Justice Department Announces Guide For Media And Law Enforcement To Improve AMBER Alert Responses To Child Abductions

WASHINGTON, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, today announced the release of a new guide, AMBER Alert Best Practices, to enhance the ability of law enforcement, child protection officials and other partners to safely recover missing and abducted children.  Ms. Hanes announced the guide at the annual National Missing Children's Day commemoration held in the Department's Great Hall.

Through the America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert program, community representatives from law enforcement, the media and the public join forces to develop and implement protocols to be followed during a child abduction. The guide describes responsibilities, effective practices and practitioner tips for each discipline, detailing how to:

• activate an AMBER Alert;
• train law enforcement;
• broadcast an alert effectively;
• disseminate information to the public;
• use technology and social media;
• coordinate volunteers; and
• approach family members of an abducted child.

TITLE: AMBER Alert Best Practices

LEAD AUTHOR: Donna Uzzell, Director, Criminal Justice Information Systems, Florida Department of Law Enforcement

PUBLISHER: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, www.ojjdp.gov

WHERE: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/232271.pdf

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has six bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

SOURCE Department of Justice

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