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Amber Alert Plan

Child Rescue Alert is based on an American concept called Amber Alert, which was introduced in Texas in 1996 following the kidnap and murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman.

In January 1996, nine year old Amber Hagerman was riding her bicycle when a neighbour heard the girl scream. The neighbour saw a man pull Amber off her bike, throw her into the front seat of his pickup truck, and drive away at a high speed. The neighbour called police and provided a description of the suspect and his vehicle, but couldn't recall much else.

Arlington Police and the FBI interviewed other neighbours and searched for the suspect and vehicle. Local radio and TV stations covered the story in their regular newscasts. Four days later, Amber's body was found in a drainage ditch four miles away. Her throat has been cut. Her kidnapping and murder remain unsolved.

A concerned citizen contacted a Dallas radio station suggesting the idea that Dallas radio stations should repeat news bulletins about abducted children just like they do severe weather warnings. The idea was presented to the general managers of the radio stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They agreed that such a programme would provide an important public service and might help save the life of a child.

The Dallas Amber Plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover missing children that police believe have been abducted. Since then, the programme has successfully recovered eight children and expanded to other cities and states nationwide.

Although the Amber Plan is named after Amber Hagerman, this national programme is dedicated to all children nationwide who've been abducted. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, up to 4600 children are abducted by strangers every year (about 12 children nationwide every day).

The system works by seeking the assistance of the public where a child has been abducted and it is feared that the child will be seriously harmed. The intention is to notify the general public, through the media, that a child has been taken, so they look out for the child, the abductor(s) or any vehicle used in the abduction. They then report their information to police.

Following the success of the scheme, it is being taken up throughout the USA. There are already six states that wholly subscribe to the Amber Alert scheme. The current schemes incorporate both TV and radio stations, as well as other mediums, e.g. motorway dot matrix information boards.

Following a suggestion from The Argus (a local Sussex newspaper) that Sussex Police may like to look at this scheme, Det Chief Supt Jeremy Paine visited the USA with the Tonight with Trevor McDonald TV programme. The scheme was so impressive that Det Chf Supt Paine undertook to launch it in Sussex as soon as possible.

Following the visit at the end of September 2002 the scheme was launched in Sussex on November 14, 2002.

Since then, it has spread to Surrey Police and now to Hampshire Constabulary. Other police forces across the country are also considering taking the scheme on.