Help Children in Gainesville, FL & Nationwide by Staying Aware of AMBER Alerts

April 30th is the anniversary of the PROTECT Act of 2003, signed into law by President George W. Bush. This act strengthened law enforcement’s ability to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes committed against children.

One of the act’s major goals is the national coordination of the AMBER (America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert Program. The AMBER Alert Program began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system aimed at locating abducted children. The plan was created as a legacy to nine-year-old kidnapping and homicide victim Amber Hagerman, abducted as she rode her bike in Arlington, Texas.

Through radio, television, highway signs, and other venues, the AMBER Alert system sends out an emergency public broadcast regarding the details of the missing child, the abductor, and the abductor’s vehicle. Many Gainesville residents receive notifications about local AMBER alerts via their cell phones and e-mail addresses. This enables them to keep an eye out for clues at their Gainesville apartment community, workplace, school, etc.

For more information, point your Web browser to www.amberalert.gov, or consider getting active AMBER Alerts through www.codeamber.org.