AMBER Alert Briefs – Spring 2017

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is recommending a simplification of the state’s AMBER Alert program. The KBI reviewed the system following concerns raised when an AMBER Alert failed to go out to cellphones after a mother and 3 children were abducted. The report recommends speeding up the process by giving more officers authority to request an alert. Other recommendations include:

• Creating a checklist to be used when activating an AMBER Alert
• Inviting media to participate in AMBER Alert reviews
• Establishing an advisory board that meets annually
• Focusing on technological advances for the program

Michigan has changed the state’s AMBER Alert criteria to make sure notifications are used only for child abductions. AMBER Alerts had previously been authorized for missing children with severe mental or physical disabilities. Those cases will now be eligible for an Endangered Missing Advisory, which will be sent to the media but not to cell phones.

The Idaho State Police is using a new notification which allows the public to also receive AMBER Alerts by email. While residents must sign up to get the new email alerts, they will still receive alerts on their cell phones through the Wireless Emergency Alert System.

The Idaho State Police is using a new notification which allows the public to also receive AMBER Alerts by email. While residents must sign up to get the new email alerts, they will still receive alerts on their cell phones through the Wireless Emergency Alert System.

An Oklahoma City mother who claimed her car was stolen with her 2 toddlers inside has been charged with filing a false AMBER Alert. Police say they spent $5,000 in personnel services and a helicopter in the search. Just before activating an AMBER Alert, police found the “stolen” SUV and the children at their grandmother’s home.

The Northeast Texas Child Abduction Response Team (CART) held a mock training exercise that involved finding a 7-year-old kidnapping victim. The August 2016 event included numerous CART members, volunteers, a bloodhound and a German shepherd. An alert Boy Scout also followed the dogs and helped in the search. The bloodhound eventually found the “abductor” and his “victim” after an hour and 46 minutes of searching.

The parents of a 10-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered 3 years ago are asking Missouri legislators to change the state’s AMBER Alert system. The parents of Hailey Owens and the parents of the alleged suspect are supporting “Hailey’s Law” which would integrate the AMBER Alert System with 2 other law enforcement computer systems so officers could enter incident information digitally. Both families say more could have been done to save Owens if the AMBER Alert, including the suspect’s license plate number, had gone out earlier. The bill has been given the green light by a Missouri House of Representatives committee.

North Carolina will now issue a Blue Alert when seeking a suspect after a law enforcement officer is violently attacked. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol will send information about the suspect and the supect’s vehicle in the alert. The Blue Alert system is a voluntary effort of state law enforcement, broadcasters, transportation, lottery and the Center for Missing Persons.

A Columbus, Ohio, woman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor falsification charge for telling police her 4-year-old daughter was inside her stolen car. An AMBER Alert was issued but was cancelled after a report came in that the girl was at her aunt’s house. The woman hoped police would find her car sooner if an AMBER Alert was issued.

A Texas lawmaker would like a public notification similar to an AMBER Alert for chemical emergencies. Rep. Eddie Rodriguez said the alert would go to cell phones when a chemical incident becomes a danger to humans or the environment. The proposed bill would have the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality trigger the alerts based on information from companies required to report toxic releases.

A Brooklyn, New York, council member says an alert system is needed to track down hit-andrun drivers after 39 deaths from hit-and-run incidents occurred in the borough last year. Councilman Ydanis A. Rodriguez said the alerts would be sent to cellphones within 12 hours of an incident that caused death or serious injury. Opponents fear the new alerts would cause people to unsubscribe from the city’s alert system.

The family and friends of a 24-year-old Dallas woman who was abducted and killed 3 years ago are asking for a “Kelley Alert” for cases that do not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert or a Silver Alert. AMBER Alerts are issued for victims under 17 and Silver Alerts are issued for missing persons 64 or over. The group called Justice Seekers Texas would like the new alert for cases that fall between those age restrictions.

Cox Communications honored Josefina Sabori as one of its community honorees for Hispanic Heritage Month. Sabori works in the Crimes Against Children Unit at the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Department. She is also a nationally recognized expert on human trafficking and an instructor with the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance program, National Criminal Justice Training Center at Fox Valley Technical College.