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| Amber Alert Awareness Day - January 13, 2008 | ||
| 01/11/2008 | ||
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Lieutenant James Rentz Oregon Amber Alert Program Chair Oregon State Police Office: (503) 378-8754 Eleven years since the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas, January 13, 2008 commemorates the second AMBER Alert Awareness Day. Following Amber's abduction, the Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law-enforcement in 1997 to implement the first local AMBER Plan. Since that time, the program has grown into a seamless network of over 100 AMBER Plans across the country, and has even reached into Canada and parts of England. There are currently 50 statewide plans and 59 regional/ local AMBER Alert Plans throughout the country. In November 2002, the State of Oregon announced its implementation of a statewide AMBER Alert Plan. Oregon's AMBER Alert Plan - American's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response, is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and local broadcasters to send an emergency alert to the public when a child has been abducted and it is believed the child's life is in danger. To 12/26/2007, the overall AMBER Alert program has been credited with the successful rescue of 374 children. Oregon's AMBER Plan Criteria are: 1. Law enforcement confirms a child has been abducted * 2. The child is 17 years or younger 3. The child may be in danger of serious bodily harm or death 4. There is enough descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or suspect's vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help. 5. The child's name and other critical data elements - including the child abduction (CA) and AMBER Alert (AA) flags will/have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system. ( * This alert system is not to be used when a child runs away or involves a custodial situation.) The Oregon State Police is the designated law enforcement agency which local law enforcement agencies contact to initiate an AMBER Alert. When all the AMBER guidelines and criteria have been met, the AMBER Alert Plan is activated using the AMBER Web Portal. The AMBER Alert Web Portal enhances the definition and functionality of what is used to promote AMBER Alerts. Currently, states use the Emergency Alert System (EAS), which has strived to provide America with up-to-the-minute, life-saving information for more than 30 years. The AMBER Alert Web Portal will provide significant scalability and redundancy to the EAS by simultaneously disseminating real-time information to dozens of alerting partners and the public via emails, pagers, and cell phones, in addition to making AMBER information immediately available on the Internet. Anyone may sign-up at no cost to be notified of Oregon's AMBER Alerts through the AMBER Alert Web Portal. Information about the AMBER Alert Plan in Oregon is available at the Oregon State Police web site at: http://www.oregon.gov/OSP/AMBERALERT/index.shtml The following is a review of Oregon AMBER Alert activations: Oregon Activations: 12 Children recovered: 13 1. 3/3/2003 - Redmond (9 yr. old girl) 2. 4/5/2003 - Salem (10 month old boy) 3. 12/01/03 - Grants Pass (2 yr old girl) 4. 3/10/04 - Mt. Vernon, WA (13 yr old girl) 5. 3/19/04 - Shady Cove (5 month old boy) 6. 4/20/04 - Josephine Co. (3 and 5 yr old girls) 7. 4/24/04 - Eugene (16 yr old girl) 8. 8/09/04 - Calif. Highway Patrol (3 yr old boy) 9. 10/14/05 - Mt. Angel (11 yr old boy) 10. 9/19/05 - Salem (18 month & 8 yr old boys) 11. 11/14/05 - Hillsboro (4 yr old boy) 12. 4/18/06 - Vancouver PD (10 yr old girl - unfounded) ### www.oregon.gov/OSP ###
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