We’ve all gotten those Amber Alerts on our phones when there’s a missing child. The alerts come as part of Amber’s law. Most people probably know what they’re for but do they know what to do if a missing child is spotted? And do Amber Alerts work?

Those are questions posed on Friday's The Sparkto Lieutenant Adam Reed, Director, Communications Office for Pennsylvania State Police, who said,"There's a handful of criteria that's very specific to Amber Alerts. Within that criteria, the missing child or abducted child has to be under the age of 18. And also, very importantly, there has to be good reason to believe that child is in imminent danger of death or serious injury. Those are the two big qualifiers right there. Third, we're looking at the timeliness of information. Was that information reported to law enforcement in a timely fashion? Was that information relayed to a missing persons unit who controls the Amber Alerts within our department?"

Lt. Reed was asked if Amber Alerts work,"Since the inception of the Amber Alert system in 1996, over 1000 children have been recovered safely thanks to the Amber Alert system" (nationwide).

What should someone do if they think they see the child or car that was the subject of an Amber Alert,"if you think you see something, if you think you see the vehicle or an individual matching that Amber Alert, call 911. And we're going to come out and we will investigate and hopefully bring that to a positive conclusion."

We’ve all gotten those Amber Alerts on our phones when there’s a missing child. The alerts come as part of Amber’s law. Most people probably know what they’re for but do they know what to do if a missing child is spotted? And do Amber Alerts work?
Those are questions posed on Friday's The Spark to Lieutenant Adam Reed, Director, Communications Office for Pennsylvania State Police, who said,"There's a handful of criteria that's very specific to Amber Alerts. Within that criteria, the missing child or abducted child has to be under the age of 18. And also, very importantly, there has to be good reason to believe that child is in imminent danger of death or serious injury. Those are the two big qualifiers right there. Third, we're looking at the timeliness of information. Was that information reported to law enforcement in a timely fashion? Was that information relayed to a missing persons unit who controls the Amber Alerts within our department?"
Lt. Reed was asked if Amber Alerts work,"Since the inception of the Amber Alert system in 1996, over 1000 children have been recovered safely thanks to the Amber Alert system" (nationwide).
What should someone do if they think they see the child or car that was the subject of an Amber Alert,"if you think you see something, if you think you see the vehicle or an individual matching that Amber Alert, call 911. And we're going to come out and we will investigate and hopefully bring that to a positive conclusion."

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

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