wonder if there is anything they can do
individually to help.
Your audience might be interested in knowing that in addition to paying
close attention to AMBER Alerts when they are distributed via broadcast
outlets or on highway signs, they can also sign up to receive AMBER
Alerts as free text messages on their wireless devices. Their
participation will add critical eyes and ears to the search for abducted
children.
Any wireless subscriber may opt in to receive free Alerts by completing
a simple registration process at www.wirelessamberalerts.org
or their wireless carrier’s website. Most
wireless customers can text the word AMBER followed by a space and their
5-digit ZIP Code to 26237.
AMBER stands for “America’s
Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response” and was
created in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local
police to develop an early warning system to find abducted children. The
AMBER Alert Program was soon adopted across the nation and is a legacy
to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her
bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. All 50 states have since
established AMBER Alert programs.
President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert program as part of
the PROTECT Act signed in 2003. The law formally established the federal
government’s role in the AMBER Alert program,
appointing the Department of Justice (DOJ) as the agency responsible for
coordinating AMBER Alerts on the national level. The wireless industry
has officially partnered with the U.S. Department of Justice and the
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to make free Wireless
AMBER Alerts available to cell phone subscribers.
More than 390 children have been successfully recovered as a result of
the AMBER Alert network.
The Wireless Foundation is a non-profit organization that was formed by
member companies of CTIA-The Wireless Association®
in 1991. The Foundation oversees a number of programs designed to put
wireless technology to work addressing the challenges of society.
www.wirelessfoundation.org
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with the U.S.
Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting
mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 550,000
leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law
enforcement with more than 130,300 missing child cases, resulting
in the recovery of more than 112,900 children. For more information
about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or
visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
www.missingkids.com
The U.S. Department of Justice's mission is to enforce the law and
defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to
ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide
federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just
punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and
impartial administration of justice for all Americans.
www.usdoj.gov
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