Law enforcement officials in Ontario, Canada, received an angry and threatening message after an AMBER Alert was issued for a missing 11-year-old. The child was found safe, but an expletive-filled message was sent to the Niagara Police Department’s social media inbox which took issue with the 4 a.m. alert. The department also received many messages of support in response to those who were angered by being awakened from the alert.

The Canadian Emergency Alert System was tested again on November 25, 2020, to make sure the emergency alerts are effectively reaching cellphones, radio, and TV stations. Past tests have revealed technical issues that led to notification delays. Authorities are still working to make sure the system is compatible with different networks and cell towers. The Alert Ready system has been used more than 170 times since it was launched on January 1, 2020, and its notifications can be sent by emergency management officials, warning of severe weather or when there is an imminent threat to life. The alerts have been valuable in warning the public and have also prompted the public to provide tips. The Ontario Provincial Police have also begun using Alert Ready to keep residents safe and notify the public about AMBER Alerts. The system has been used four times in Ontario since July 2020.

Police chiefs in Ontario, Canada, oppose a plan to no longer require front license plates on vehicles. The law enforcement leaders say the plates are needed to track down vehicles, especially ones being sought in AMBER Alerts. “That’s not going to assist us in solving these crimes and perhaps saving these children in AMBER Alert situations,” said Jeff McGuire, Ontario Association Chiefs of Police Executive Director.

The Ontario, Ohio, Police Department is using two drones to search in AMBER Alerts and other cases involving missing juveniles or older adults. The department used money from federally seized drugs to purchase the drones, which cost $14,000 each. The drones pro- vide live video feeds and have been used dozens of times, including when an AMBER Alert was activated. “Bottom line, this is irreplaceable technology,” said Ontario Police Chief Tommy Hill. “There is no value too great that we’d spare to save a life.”

The Sault, Ontario, Police Department can now scan license plates to spot AMBER Alert suspects and other offenders. The Automatic License Plate Reader (ALPR) has three cameras placed in a police car that can scan six plates a second. The ALPR contains data provided by the Canadian Police Information Centre. The Ontario Provincial Police have 30 ALPR units and have used them since 2009.

A Mississauga, Ontario, woman was charged with making a false police report after she said she saw a female being forced into a van on January 15, 2017. An AMBER Alert was issued after her family reported a 15-year-old girl was missing. The teen was found safe and police determined she had not been abducted.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

When Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Constable Nancy Martin started working on Canada's AMBER Alert Program in 2009 she found the system working effectively but separately. She made it a goal to make the nation's child abduction alert program stronger than the sum of its parts.

“In years past, each province did its own thing, without any real knowledge of what other provinces were doing or how it could affect them,” said Martin. “Now, as people can travel more easily and children are often transported over provincial and even national borders, the need for cooperation and teamwork has an even greater importance.”

In 2010 the RCMP hosted the first National AMBER Alert Working Group (NAAWG) Workshop to bring all AMBER Alert partners together. All the provincial AMBER Alert coordinators and others met to discuss how they could improve the system to help recover abducted children.

Martin is the National AMBER Alert Coordinator and works closely with Sergeant Jane Boissonneault, the Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager and the NAAWG Chair. They continue through online training courses and teleconferences and sending regular emails to update everyone about the latest tool or innovation.

“Without Martin's dedication to the AMBER Alert program, we would not have the 10 provincial programs running as smoothly and working together as well as they do,” said Boissonneault. “She is the ‘go to’ resource for inquiries about AMBER Alert from our partners across the country.”

The two officers have also worked with the provincial AMBER Alert programs to put protocols in place between provinces and states that border each other to clarify what will happen when a child is taken across the border.

“Nancy has always been quick to offer support during a provincial activation of an alert and she has been the unwavering champion for the program,” said Sgt. Steve Montpetit, Ontario Provincial AMBER Alert Coordinator. “She has been devoted to the AMBER Alert program and has provided a sound and consistent voice for the program on a national level.”

Martin said working with Boissonneault as a team has made significant improvements in the program, but being a mom is what keeps her motivated. “No parent wants to hear that politics or lack of preparedness stood in the way of their child coming home safely,” said Martin. “If I can help by providing avenues of training or the sharing of opportunities for improvement, I can't imagine not doing it. If we make it impossible for an abductor to hide, we make it possible for a child to be saved.”

Ontario, Canada, firefighters will now be notified when a child has been abducted. More than 1,500 members of the Ontario Fire Services are now set up to receive AMBER Alerts. The alerts will go to the network of 45 fire stations in the province.

At a crime prevention seminar in Ontario, Canada, New York State Trooper Sayeh Rivazfar shared her story of how her mother's former boyfriend brutally attacked her when she was 8 years old and killed her 6-year-old sister, Sara. She asked the 210 police officers, social service workers, parole officers, and daycare workers at the October conference to remember they are helping children, not just being assigned a file number. Rivazfar said efforts to prevent child abductions have improved, but more needs to be done.