AMBER Alert

AMBER Alert

AMBER is the acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. This was created to honor 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnaped in 1996 while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas and then brutally murdered.

AMBER Alerts helps to recover children and serves as a deterrent to this type of crime.

The AMBER Alert™ Program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, transportation agencies and the wireless industry, to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and the safe recovery of the child.

Once law enforcement has been notified about an abducted child, they must contact Rhode Island State Police for review to determine if the case meets the AMBER Alert criteria.

Rhode Island AMBER Alert Criteria:

1. There is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction of a child aged 17 years or younger has occurred
2. Law enforcement believes that the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death
3. There must be enough descriptive information about the child, suspect and/or suspect vehicle for law enforcement to believe that an immediate alert will assist in the safe recovery of the child or apprehension of suspect

If these criteria are met, alert information must be put together for public distribution. This information can include descriptions and pictures of the missing child, the suspected abductor, a suspected vehicle and any other information available and valuable to identifying the child and suspect.

The AMBER Alert will be broadcast through IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) which will route the AMBER Alert to the EAS (Emergency Alert System). Radio stations interrupt programming to announce the Alert, and television stations and cable systems run a "crawl" on the screen along with a picture of the child.

As part of the AMBER Alert programs secondary distribution protocol The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) will distribute the alert to cell phones through the Wireless Emergency Alert program (WEA) which is also known as the Commercial Mobile Alert System.

Anyone with a capable mobile device, will automatically receive alerts when you are in the geographic area where an alert has been issued.

In Case of an Alert

In the event that you see someone fitting the description of the child, suspect or vehicle provided in the AMBER Alert broadcast, immediately call 911 or the telephone number provided during an AMBER Alert (401) 46-AMBER (401-462-6237) and provide authorities with as much information as possible.

Before Sharing an Alert

Before you share an Alert on social media, please confirm the alert is still active and can do so by visiting the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Other Sites for AMBER Alert Information

Sign up to receive alerts

Facebook page for AMBER Alerts

AMBER Alert guidelines

2018 AMBER Alert Awareness - Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation