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AMBER Alert — Best Practices for Public Information Officers

May 27, 2012

AMBER Alert — Best Practices for Public Information Officers (PDF)
Source: National Criminal Justice Reference Service

The success of an AMBER Alert is often measured by how quickly and timely a public Alert can be issued. Re­ search has shown that when citi­zens are aware a reliable mecha­nism exists to help locate abduct­ed children, and when they view their role as both worthy and ef­fective, they willingly serve as thousands of additional eyes and ears on behalf of law enforcement (Burns and Crawford, 1999; Zgoba, 2004; Rothe and Muzzatti, 2004).

Additional research has shown that among missing child cases ending in homicide, the murder usually occurs within the first three hours following the abduc­tion (Hanfland, Keppel, and Weis, 1997). The AMBER Alert program works because citizens know what to look for, who to contact, and what is at stake. AMBER Alert pro­vides both a dependable method for helping law enforcement lo­ cate an abducted child and a program goal that is widely per­ceived as both worthwhile and noble. Quite simply, AMBER Alert is a model program for the public.

AMBER Alert systems work best when all component agencies/ organizations function in a smooth and consistent manner. The effectiveness of the law en­forcement agency’s public infor­ mation operations will be enhanced by strong leadership and direction based on clear departmental policies and procedures.

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Categories: crime, government and politics, media and entertainment, National Criminal Justice Reference Service
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