Pay attention when you hear it...

We've seen it on TV and heard it on the radio, but what is an AMBER Alert and how does it work?

Most people know the AMBER Alert is an announcement in the media about a missing or abducted child.   Did you know the word, AMBER is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response?  The acronym was created to honor a third-grader named Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and killed in 1996 while riding her bicycle in front of her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas.

The North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety administers NC's AMBER Alert program, through the NC Center of Missing Persons.  The program was established in 2002.  NC's first AMBER Alert was issued for an abducted infant in Charlotte, who was taken during a vehicle theft in August, 2003.  The child was located and recovered safely.

From time-to-time,  parents of runaway teenagers request that police issue an AMBER Alert for their child.  Due to the nature of the AMBER Alert program and submission criteria, runaways are not eligible to be considered for AMBER Alert notifications.

In order to issue an AMBER Alert, the follow circumstances must exist:

1. The child must be 17 years old or younger
2. You must believe the child was abducted
3. The child cannot have been taken by a parent, unless the child's life is in danger
4. The child is not a runaway or missing voluntarily
5. You must have filed a report with your local law enforcement

The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons is the only agency that can activate an AMBER Alert.  It will do so only at the request of  a law enforcement agency.

Before an AMBER Alert is issued, the Center  will determine whether there is sufficient information to justify AMBER Alert activation. For instance, there must be sufficient descriptive information on the child, and on the abductor and/or abductor's vehicle. This is required in order for the public to be on the lookout for something. It does no good to activate an AMBER Alert if there is insufficient information available to the public. 

Furthermore,  if AMBER Alerts were activated every time a juvenile went missing or ran away from home, there would be hundreds of alerts  out there and they would likely lose their sense of urgency and effectivenes.   

Because the criteria for issuing an AMBER Alert is so stringent, It is important for the public to know that when they hear an AMBER Alert being broadcast, then there is sufficient information and evidence to believe the child is in real danger, and the person who is suspected of abducting the child is a signifcant threat to child's life.

 It can be difficult to tell a parent who's child is missing that no AMBER Alert can be broadcast for them, but the AMBER Alert system is effective because it is not over-used, or abused.

In 2011,  the NC Center for Missing Persons issued 12 AMBER Alerts.  In each case, the child was recovered safely.