AMBER Advocate Magazine

Issue 26

This issue profiles Jim Walters, the new Program Administrator for the AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program, who has been involved with the initiative for over a decade. Walters is recognized for founding a nonprofit that supports abused and trafficked women and children in developing and rural areas. The Family Roundtable convenes 30 homicide survivors in Nashville, Tennessee, to develop best practices for law enforcement, prosecutors, and media when supporting families of victims. A front-line story from California highlights a successful AMBER Alert in which a father abducts his three children, and a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) on a citizen’s phone leads to the suspect’s arrest just nine minutes after the alert is issued. The issue also honors Fran Keith, a longtime program manager who retires after 11 years of service, having played a key role in shaping the program and advocating for the expansion of Child Abduction Response Teams (CARTs) to combat human trafficking. Two newly certified CARTs—the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in Florida and the Pierce County Regional CART in Washington—complete mock abduction drills and meet rigorous standards set by the U.S. Department of Justice. Another front-line story from Nebraska details the safe recovery of a two-month-old infant abducted by a family friend, thanks to a citizen tip; local law enforcement credits the AMBER Alert with saving the child’s life. U.S. and Mexican law enforcement collaborate during a mock abduction exercise as part of the Southern Border Initiative, while a study finds that AMBER Alerts in Europe are effective but could be improved. New Mexico police are recognized for locating a missing boy after an alert issued in New Hampshire, and an Iowa man is honored as “Citizen of the Year” for finding a toddler following an alert. The issue also marks the 20-year anniversary of Amber Hagerman’s abduction and the founding of the AMBER Alert program.

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