When And Why Are Amber Alerts Issued? And How Effective Are They?

Often times when a child goes missing people will ask why an Amber Alert was or was not sent out.

There are some common misconceptions about the Amber Alert System but here are some details to remember.

What Constitutes An Amber Alert?

Oklahoma does not issue an Amber Alert for every missing child. According to the Office of Justice Programs, certain criteria have to be met before law enforcement can make that call.

The child is aged 17 years or younger.

There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction or kidnapping has occurred. AMBER Alerts are not issued for runaways, or for situations where the subject willingly left unless there is believed to be a risk to their safety.

As such, law enforcement must have reason to believe that the child is in imminent danger of bodily injury or death.

For an alert to be issued law enforcement needs a description of the victim, suspect, and suspect's vehicle.

The child’s name and information have been entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) system.

Not every piece of criteria has to be met at once, but law enforcement can use the guidance to make a decision.

In cases where an abduction is not involved and has disappeared, law enforcement can issue an Endangered Missing Alert. These alerts are often reported by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

What Happens Once The AMBER Alert Criteria is Met?

Once law enforcement has decided to issue an AMBER Alert they notify broadcasters as well as wireless devices such as mobile phones.

How Was The AMBER Alert Created?

The AMBER Alert System started in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth police partnered with local broadcasters to develop a system to help find abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and also references 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and killed in Arlington, Texas in January of '96. Over the next several years other states adopted the AMBER Alert system.

In April of 2003, President Bush signed The Protect Act which his words "formally established the federal government's role in the Amber Alert system and will make the punishment for federal crimes against children more severe."

How Effective Has the AMBER Alert System Been?

According to the US Department of Justice, The AMBER Alert program has contributed to the recovery of 1,127 children as of January 2, 2023, and wireless emergency alerts resulted in the rescue of 131 children. Due to the strict criteria only a few hundred AMBER Alerts are issued each year with 254 issued in 2021. For more statistics CLICK HERE

The DOJ says AMBER Alerts also serve as deterrents with studies showing that some perpetrators release the abducted child after hearing the AMBER Alert.