AMBER alerts have been proven to be very effective in recent years as more times than not, police are able to locate the suspect. AMBER alerts started in 1996 following the death of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas and has grown globally since. Canada adopted the AMBER alert in 2002 and now it can cover more than missing children.
In Ontario the Ready alert system is ran by Pelmorex who runs The Weather Network, but the police are heavily involved in issuing AMBER alerts. This means that the alerts can now protect us from extreme weather or natural disasters. Sergeant Pierre Gautier from the OPP’s Provincial Operations gave more information about how they issue the alerts.
“The alert sounds the same and looks the same regardless of whether it’s an AMBER alert, tornado warning or whether it’s some sort of natural disaster, it is a standardized alert. AMBER alerts are always province wide. We don’t geo-fence certain counties or areas because sometimes there’s a delay with respect to the time the event happened to the time the AMBER alert is requested.”
There are some criteria that needs to be met before issuing an AMBER alert, as police need as much information as possible. An investigation is done before issuing any AMBER alert to see if it’s credible which can cause a delay in issuing the alert.
“There’s three criteria that needs to be met. The law enforcement agency that requests the AMBER alert need to believe that the child is under 18 and has been abducted. They need to believe the child is in danger and they also have to have sufficient descriptive information of either the child, the abductor and or the vehicle in order to put out an immediate broadcast.”
A common thought complaint may have when receiving an AMBER alert is “it happened in another city, why am I seeing it?” But the alert is sent province wide as it takes time to get through the investigation and the suspect could be anywhere by the time the alert is ready.
“[The investigation] can take a short amount of time or it can take a few hours. We have had a situation where there was an AMBER alert issued in Thunder Bay a number of years ago, and by the time it was broadcasted, the suspect and the child were able to board a plane and get to Toronto. So when people question why I’m getting this alert, it’s because sometimes there is a delay in time and we have no idea where that suspect may have gone.”
Now police can use the same system for warning people about emergencies in their area. This is on a smaller scale as it is much more directed at certain locations where the event is happening. Ontario adopted this system following the Gabriel Wortman shootings in Nova Scotia last year, Gautier went into more detail about how this system differs from an AMBER alert.
“Civil emergency alerts are utilized for situations like what happened in Nova Scotia last year. It’s when there is an active shooter type situation, and the shooter is not contained or isolated and there’s an immediate threat to public safety. The alert will be much more targeted in its location and it will provide a specific direction to the citizens, typically we will ask people to stay in shelter.”
Although the AMBER alerts can come at bad times and are loud, they can disrupt an important meeting or an interview, they are important as there is a life at risk and we can help the police ensure their safety. Gautier gave his perspective on why AMBER alerts deserve our attention.
“I apologize for any inconvenience that the alert may cause, whether it’s on television, radio or your cellphone. But I will never apologize for the safe return of a child.”
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