The Nightwatch Program, Inc. - Crime Prevention At Its Best

AMBER Alert System

Nine year old named Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in Arlington, Texas, when she was kidnapped and murdered. As residents became outraged from this shocking event, citizens asked radio stations in the Dallas area to broadcast special alerts to notify people of missing children, so that hopefully, no one would have to suffer poor Amber Hagerman's fate. It was then that the AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert System was born, and since then it has blossomed to work on a national scale.

Well, if the AMBER Alert is so great, what does it do? The purpose of the Amber Alert is to serve as an early warning system for abducted kids. The two methods this is accomplished by are the Emergency Alert System, which many of us recall as the Emergency Broadcast System, which airs information on the child, and his or her suspected abducter; and the Amber Alert Ticker, which is conveniently located at the bottom of our site, which keeps people informed about any child abductions, and keeps everyone up to speed. But how does an alert start? First, the local law enforcement needs to be aware of the abduction, and then they need to decide if the abducted child is at risk of bodily harm, and if they have any information that can help if presented to the people. If those requisites are met, the information is put together, and an alert is sent out. That information is aired locally, and added to Amber Alert Tickers anywhere and everywhere in the world, immediately.

How can you help? Well, if you are hopping around on the internet, and you see the little amber alert bar scrolling some information by, just take a few seconds to read what it has to say. Maybe you are in the area and can keep your eyes open, maybe you even know something important to the abduction. Or, if you are feeling generous, Amber Alert's webpage accepts donations, which helps them grow even larger. And if you have a web page, you can have your own Amber Alert ticker on your site, which gets the message out to even more people. All you need to do is read a few lines of information scroll by, and you could be saving a child's life. For more information on the Amber Alert system, visit Code Amber's site at www.codeamber.org.