AMBER Alert is a cooperative agreement between New Mexico broadcasters
and law enforcement. The New Mexico
Broadcaster’s Association (NMBA) represents the
broadcasters in this endeavor, and they were instrumental in bringing
Amber Alert to New Mexico in 1999.
The agreement
allows law enforcement access to the state’s
Emergency Alert System, or ‘EAS’. You may have recently heard
tests of this system, either over the radio or on your television.
If
a law enforcement agency is investigating a child abduction, they can
broadcast useful information over the EAS system, with the hope that
the public may have seen the vehicle involved or the suspect, for example.
770 KKOB Radio, owned by Citadel Communications, is the designated ‘state
primary station’ for the Emergency Alert System. They are at the ‘top’ of
the information pyramid if you will.
Every radio and television station
in the state that is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) is required to monitor their EAS equipment.
The agency investigating
the abduction can call 770 KKOB Radio, and record a message for broadcast
over the EAS (if that agency has entered into an agreement with Citadel
Communications).
770 KKOB Radio will then broadcast the message over
the EAS. Essentially, a statewide broadcast of the Amber Alert will
occur.
There are stringent rules as to when an ‘Amber Alert’ may
be broadcast. This helps alleviate false alarms and over-use of the system.
County and city law enforcement agencies are encouraged to participate
in Amber Alert. They can participate in one of two ways:
Develop and implement their own plan, or
Utilize the New Mexico State
Police as their point of contact to issue Amber Alerts for them
Realizing that smaller agencies may not have the resources to effectively
implement their own Amber Plan, as a matter of state law and Department
of Public Safety Policy, the New Mexico State Police will issue an Amber
Alert for ANY agency investigating an abduction. Of course, the above
criterion must be met.
Efforts undertaken by law-enforcement agencies during the initial stages of a missing-child report may often make the difference between a case with a swift, successful conclusion and one evolving into months or even years of stressful, unresolved investigation.
State Police now offer a 2 hour class entitled, Child Abduction Response and Amber Alert.
The class covers:
Initial tasks when responding to the missing child/abduction call.
Investigative steps to enhance response and timely entry of information into NCIC.
Long term investigations.
Parental abduction/custodial interference.
Overview of the Amber Alert criteria and activation process.
Overview of the Endangered Persons Advisory recently passed by the legislature which went into effect July 2007.
If your agency is interested in this training, contact:
Governor Richardson signed into law House Bill 16, creating an
Amber Alert Law in New Mexico. The law became effective upon his signature,
which occurred April 1, 2003.
The law requires the New Mexico State Police to develop and implement
a "state-wide" Amber Plan.
Agencies that already have their
own Amber Plan are not affected by the legislation.
Aside from an
EAS broadcast, the law also requires the State Police to do the following:
Notify
all law enforcement agencies in New Mexico of the Amber Alert (this
is accomplished through NMLETS [New Mexico Law Enforcement Teletype
System]).
Provide the information to the Radio Communications Bureau
(RCB) of the General Services Department. The RCB provides radio
dispatch service to all state government entities outside of the
Department of Public Safety.
The State Police policy mandates the following four resources be
utilized when an Amber Alert Occurs:
EAS broadcast (state law)
Notification of ALL law enforcement (state
law)
Notification of GSD/RCB for re-broadcast (state law)
Broadcast to
ALL N.M. lottery terminals (policy)
Any of the above resources are available to ALL law enforcement
agencies in New Mexico, regardless of the existence of their own Amber
Plan. The State Police can also employ the following resources:
BeyondMissing.com - This
is a free, web-based resource where missing person flyers can be made,
distributed, and printed.
National
Weather Service - The State Police has access to the
radio infrastructure maintained and operated by the National Weather
Service. Actual Amber Alerts can be broadcast over their network.
AOL's Amber
Alerts On-Line - America On-Line will broadcast
Amber Alerts via the internet.
Again, these resources are available to all law enforcement agencies,
regardless of their participation in a local Amber Plan.
Where can I get more information about missing and/or exploited children?
MissingPersons.osogrande.com - The New Mexico Missing Persons
Information page. www.missingkids.com - The National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children – tons of useful information for both law enforcement and
parents. www.dps.nm.org - Links to the Amber Alert page, our policy,
the New Mexico law, and other useful resources.
Click
here to receive AMBER Alerts through your Cell Phone Provider 
