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A recently enacted component of the Emergency Alert
System (EAS) has been credited with aiding in the rescue of several missing
children who were kidnapped by strangers. It's called the AMBER Plan.
Background
The AMBER Plan is named for a 9-year-old girl who was
kidnapped by a stranger and later found dead in 1996. In response to that
tragedy, the radio stations in that area agreed to repeat news bulletins about
abducted children, hoping the bulletins might help save the life of a child.
The name now stands for America's Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response.
It Works Like This
Once police officials have confirmed a missing child
report, an alert is sent to radio stations, television stations, and cable
companies. Broadcasters interrupt programming to relay the information using
the EAS to voluntarily deliver the information to the community - the same
concept used during severe weather or national emergencies. A description of
the abducted child, suspected abductor and details of the abduction are
broadcast to millions of listeners and viewers. (The alert is read after a
distinctive sound tone and the statement: "This is an AMBER Alert.")
The alert also provides information about how members of the public who have
information relating to the abduction may contact the police or other
appropriate law enforcement agency.
The goal of the AMBER Plan is to galvanize an entire
community, adding millions of extra eyes and ears to watch, listen, and help
in the safe return of the child and apprehension of the suspect.
The EAS is used to notify the public about severe weather
and other national emergencies. In order to prevent the over use of the EAS
system, two criteria must usually be met to enact the AMBER Plan:
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A child must be 15 years of age or younger, or have a
proven mental or physical disability; and
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Police must believe the child is in danger of serious
bodily harm or death.
What You Can Do
If you see a child, adult, or vehicle fitting the AMBER
Alert description, immediately call the telephone number given in the AMBER
Alert and provide authorities with as much information as possible.
Remember
The AMBER Alerts are only used for the most serious child
abduction cases, where the police believe the child is in danger of serious
bodily harm or death, not for runaways or most parental abductions.
For additional information on the AMBER Plan, visit the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) Web site, www.missingkids.com.
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