National AMBER Alert
In April 2003, legislation was signed into law to create a nationwide AMBER Alert network. This bill, which I introduced with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), provides resources for states and communities to build their AMBER systems and spread information to surrounding jurisdictions with one phone call.
The first hours after a child is taken are critical. If the child is not found in those first few hours, chances increase dramatically that he or she will disappear forever. And this is the power of the AMBER Alert network.
The AMBER Alert program is a voluntary partnership between law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to activate an urgent alert bulletin in serious child abduction cases. An Alert can be issued within minutes of an abduction – disseminating key information of the crime to the community at large.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reports that since 1997, the AMBER Alert program has been credited with the safe recovery of 300 children. To date there is a network of 116 AMBER Plans across the country.
Specifically, the law:
- Established a national coordinator for AMBER Alerts in the U.S. Department of Justice to expand the network of AMBER Alert systems and to coordinate the issuance of region-wide AMBER Alerts. The coordinator consults with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and other private organizations with expertise in this area.
- Established a $25 million grant program to enable states to develop or upgrade electronic message boards, and training and education programs.
- Directed the Justice Department to establish minimum standards to help states determine when and how broadly to issue an alert.
The law does not interfere with the operation of the state and local AMBER plans that are already in place. Participation in regional AMBER plans is voluntary, and any plan that wishes to go it alone may still do so.
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