Amber Alert Success Rates

I thought this was interesting and a show of how the system really does work ...

275 Amber Alerts were issued last year — and only three kids are still missing. That’s a lot fewer alerts than you’d expect. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children releases the figure to show that Amber Alerts aren’t flooding the airwaves as some fear. ... As for those 275 incidents — many situations turned out to be pretty harmless. But in 60 instances the Amber Alert rescued a child from a potentially dangerous situation. The Center says the system has rescued 289 kids total.

source: inside radio

Message edited 8/22/2006 9:15:15 AM.

Re: Amber Alert Success Rates

That's pretty impressive. I feel so bad for those 3 families that still have missing children though.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children releases the figure to show that Amber Alerts aren’t flooding the airwaves as some fear.

I think it's a disgraceful commentary on our society that this was even a concern considering the amount of time devoted to Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.

Re: Amber Alert Success Rates

The concern was flooding the airways with unwarrented alerts and desensitizing listeners to the alerts ... which does happen in almost any circumstance ...

Here is the rest of the quote from the article

"( — part of the group of Dallas broadcasters who resolved to make something positive come from the 1996 abduction of Amber Hagerman — tells us it’s important to keep the criteria focused so “we don’t have the public become desensitized to the alerts."

Message edited 8/22/2006 9:40:18 AM.

Re: Amber Alert Success Rates

That makes much more sence in context - thanks for adding that. I think it's a great program and I am glad to see it does work.