Amber Alerts, explained: When are they issued, and why?

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

What is an Amber Alert?

An Amber Alert is a partnership between law enforcement agencies and media outlets to broadcast an urgent public appeal for information in certain cases of child abduction. The Amber Alert program was created in Arlington, Texas following the 1996 kidnapping and murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman. The community in Arlington rallied for the Amber Alert system, in order to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.

Amber Alerts in Canada

All Canadian provinces currently have an Amber Alert system, however they are operated provincially, and thus each province has their own set of rules or guidelines.

While most provinces have Amber Alert committees, typically only law enforcement can issue an individual Amber Alert.

What is the criteria?

Each police jurisdiction may follow their own rules, which can sometimes lead to some conflicting information when dealing with individual Amber Alerts. According to guidelines from the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains, an Amber Alert may only be activated by police and they are “intended only for the most serious, time critical abduction cases.”

According to MissingsKids.ca, a program of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, the criteria may vary province to province. Their criteria is as follows:

How are Amber Alerts communicated?

Like in the U.S., Amber Alerts can be distributed in a variety of ways, including by radio and television stations, email, text messaging through a wireless device and electronic traffic signs. Depending on the police jurisdiction, or the agreement with broadcasters, television or radio broadcasts of an Amber Alert may be temporary, regardless of whether the child is still missing.

What parents/guardians can do

It’s never something a parent or guardian wants to think about, but it’s important to be prepared in the event of an abduction. Parents and guardians can order a child identification kit from the RCMP Foundation, a charitable organization. The kit ensures parents and guardian have an up-to-date record of their child’s photo, fingerprints, weight, height and other descriptors that may help at a critical time. Missingkids.ca also offers educational materials to help prevent children from going missing.