Press Releases
01/13/2015
Gov. Malloy Announces AMBER Alerts to be Sent Through Facebook
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that, as part of National AMBER Alert Awareness Day, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have partnered with Facebook to send AMBER Alerts to the social network's community to help law enforcement find missing children. When a child goes missing, the first three hours are critical and the most important thing to disseminate to the public detailed information about the missing child as quickly as possible.
AMBER Alerts are a child abduction alert system that started in the United States in 1996. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was named for Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old, who was abducted and murdered in Arlington, Texas.
"When a child is missing, it is critical that we all work together to locate that child," said Governor Malloy. "That's why this partnership is so important - it will provide law enforcement with another tool to communicate vital information to the public in an emergency situation. Disseminating critical information quickly to members of the public and encouraging them to act helps law enforcement find abducted children and reunite them with their families. It's an important step to keeping Connecticut safe."
The Connecticut AMBER Alert System has been in place since June 2002. The goal of a Connecticut AMBER alert is to instantly alert the public to be law enforcement's eyes and ears to assist in the search for and safe recovery of an abducted child. In Connecticut, the AMBER Alert Plan unites Local and State Police, radio and TV stations, the Department of Transportation, Connecticut Lottery, AT&T, and now Facebook so that members of the public can all work together to help locate and return an abducted child to their family.
Nationwide, as communications and evolving technology has improved, child abduction rates have dropped dramatically. Between 1997 and 2011, the U.S. saw a 31 percent decline. Facebook alerts are an important next step in driving them down even further through improved information dissemination.
"AMBER Alerts only go to people who are in a position to help - those of us within the designated search area," said Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Dora Schriro. "If you get an alert on Facebook, it means there is an active search for an abducted child in your area and that child's life might be in danger. The alert provides the critical information you need to help law enforcement reunite that child with their family."
Facebook has already been utilized to help find missing children. Last year, an 11-year-old girl was safely recovered after a South Carolina motel employee recognized a photo of her in an AMBER alert she saw on Facebook. The woman called the police, and the child was found, unharmed.
Here's how Facebook will complement existing AMBER Alert distribution systems:
-
Reach - Facebook's distribution system will get the AMBER Alert to everyone who is logged into Facebook (on both mobile and desktop) during the alert if they are within the designated search area as specified by law enforcement.
-
Comprehensive Information - The alert will include important details about the child such as a photo, description, location of the abduction, and any other available information that can be provided to the public to aid in the search for the missing child.
-
Community Involvement - The Facebook system enables people to share the alert with friends and link to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for the most up-to-date information about the case.
A Connecticut AMBER Alert will include the name and description of the child, a description of the suspected abductor, and a description and license plate number of the abductor's vehicle. The Connecticut AMBER Alert system only issues an alert when law enforcement determines that a child was abducted and the child is in imminent danger. This team effort has been used successfully here in Connecticut several times over the last 13 years.
###
For Immediate Release: January 13, 2015
Twitter:
@GovMalloyOffice
Facebook:
Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy
- Twitter: @GovMalloyOffice
- Facebook: Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy