#9068
Avatar photoStacie Rhoads
Participant

Hi Nona,
In Arkansas, The Arkansas State Police is the only agency who can activate an alert. We currently have three people who can authorize an alert which are all commissioned personnel. Requests generally start with a local agency (PD’s & SO’s) who contact a State Police CID Agent in the field either directly or via Troop Dispatch. CID is divided into regions across the state, and there is always an agent on call. The Agent typically vets the initial information. Our agents have a solid understanding of the criteria. If it meets the criteria, the next call is to me and I have the final say. If it blatantly doesn’t, the agent can make that call. If it’s questionable, they will generally call me. If I am unavailable, it defaults to my boss, or deputy director. One of the keys for us is educating the local jurisdictions about the criteria needed to justify an alert. This will greatly cut down on the calls. When I first became the coordinator, I got calls at all hours from agencies who were “checking the box” on runaways, custodial disputes, etc. Since January, we’ve activated two alerts.

I don’t know how many calls you get, but for us using personnel in the field to vet the info first cut down on the calls that come all the way to me. I am also in charge of silver alerts, which is actually more demanding than AAs.

Hope this helps.
Captain Stacie Rhoads
[email protected]