AMBER ALERT Joins Twitter With @AMBERAlert abducted children alerts

Monday, January 13, 2014

AMBER ALERT Joins Twitter With @AMBERAlert abducted children alerts

AMBER ALERT Joins Twitter

Posted: Jan 13, 2014 9:56 AM PSTUpdated: Jan 13, 2014 9:56 AM PST

From the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children:

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children today announced the launch of an AMBER Alert™ Twitter account. Using the handle @AMBERAlert, the new account will help the abducted children alerts reach the approximately 49 million monthly Twitter users in the United States. This announcement comes on AMBER Alert Awareness Day, which the U.S. Department of Justice declared to increase awareness of the AMBER Alert program and encourage public engagement in the safe recovery of abducted children.

"Since it was created in 1996, the AMBER Alert program has grown into a powerful national network that has helped to safely recover 679 abducted children," said Karol V. Mason, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs and National AMBER Alert Coordinator. "By adding Twitter to the network, we greatly enhance our ability to reach the public and are able to make this important public safety tool even more effective."

Twitter users, who follow the @AMBERAlert handle will automatically receive all AMBER Alerts in their Twitter feed.

"The AMBER Alert program has always represented an evolution in the way we search for abducted children, making technology and the rapid distribution of information a critical part of their safe recovery," said John Ryan, NCMEC president and CEO. ""We will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Justice to find ways to expand the alerts' reach and bring more children home safely."

Law enforcement issues AMBER Alerts, which include the geographic area where the alert should be issued and any available information about the child, abductor, or suspected vehicle used in the abduction.

Once issued, broadcasters and transportation agencies distribute the alerts. They are also sent to NCMEC, which resends the alerts at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice to a network of secondary distributors that includes Internet service providers, digital billboards, truckers, cell phones, and others. NCMEC will issue the alerts via Twitter through this secondary distribution.

Did you receive an AMBER Alert on your phone? Click here to learn more about the new Wireless Emergency Alert program.

The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies, and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.

See Active AMBER Alerts

The information and statements contained on this official Department of Justice AMBER Alert website shall not be used for the purposes of advertising, nor to imply the endorsement or recommendation of the United States Government. Use of the AMBER Alert™ logo is subject to the Department of Justice legal policies and disclaimers regarding the use of DOJ seals and logos.

Reference herein (including any document posted hereon or linked hereto) to any specific AMBER or AMBER-related commercial products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government.

For more information about AMBER Alerts, including the history of the program, visit www.amberalert.gov.

From the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

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CFN - California Fire News 2013

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Monday, January 13, 2014