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The AMBER Alert Plan is an early warning system
available for use by law enforcement to alert the public when a child
has been kidnapped and law enforcement believes the child is in
danger. The plan is designed to use maximum public participation to
recover children in only the most serious child abduction situations.
It is hoped that the early warning distributed by the state radio and
television Emergency Alert System (EAS) will coerce a kidnapper into
releasing a child unharmed.
After receiving a report of a child kidnapping, the
law enforcement agency of jurisdiction determines if the child
kidnapping meets the requirements of the Alaska AMBER Plan. If it
does, the agency contacts the Alaska State Troopers Dispatch Center to
request activation of the AMBER Plan. Trooper dispatch confirms that
an AMBER alert plan is necessary, collects the information and begins
notification of proper parties. The Alaska Division of Emergency
Services is notified and activates
an AMBER Alert for the state.
When ADES activates the alert through the statewide
Emergency Alert System, the information is broadcast to all radio and
television stations and GCI Cable. Participating stations will
broadcast the information every half-hour for the first two hours,
then once per hour for the next three hours.
If the child is recovered during the activation period of the alert, the reporting agency will notify the
Troopers. ADES can then send a deactivation message through the
system.
By broadcasting frequent public alerts, descriptions and other
vital information in the crucial first hours after a child abduction,
law enforcement hopes to enlist citizens in an effort to recover the
child unharmed.
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