Amber Alert

[newmousecateer]

A very interesting discussion on the radio this morning about the Amber Alert. Police in California say this is what saved the two teens lives. When it Amber Alert is activated (started in Texas after a little girl named Amber was abducted and murdered), a warning signal much like an emergency broadcast signal interrups radio station broadcasts so people know to "listen up". A description of the child, abductor, make and color of car, license plate number, any info available is given out. Also, all the electronic billboard signs on the highway are changed from "delays ahead, etc" to flashing the pertinent info.

Only 11 states have this system. They claim Illinois is one, but they have never really implemented it because "the radio stations don't want to interrup programming and possibly lose ratings"!!!

Any suggestions how people can go about writing "someone" to help get this system implemented in their state?

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I don't know...but it sounds like a great idea!

 

[browneyes]

Originally posted by newmousecateer
Only 11 states have this system. They claim Illinois is one, but they have never really implemented it because "the radio stations don't want to interrup programming and possibly lose ratings"!!!

I wonder if GA is one of those 11 states?

 

[shep]

our town is big on ratings..
this would be good for Ky.

 

[newmousecateer]

Went on to a websit that lists:

AZ, TX, GA, IL, MI, MN, OK, PA, CA, MO, AL, UT and WA

The problem is, some states like IL claim they have it, but they don't use it!

 

[DawnCt]

Not only is the Amber alert a great idea but the rescue of these two teens proves that it works. They were minutes away from death and if the entire state of California had not been made aware of the situation, law enforcement would still be searching and we would have had a very sad outcome.

 

[dizneegirl]

Dayton, OH has just adopted the Amber Alert as well...

Hey, if it helps save someone's life, or return them to their family, you can interrupt my local programming 24/7!

 

[Lorix2]

I'm 100% for implementing it in my state, I don't even know if we have it....nothing is more important than saving a child and returning them to their home....I'd be on the look out for sure if had the info available to me!

 

[newmousecateer]

I am definately going to find out who I can write to in Illinois about getting this implemented.

The heck with these radio station's ratings. Let them get their priorities straight!

 

[Muffin]

I'm not making this up.....

About 2-3 weeks ago, someone wrote a letter to the forum of the local TV guide that comes with our Sunday paper complaining because an "Amber alert" interrupted the show she was watching. I was astonished and disgusted, as were many people who wrote in the next week blasting her stupid letter.

 

[SuiteDisney]

That's a great idea. I live in PA, but I never heard of it. I hope that means that we haven't needed to use it.

 

[yensid1071]

Ratings should have nothing to do with it, but I'm sure the radio/tv execs would argue otherwise. The times I've heard Amber alearts, they've all been during commercial breaks or they've put them on between songs, then go right back to programming. They're only aobut 60 seconds long and are repeated 2-3 times every 30 minutes. They're kind of similar to the Emergency Broadcast System alert, but when you hear the two, they're easy to tell apart. If states have it but aren't using it, they need to figure out how to change it.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

I figured that every state has them.

I've heard radio stations cut straight from talking to the Amber Alert. Sometimes they're pretty informative & they're also pretty good about letting people know when the child has been found. If every state doesn't have this, they should!

 

[luvmy2sams]

We had an Amber Alert here last night (safe outcome, thankfully). Our local ABC affiliate ran the alert across the bottom of the screen from the moment it was issued until the boy was found. It's a wonderful idea!

 

[Big V]

I had never heard of this until yesterday. It is a wonderful idea and should be used nation wide!

 

[gemmie214]

I wish we had it here but I guess all our tax money is being thrown into the Big Dig rught now Priorities

 

[becka]

I had never heard of this until today on the news. I really hope that Missouri looks at this case and decides to implement something in this state.

 

[Pooh93]

When you find out where to write in Illinois, let me know and I would be more than happy to write a letter also. I know my tax dollar are put to such good use in other places seems like this a little more worthy cause.