Ontario police say more than 90% of Amber Alerts lead to safe recovery of children

An Ontario Provincial Police crest is displayed on the arm of an officer during a press conference in Vaughan, Ont., on Thursday, June 20, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

Police in Ontario are marking Amber Alert Awareness Day by highlighting the efficacy of the system used to locate children believed to be in danger following an abduction.

In a news release issued Friday, Ontario Provincial Police said it’s issued 21 Amber Alerts to mobile phones since 2018 at an average of four alerts per year.

Three of those alerts were issued following abductions in the OPP’s jurisdiction, while the remaining 18 were issued on behalf of other police services across the province.

As a result, more than 90 per cent of the alerts issued in that time have lead to the safe recovery of a child, the OPP said.

"Many alerts are resolved thanks to people like you who see or hear something following an alert that they report to police,” OPP Insp. Todd Pittman said in a news release.

“Your assistance is essential, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Without your help, we might be reporting very different statistics today."

Adopted by the Ontario government in 2003, in collaboration with Ontario law enforcement and radio/television stations, Amber Alerts are only issued if an abducted child is believed to be in danger.

Typically, the OPP said, when a child is abducted, the offender goes on the run to evade detection. In a matter of hours, they can travel hundreds of kilometres, which is why the alerts are issued provincewide, according to the OPP.

When an alert appears on your phone, the OPP asks that you click the embedded link to access relevant details at amberalert.opp.ca, including information about the abduction, descriptions of the child or children, the person accused in the abduction, and any vehicle involved.

The Amber Alert system was created after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped from Arlington, Texas and murdered in 1996.

Following the tragedy, an emergency alert system was developed to facilitate the rapid distribution of information to the public in the event of a child abduction.

The system was named after Hagerman and stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.