THE DALLAS AMBER PLAN
The Amber Plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover missing
children that police believe have been abducted. The Association of
Radio Managers (ARM) in Dallas, Texas, created the program in memory
of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was abducted and murdered in 1996.
The goal of the Amber Plan is the safe recovery of missing children
that a law enforcement agency believes has been abducted and is in
danger of serious harm or death. Missing adults, runaways, and children
taken in child custody disputes usually do NOT qualify for Amber
Plan activation.
OTHER AMBER PLAN PROGRAMS
Since the Dallas Amber Plan was established in 1997, more than
100 other Amber Plan programs have been adopted or modified at
local, regional, and statewide levels. For the latest list of
Amber Plan programs nationwide, visit:
http://www.ncmec.org/html/amberplan.html
Each city or state’s Amber Plan program is administered
separately in accordance with EAS procedures approved by the FCC.
Each program establishes its own Amber Alert criteria, activation
procedures, and distribution methods.
The Houston Regional Amber Plan has five Alert criteria:
1. The child is 17 years of age or younger.
2. The law enforcement agency believes the missing child has
been abducted (unwillingly taken from their environment without
permission
from the
child’s parent or legal guardian
or taken by a parent or guardian during an act of murder or
attempted murder).
3. The law enforcement agency believes the missing child is in
danger of serious bodily harm or death.
4. The law enforcement
agency has conducted an investigation that has verified the abduction
or ruled out alternative explanations.
5. Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the
public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, or suspect’s
vehicle.
Missing adults, runaways, and children
taken in child custody disputes usually do NOT qualify for Amber
Plan activation.
The Houston Regional Amber Plan not only distributes Amber Alerts
using the Emergency Alert System, but also integrates broadcast
fax, e-mail, and other technology with a website (http://www.amberplan.net/secure/)
to post Amber Alert messages and photos.
For more information about the Houston Regional Amber Plan,
contact Beth Alberts, CEO,Texas Center for the Missing, at 713.409.2720
or via email, or Bryan
Erickson, News Director at KTRH-AM 740,
at 713-212-8740.
For more information about the Emergency Alert
System or to
identify the local primary EAS stations for your city or state,
e-mail the FCC or call the Emergency Alert System office at 202-418-1100.
Visit the FCC's website (http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/services/eas/)
for more information about the Emergency Alert System.
SUPPORT FOR THE AMBER PLAN
There is no designated local, state or federal funding
for the Houston Regional Amber Plan. All funds are raised through
individual donations, grants from foundations and special events
held by the Texas Center for the Missing.
To support the Amber Plan with a donation, contact Beth
Alberts at 713.314.3644 or balberts@tcftm.org.
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