| Child
Abduction Alert System History
The
first few hours after a child is abducted are crucial to the
life and death of that child. Department of Justice Statistics
indicate that 75 percent of abducted children are murdered
within the first three hours after abduction.
 In 1996
when 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and murdered in
Texas, the AMBER Alert program was invented. Since then many
communities have seen the advantage to the initiation of similar
programs.
Our program,
the Child Abduction Alert System, is based upon the AMBER
plan; however, there are some differences. Our system is designed
to be regional rather than statewide. As we are located in
an area where four states meet, we knew that our needs for
such a plan would be unique. We have designed this system
to cross state lines. Our system does not automatically activate
any statewide plans, but each participating member has the
option of activating the plan in their own state at the discretion
of each agency.
Child
Abduction Alert System (CAAS) was created with the input of
many law enforcement agencies, childrens service agencies,
media outlets, Missouri Department of Transportation, and
community groups. The system can only be activated by Law
Enforcement Agencies in the event of a child abduction of
kidnapping. Activation of the system brings law enforcement
agencies and the media together in order to get information
out to the public as soon as possible.
We hope
that this system will be used infrequently, but that the community
will feel more secure knowing that we have a plan to deal
with child abduction. |
