Issue 54

The second AMBER Advocate issue of 2023 spotlights the recent National AMBER Alert Training and Technical Assistance Program/AMBER Alert in Indian Country Symposium, which attracted hundreds of law enforcement professionals to Tucson. We feature participants’ compelling takes on numerous topics explored at the event, including best practices for investigating endangered missing and abducted children (particularly those from Tribal lands and children of color); essential and emerging technologies; and the need for more and better wellness care. We also look at how a Florida sheriff’s department enlisted their community—and a novel tracking app—in their successful search for a 2-year-old, and meet tech-savvy West Virginia State Police First Sergeant James Kozik.

For the best viewing of this file, ensure your browser and PDF viewer are updated to the latest versions.

Download PDF

Features

2023 AATTAP-AIIC National Symposium: Together at Last

After two years of meeting virtually, hundreds of law enforcement professionals gather in Tucson for the 2023 AATTAP-AIIC National Symposium

Rescued toddler, JJ Rowland, in the arms of volunteer searcher Roy Link, Brooksville, Florida.

On the Front Lines: Out of the Woods

A Florida toddler is found [..]

Portrait of West Virginia State Police First Sergeant James Kozik

Faces of the AMBER Alert Network: James Kozik

Embracing technology to find missing [..]

U.S. Briefs

Texas lawmakers pass ‘Athena Alert’ bill to create localized version of an AMBER Alert

In May 2023, Texas lawmakers approved HB3556, which would allow law enforcement to immediately notify people within a 100-mile radius as soon as a child goes missing. The “Athena Alert” bill is named for 7-year-old Athena Strand, who was kidnapped and killed last year by a FedEx driver who made a delivery to her Wise County [..]

New Utah law aims to improve the (over)use of AMBER Alerts

A new state law in Utah—designed to improve the criteria for issuing AMBER Alerts—went into effect May 3. Representative Ryan Wilcox of Ogden sponsored HB266 which prohibits law enforcement from issuing AMBER Alerts for runaways or child custody disputes unless the child faces a credible threat of imminent danger. Wilcox told KSL.com that the overuse of AMBER Alerts has [..]

NCMEC’s new ‘Take It Down’ tool helps remove explicit web imagery of children

“Take It Down,” a free online service run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), is helping remove sexually explicit images or videos depicting children under age 18. And NCMEC’s work is paying off: Since “Take It Down” launched in December 2022, more than 200 cases have been resolved. The process works by [..]

Indian Country Briefs

Colorado adopts Missing Indigenous People Alert

Colorado has become the second state to implement a Missing Indigenous Person Alert system. The new public alert, designed in response to the disproportionately high number of Indigenous people who are missing or have been murdered, comes on the heels of a similar one launched in Washington State. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation operates the [..]

Lawmakers to FCC: Expand languages in alerts

Calling Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) “an important lifeline to Americans,” two New York lawmakers are leading a charge to remove language barriers in the bulletins—a measure that could impact Tribal communities. (Larger Tribes such as the Navajo Nation already are working to share emergency alerts in their native language.) U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Representative Grace [..]

Yurok Tribe joins U.S. Marshals in MMIP initiative

California’s largest Tribe and a longstanding leader in criminal justice issues is getting an assist in dealing with the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people. The U.S. Marshals Service has tapped Northern California’s Yurok Tribe as the pilot partner for its Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Initiative. The Tribe’s priorities will drive specific areas of [..]

International Briefs

EU wants big-tech accountability in keeping children safe online

Fourteen European organizations have teamed up on a new campaign to help stop online child sex abuse and exploitation. The “Right in Front of Us” (#ChildSafetyOn) initiative aims to spread awareness of and seek support for legislation that would bring accountability to large tech companies such as Meta, Google, and TikTok. Under a new law the European Union [..]

Canadian police credit AMBER Alerts for helping saving children’s lives

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) report that more than 90 percent of AMBER Alerts in Canada’s most populous province have resulted in the safe recovery of the missing child. The OPP has issued 21 Alerts since 2018, an average of about four a year. In noting the effectiveness of the program, the OPP credits the public [..]

Ukrainian girl who vanished at start of war is one of thousands now missing

On March 3, 2022, 15-year-old Arina Yatsiuk and her family were trying to evacuate from Ukraine when Russian troops killed her parents and yanked her from their car. Now, the Ukrainian teen is the face of an alarming fallout from Russia’s invasion: She’s among thousands of Ukrainian children who have vanished. Ukrainian officials believe Russia has [..]

AMBER Advocate Magazine