Why no Amber Alert?

Credit: Child Crime Prevention and Safety Center

     One of the most frequently asked questions after news breaks of a missing child is ‘why was no Amber Alert issued?’ In order to answer that question, we have to understand what it actually is.

     The AMBER in Amber Alert stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. It was originally developed by law enforcement in Texas after the 1996 abduction and murder of 9 year old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, Texas. It was intended to serve as an emergency message that could be broadcast quickly to the public with the hope that early dissemination of information such as a suspect vehicle description could help with faster recovery of a victim.

     All 50 states have adopted the Amber Alert system by 2005. In order for an Amber Alert to be issued, the case must meet certain criteria. Although the US Department of Justice has issued recommended ‘guidelines,’ each state is responsible for establishing their own touchstones that must be met. Most states adhere closely to the guidelines.

     In Indiana, Amber Alerts and the system that issues them are managed by the Indiana State Police, who receive requests from local Indiana agencies. Indiana criteria that must be met for the issuance of an Amber Alert are as follows:

1. The child must be under 18 years of age.

2. The child must be believed to be abducted AND in danger of serious bodily injury or death.

3. There must be enough descriptive information to believe the Amber Alert will help.

4. Request must come from the law enforcement agency of jurisdiction.

5. The abducted child must be entered into the IDACS/NCIC system.

     All missing persons, not just children or those believed to be abducted, are entered into the IDACS/NCIC system. NCIC stands for National Crime Information Center. It’s a database maintained by the FBI that contains information on missing persons, among many other things. Once the information is entered, a notification or ‘flag’ is placed on the name and date of birth of a missing person, along with any pertinent details of their disappearance. The NCIC entry ensures that any agency anywhere in the country will receive the flag if they encounter the missing person, and the agency that requested and entered the flag is notified automatically that another agency may have come into contact with them.

     In Indiana, an Amber Alert is valid for 5 hours. It can be reissued if new or updated information can be verified, in which case it restarts the clock on the 5 hour limit. Or, it can be canceled before the 5 hour deadline is met if authorities recover the child or determine that an abduction did not in fact take place.

     Revocation or expiration of the Amber Alert does not mean a missing child is removed from NCIC or other systems.

     Although Amber Alerts have been effective at recovering hundreds of children nationwide, the program is not without scrutiny. Some critics believe that the distribution of too many alerts could cause the public to become ‘numb’ and slow to react, which can diminish their effectiveness. Still others believe that the criteria are too narrow, and should be expanded to include children missing under other circumstances as well.

     But for now, law enforcement agencies are bound by state and national guidelines which dictate when an alert can be issued.

Amber Hagerman, Arlington, TX