Amber Alerts
The AMBER Plan (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) is a voluntary, cooperative program between the law enforcement community and the broadcast media to send an emergency alert, called “AMBER Alert,” to the public when a child has been abducted and it is believed that the child’s life is in grave danger.
When Is An AMBER Alert Issued?
While each state determines its own parameters for issuing an AMBER Alert, the State of New Jersey has developed the following criteria …
AMBER Alerts are intended for non-family cases of child abduction, where the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death. AMBER Alerts are not intended for all missing child incidents, runaways, or child custody situations. All law enforcement must work together to ensure AMBER Alerts are not abused. Abuse will lead to a lack of confidence by law enforcement and the public. For the AMBER Alert to be activated the following criteria must be met:
- The child must be under the age of 18.
- The child must be in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
- There must be enough descriptive information to believe an AMBER Alert will help locate the child.
- There must have been a short enough delay between the time the child was last seen and the time the child was reported missing to believe an AMBER Alert will help locate the child.
Other Considerations
- Domestic or parental involvement.
- Is there enough information to indicate that an AMBER Alert will help?