MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

General Headquarters - P.O. Box 568 - Jefferson City, Missouri 65102


NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Captain J. T. "Tim" Hull
573-526-6115
Q11211
January 12, 2011

EMPHASIS: AMBER Alert Program Expands To Facebook


Life-saving AMBER Alerts are now available to the millions of people on the social networking service Facebook, including those who live in Missouri.

Effective today, Facebook users are able to sign up to receive state-specific AMBER Alert bulletins which will be sent to them through the Facebook “News Feed” feature. A total of 53 new AMBER Alert Pages have been created, one for each state, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Facebook users will also be able to share the AMBER Alerts with their friends.

The new AMBER Alert Facebook page for Missouri can be found at http://www.facebook.com/AMBERalertMO

Missouri citizens will now be able to receive AMBER Alerts on Facebook,” said State AMBER Alert Coordinator Captain Kim E. Hull, director of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Communications Division. “This is an important step to keep all of our children safe.”

There are more than half a billion Facebook users. The new Facebook AMBER Alert pages represent an important expansion of the national AMBER Alert program.

Information about the new initiative was announced today by Facebook, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The announcement was made the day before the 15th anniversary of the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, namesake of the national AMBER Alert Program.

An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing every year. AMBER Alert is a voluntary partnership involving law enforcement agencies and broadcasters. An urgent AMBER Alert bulletin is issued by law enforcement in the most serious child abduction cases that meet specific criteria. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.

About the AMBER Alert Program

On January 13, 1996, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman went missing while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. A neighbor heard her scream and saw a man pull her off her bike throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck and drive away. Local radio and television stations covered the story. However, four days later Amber’s body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her kidnapping and murder still remain unsolved.

Although her case has never been solved, her abduction and murder in 1996 led to the creation of the national AMBER Alert Program. AMBER stands for: America’s Missing Broadcast Emergency Response. In response to 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 120 AMBER plans across the country, and has even reached into Canada, England, France, Greece, Portugal, Mexico, and other countries.

In 2003, Congress directed the U.S. Department of Justice to oversee the AMBER Alert program designating the assistant attorney general for the office of justice programs as national AMBER coordinator. To date, the AMBER Alert program has been credited with the safe recovery of 525 children nationwide.

The primary means for AMBER Alert activation is the Emergency Alert System (EAS), the broadcast system used for weather and other public emergencies. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created a special code and tone for AMBER Alerts. Once law enforcement has determined that a child has been abducted and the abduction meets AMBER Alert criteria, law enforcement notifies broadcasters and state transportation officials.

To enhance and expand the reach for AMBER Alerts an AMBER Alert Secondary Distribution System has also been created. These “secondary” alerts are reaching millions of Americans in many ways including through partnerships with Internet service providers, the trucking industry, the wireless industry, and through the use of digital signage, all of which help distribute AMBER Alert bulletins to a geographically targeted audience. The Justice Department has designated NCMEC to coordinate these secondary distributions. When law enforcement activates an AMBER Alert, they also alert NCMEC, which coordinates the additional dissemination.

The new Facebook AMBER Alert pages represent an important expansion of the secondary distribution system and will enable AMBER Alerts to dramatically increase the reach of and impact of these life-saving bulletins.

Media contacts for more information:

Missouri Amber Alert Coordinator: Captain Kim Hull (573) 522-9815 or Kim.Hull@mshp.dps.mo.gov

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: (703) 837-6111 or media@ncmec.org

Facebook: Andrew Noyes, manager, Public Policy Communications (202) 629-3261 (office), (202) 904-8418 (cell) or noyes@fb.com

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs: Starr Small at Starr.Small@usdoj.gov and Michelle Person at Michelle.M.Peson@usdoj.gov or call (202) 307-0703.


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