Department of Justice Observes Anniversary of Amber Alert Program

/PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs today observes the anniversary of the AMBER Alert program by asking that all individuals assist in the work of recovering abducted children by being aware and responsive to AMBER Alert postings. Since its creation in 1996, the AMBER Alert program has helped to find and safely recover 495 abducted children. Today all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have AMBER Alert plans.

On January 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle and was then brutally murdered. The AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert network was created after her tragic death. AMBER Alerts are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. The broadcasts include information about the child and abductor that could lead to the child's recovery, such as physical description and information about the abductor's vehicle. The AMBER Alert program began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed up with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.

"When a child is missing, the focus of the nation is on making a safe recovery," said Laurie O. Robinson, the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs and National AMBER Alert Coordinator. "Significant and important advancements to the AMBER Alert program have assisted in these recoveries and energized us to continue improving, strengthening and promoting this important tool."

The AMBER Alert network includes law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation officials, the wireless industry, trucking carriers, retail outlets and many more. The PROTECT Act, signed into law in April 2003, statutorily established the national AMBER Alert Coordinator's role.

Since that time, AMBER Alert has made remarkable progress:

-- All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Virgin Islands have AMBER Alert plans, creating a network of plans
nationwide to aid in the recovery of abducted children.
-- To protect children from being transported across international
borders, the Department of Justice collaborated with the Canadian
provinces to expand AMBER Alert into Canada, and is working to expand
AMBER Alert into the Mexican border states.
-- Tribal nations are working to develop their own plans tailored to
their specific needs so that children in Indian country may benefit
from AMBER Alert.
-- Ninety-eight percent of the 495 AMBER Alert recoveries have occurred
since AMBER Alert became a nationally coordinated effort in 2002.
-- The AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution Program (AASD) which enhances
AMBER Alert activations for law enforcement and the general public,
has been widely expanded to include various internet providers,
outdoor digital signage systems, coordinated highway networks and
public and private employers.
-- Anecdotal evidence demonstrates that perpetrators are well aware of
the power of AMBER Alert, and in many cases have released an abducted
child upon hearing the alert.


The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has five component bureaus: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and the Office for Victims of Crime. In addition, OJP has two program offices: the Community Capacity Development Office, which incorporates the Weed and Seed strategy, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information can be found at http://www.ojp.gov/.

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If You Have a Cell Phone, You Can Help Return Abducted Children, Missing Persons

/PRNewswire/ -- Keep Georgia Safe, Georgia's only private, non-profit organization with the mission to provide safety education and crime prevention training to Georgia's families and law enforcement agencies, has partnered with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to communicate abduction alerts via cell phones. Now, when the GBI issues an alert that a child has been abducted, Keep Georgia Safe immediately sends the abduction information to subscribers' cell phones.

"Statistics show that the first three hours after a child's abduction are the most critical in recovery," says Keep Georgia Safe founder Gary Martin Hays. "Through this network of cell phone subscribers, we can all help recover Georgia's kids and return them home safely."

"Without the combined efforts of law enforcement, the broadcasters and emergency management, this program would be ineffective," says Vernon M. Keenan, director of the GBI. "We eagerly welcome the assistance of the private sector in getting the word out to Georgia citizens about missing children, missing adults and/or dangers they may face."

Keep Georgia Safe has a two-pronged approach to crime prevention: 1) Proactive: School Curriculum Initiative and Community Safety Seminars, Web Resources and Media Campaigns 2) Reactive: Alert System Network. As the only organization that sends out all three of Georgia's emergency alerts, the Keep Georgia Safe Wireless Network uses a text platform to notify opt-in wireless subscribers when the GBI issues any of its three emergency alerts:

-- Levi's Call: (Georgia's AMBER Alert) for an abducted or missing child
-- Mattie's Call: elderly or disabled missing person alert
-- Kimberly's Call: dangerous fugitive alert



Keep Georgia Safe provides the alert service free of charge. Standard text charges, if any, will apply pursuant to the agreement with your cellular provider. To join the network, visit www.keepgeorgiasafe.org and enter your cell phone number. Subscribers will not receive any calls or alerts other than GBI-issued alerts. For more information on Keep Georgia Safe or its alert network, visit www.keepgeorgiasafe.org or call 770.934.8000.

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