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| America Online Joins the NM Amber Alert Team |
April 20, 2003 |
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Attention AOL and AIM users:
You can receive AMBER Alerts through e-mail, text message, or IM!
America Online and New Mexico law enforcement are teaming up to make our kids a little bit safer. AMBER Alerts can now be transmitted via e-mail or instant message when a child is abducted and law enforcement decides to enact the AMBER Alert.
 “This increases the reach of the AMBER Alerts, which increases the probability that a child’s life could be saved,” says Heather. “I commend America Online for their commitment to this program and to child safety. AOL and their call center here, employing 1,100 New Mexicans, continues to be a good neighbor. I also commend the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department for taking advantage of this opportunity. It’s my hope today that other law enforcement agencies in this state will follow suit by making AOL AMBER Alerts available statewide.”
“AOL believes strongly in helping to protect children,” said Paul Volner, General Manager of AOL`s Albuquerque call center. “We have a very strong parental control system in our online product and are always looking for ways to help in the fight to keep kids safe.”
AOL users can even receive AMBER Alerts on their cell phones… This increases the reach of the AMBER Alerts, which increases the probability that a child’s life could be saved.”
--Heather Wilson
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New Mexico’s broadcast media led efforts in New Mexico to establish the AMBER Alerts after Wilson approached them and New Mexico law enforcement, asking them to consider partnering together to offer a service that could save a child’s life. AMBER Alerts became available in New Mexico in April 2001 after months of planning to ensure that AMBER Alerts are used properly.
Today, the Albuquerque Police Department, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, and the New Mexico State Police all have established AMBER Alert programs.
"This partnership between broadcasters and law enforcement, and today, America Online, will create a huge neighborhood watch program," said Wilson. "Now, AOL users can even receive AMBER Alerts on their cell phones," said Wilson of the AMBER Plan’s effectiveness as an added tool for New Mexico law enforcement.
An AMBER Alert uses the same Emergency Alert System (EAS) deployed in severe weather or national emergencies. When a law enforcement agency confirms that a child has been abducted and has clues or descriptions people can look for, it notifies Citadel’s KKOB Radio, designated New Mexico’s primary EAS radio station, which automatically relays the information to all area radio and TV stations and cable systems. Radio stations interrupt their programming with the alert, and TV stations and cable systems run a “crawl” message on the screen (often with a photo of the child). Some AMBER plans also use electronic highway billboards to disseminate the alerts.
Since the establishment of the first AMBER Alert plan in 1996, 32 abducted children nationally have been successfully recovered as a direct result of the prompt response of communities using their AMBER Alert plans. |
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