America's
Missing:
Broadcast
Emergency
Response
"Starting
around October 1, 2002, the Massachusetts Amber Alert Plan will be
initiated. Under the Plan, law enforcement will be able to utilize public
broadcasters to send an emergency alert statewide when a child under 18 has
been abducted, it is believed that the child is in serious danger, and there
is sufficient descriptive information to warrant such a public notification.
During the
summer of 2001, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
launched the "AMBER Plan" -
America's Missing:
Broadcast Emergency
Response
initiative nationwide. The goal is to increase the chances of recovering
abducted and endangered children. Three quarters of the children who are
kidnapped and later found murdered were killed within the first three hours
after being taken. In 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted while
playing near her home in Arlington, Texas, and later found murdered. Police
officials and media outlets joined forces to provide timely information
about area child abductions to local listeners. Currently there are 18
statewide plans, 7 regional plans and numerous local plans in operation
around the U.S. with several more states planning to initiate one.
The
Massachusetts Amber Alert Plan is a voluntary, cooperative effort involving
the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Massachusetts State
Police, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and local
broadcasters. Radio, cable and television stations statewide will receive a
child abduction alert message and may broadcast this every 30 minutes for up
to 4 hours in an effort to solicit the public's assistance in recovering an
abducted child and quickly apprehending the suspect."
Attorney John M. Collins
Collins & Weinberg
Shrewsbury, MA.
