| id | cleanReleaseDate | troopName | title |
| 6779 | 2009-01-12 | Statewide | Honor National AMBER Alert Day; Sign up for Wireless AMBER Alerts |
| LOUISIANA STATE POLICE COURTESY LOYALTY SERVICE News Release January 12, 2009 Honor National AMBER Alert Day; Sign up for Wireless AMBER Alerts On Tuesday, January 13, 2009, the nation recognizes National AMBER Alert Awareness Day. Since the program’s inception, over 432 abducted children across the country have been safely recovered as a direct result of AMBER Alert. While there are 120 plans across the country, there is one official AMBER Alert plan in Louisiana and that plan is administered by the Louisiana State Police, in cooperation with the Louisiana broadcasters. This statewide plan is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Since the inception of the Louisiana plan in October of 2002, there have been only twelve activations. In all cases, the children were successfully recovered. Lou Munson, President/CEO of the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters, attributes a portion of the plan’s success to partnerships. “The AMBER Alert Foundation of Louisiana and the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters value the strong relationship we have with the Louisiana State Police and appreciate the diligent efforts of the state AMBER Alert coordinator and that of Colonel Mike Edmonson, who has served on the AMBER Alert Foundation Board of Directors since Louisiana’s AMBER Alert plan was founded.” Ironically, technology is one of greatest assets to the program and, yet, is also one of the greatest hindrances. A well-intentioned public often forwards misguided or phony texts and/or emails which refer to AMBER Alerts. We strongly urge the public to only react to AMBER Alerts from authorized sources, such as the Louisiana media via the Louisiana State Police, Wireless AMBER Alerts, Missingkids.com/National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (N.C.M.E.C.), or the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing & Exploited Children. The furtherance of such phony or misguided “alerts” jeopardizes the integrity of the AMBER Alert plan. To receive AMBER Alerts in a specific area of the state, the public may sign-up to receive free text messages via www.wirelessamberalerts.org. Those who sign-up will also receive the AMBER Alert cancellation message when the alert is no longer necessary. The Louisiana State Police strictly adhere to the AMBER Alert criteria, as recommended by the Department of Justice: the abducted child must be aged 17 or younger, the child must be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, and there must be enough descriptive information about the abducted child, suspect and vehicle in order to make an AMBER Alert activation viable. The Louisiana AMBER Alert plan is not intended for runaways or for the majority of parental abductions, except in rare situations. For more information on AMBER Alert, please visit: www.LSP.org, www.louisianaamberalert.com, www.amberalert.gov, www.missingkids.com and www.wirelessamberalerts.org. Contact Information: Sgt. Julie Lewis Louisiana State Police North District Public Affairs Supervisor Louisiana AMBER Alert Coordinator www.lsp.org ____________________________________________________________ xxx LSP xxx | |||
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