Child Abduction Alert Launched in Australia — The Queensland (Australia) Police started the Child Abduction Alert system to notify the public about suspected child abductions. The program began December 29, 2010, and initially involved only radio stations, but will be expanded to include television, taxi companies, buses, lotto agents, and transportation. The alert uses the same criteria as the U.S. AMBER Alert plan.

Malaysia Begins Alert System for Missing Children — The abduction and murder of an 8-year-old girl four years ago prompted Malaysia to create the NUR (Nationwide Urgent Response) Alert for missing children. The plan began in January 2011 and is patterned after the U.S. AMBER Alert system. The alerts will be distributed to broadcasters, government agencies, banks, hotels, and transportation agencies within 24 hours after a child younger than 12 years old has been reported missing.

Saipan to Start AMBER Alert Program — The western Pacific island of Saipan will soon have an AMBER Alert program. Saipan is the largest of 15 islands that are part of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Gov. Benigno R. Fital announced the plan on May 31, 2011, six days after two sisters, ages 9 and 10, were reported missing.

Belgium Starts Child Alert Plan — Belgium launched the Child Alert system in February for children who have disappeared and are in a life-threatening situation. The alerts will go to road signs, radio and television stations, mobile telephone providers, Internet service providers, electronic billboards, and company networks. The alerts will remain active for six hours but can be renewed to be active for as long as 24 hours. Belgium became the focus of international attention after a 3-year-old British girl went missing in 2007. The parents of Madeleine McCann immediately called for Belgium and all European countries to start a system similar to the U.S. AMBER Alert program.

The worldwide impact of AMBER Alerts finally hit home for NCMEC President Ernie Allen when he met the president and first lady of France three years ago. Allen was about to speak to President Jacques Chirac when his wife Bernadette told Allen, “Last week we recovered two French missing children through the use of your AMBER Alert.”

A total of nine countries outside the United States now have AMBER Alert Programs: Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland. Plans are also underway for child abduction alerts in Mexico and Italy, and a European Child Alert Automated System is being developed to coordinate alerts among partner countries for cross-border activations.

“Many countries are looking to the United States for advice on AMBER Alerts,” said Caroline Humer, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) Program Director.

Humer oversaw the International Workshop at the 2010 National AMBER Alert Symposium. In Canada, Alberta launched the first AMBER Alert Program in 2003, and each province now has its own policy; in 2010, Canada started using wireless AMBER Alerts, and several provinces also use Facebook to distribute alerts. In Greece, the child abduction alert, called “The Smile of the Child,” was launched in 2007 and is similar to the AMBER Alert Program; ICMEC has provided training, and a grant from the European Union was used to develop automatic alerts. In the Netherlands, the AMBER Alert Program was started in 2008 with alerts being distributed to broadcasters, Short Message Service (SMS), e-mail, billboards, and the border patrol, and in 2010 the Netherlands also started using the social networks Twitter, Igoogle, Facebook, and Hyves to distribute alerts. In Switzerland, the AMBER Alert Program was started in 2010 in response to a child who was murdered one year earlier; federal police oversee the program, but local police decide to initiate alerts, and each alert is quickly translated into English, French, Italian, and German.

Humer noted that Interpol has been helpful in pushing the AMBER Alert Program throughout Europe.

The worldwide impact of AMBER Alerts finally hit home for NCMEC President Ernie Allen when he met the president and first lady of France three years ago. Allen was about to speak to President Jacques Chirac when his wife Bernadette told Allen, “Last week we recovered two French missing children through the use of your AMBER Alert.”

A total of nine countries outside the United States now have AMBER Alert Programs: Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland. Plans are also underway for child abduction alerts in Mexico and Italy, and a European Child Alert Automated System is being developed to coordinate alerts among partner countries for cross-border activations.

“Many countries are looking to the United States for advice on AMBER Alerts,” said Caroline Humer, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) Program Director.

Humer oversaw the International Workshop at the 2010 National AMBER Alert Symposium. In Canada, Alberta launched the first AMBER Alert Program in 2003, and each province now has its own policy; in 2010, Canada started using wireless AMBER Alerts, and several provinces also use Facebook to distribute alerts. In Greece, the child abduction alert, called “The Smile of the Child,” was launched in 2007 and is similar to the AMBER Alert Program; ICMEC has provided training, and a grant from the European Union was used to develop automatic alerts. In the Netherlands, the AMBER Alert Program was started in 2008 with alerts being distributed to broadcasters, Short Message Service (SMS), e-mail, billboards, and the border patrol, and in 2010 the Netherlands also started using the social networks Twitter, Igoogle, Facebook, and Hyves to distribute alerts. In Switzerland, the AMBER Alert Program was started in 2010 in response to a child who was murdered one year earlier; federal police oversee the program, but local police decide to initiate alerts, and each alert is quickly translated into English, French, Italian, and German.

Humer noted that Interpol has been helpful in pushing the AMBER Alert Program throughout Europe.