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The AMBER™ Alert Program
The AMBER™ Alert Program is coordinated nationally by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), see www.amberalert.gov for details.
The AMBER™ Alert system was established in 1996 following the kidnapping and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. The tragedy spurred Amber’s family and their community to begin working with radio stations in Dallas to broadcast special alerts in the event of a kidnapping to help prevent similar tragedies. Inspired by this effort, the Dallas / Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement agencies in northern Texas to develop a wider alert system to quickly locate and rescue kidnapped children.
In 2000, the U.S. House of Representatives put into action H.R. 605, creating a nationwide initiative to implement the “AMBER™ Plan,” and in 2003, President George W. Bush signed the AMBER™ Alert legislation or “Protect Act,’ a mandate requiring each state to implement and maintain an abduction alerting plan and system to distribute alerts to the media and public. Today, AMBER™ Alert plans are deployed in all 50 states and have assisted in the search and recovery of hundreds of children.
The world of technical communications has expanded greatly in the years since Amber’s abduction, and today, AMBER™ Alerts can be broadcast through the Emergency Alerting System (used largely for weather alerts) on digital traffic signs, wireless phone alerts, e-mails and web portals such as www.AmberAlert.com. This system is used across the country as a weather alerting technology system sending voice recordings to radio and television stations. Some states still use the EAS as the primary system to broadcast AMBER Alerts. Other states have adopted more technologically advanced alert distribution systems, such as the Law Enforcement Alerting Portal, or L.E.A.P., operated by AmberAlert.com, which AmberAlert.com makes available to states at no cost.
There are also organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC, www.MissingKids.com, founded in 1984, that work with the states and alerting companies to coordinate information and serve as a national resource along with the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs that coordinates the states’ efforts in AMBER™ Alerting, Child Exploitation and much more. These agencies provide resources and leadership across the country and the world on child-centric safety issues. As trusted agencies, they cannot and do not endorse any particular product or service regarding child safety, including this website, but lend their support to programs and citizens nationwide.
There is a common misconception that a “National AMBER™ System” exists, when in fact, the Department of Justice requires each state to coordinate and implement their own AMBER™ Plan, generally lead by a state law enforcement agency with a coordinator and advisory committee, including the state’s broadcasters and other concerned members of the community. Although the PROTECT ACT, signed in 2003 provided a total of $25 million in FY 2004 to the states for implementation of the AMBER™ Alert program, each state is challenged to find, develop and maintain its own alert distribution partners and channels.
AmberAlert.com is proud to be involved in the AMBER™ Program and to support law enforcement in their efforts to help keep children and families safe.
