Talk:Amber alert

Legality and Can Spam Act
Many phone carriers are enabling amber alerts by default. Is that legal? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.55.54.40 (talk) 19:38, 6 August 2013 (UTC)

Missing sections
The Amber Alert was not named for Amber Rene Hagerman! It was in use long before she was killed. It was used in Season 4, Episode 3 of the sitcom 'The Andy Griffith Show,' 'Ernest T. Bass Joins the Army' as 'Amber Alert 2' by character Barney Fife played by actor Don Knotts on 14 November 1963. Brian Brown, Ph.D. Abilicom (talk) 03:34, 15 April 2021 (UTC)


 * That is a reference to something different. They weren't searching for a child, they were on watch for a notorious rock thrower out for revenge. But they're a small town, they can't quite manage a red alert so they have a yellow (amber) alert. I guess red would be something so bad they both had to stay awake. Attack.Iguana (talk) 10:43, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Seems there should be a section for criticisms, statistics for success and failure rates, and also examples of the "scams."

Obviously from this Talk page, there is plenty of controversy, disagreement, lack of clear data, and scamming going on in the country regarding Amber Alert. Yet this doesn't seem to be mentioned in the article.

Evidently there isn't a consensus and there's a problem with whether some sources are legitimate. But shouldn't these things at least be mentioned in the article, with their specifics omitted? I for one have no idea what the controversies and scams are ABOUT. I don't need names and places -- I just need to know the concepts. What is the controversy? Could the scams be described? Tragic romance 04:00, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Also, should an entire underlying concept be removed from an article just because its specifics are unsourced? Or should the specifics be removed, while leaving the concept intact? [For example, you wouldn't delete the entire "Hail Mary" section from the football article just because someone put in unsourced info about players and coaches who used it.]Tragic romance 04:04, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

Well-cited addition
On 8-31-2017 I attempted to add the following paragraph, but it won't let me save the changes! What is going on here? Is there any reason this shouldn't be in the article?

Edit: the strength of this edit is in the 5 citations I added, but I can't save changes even to this talk page, so I removed the citations just to get this up here

The alert is controversial due to concerns of its ineffectiveness: many have suggested scrapping the system, because it doesn't save lives and "the vast majority of child abductions in this country are committed by relatives or acquaintances—estranged parents and such who usually mean the children no harm." Others say it amounts to little more than "crime-control theater," making people feel better without actual results.

Requested image
A photo of an electronic traffic-condition sign displaying an AMBER alert would give the reader a more immediate understanding of what a typical alert consists of and how large a scope the alert actually has. Mrtea (talk) 06:19, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
 * Thank you, Author782! Mrtea (talk) 19:45, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
 * You're welcome. Author782 09:01, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
 * The image of questionable copyright status, Image:Amber13.JPG, was removed by OrphanBot on 19-FEB-2006. Kevyn 06:44, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

A new image, Image:Amber1.PNG, was posted by ChrisRy5 on 3-SEP-2006. However, it's actual copyright status is uncertain - it is claimed to be public domain, but without actual source information, it will have to be removed. Kevyn 06:48, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
 * The image has been deleted as a copyright violation. Kevyn 15:16, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

--Chiew 09:55, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

Questions (removed from article)
I removed this html comment from the article: "When did the national system come online? What is the history of Canada's versions? Did Al Gore have something to do with proposing the U.S. system? (He was mentioned in a previous version of the article, but it was not clear whether the info was accurate)." Mrtea (talk) 19:51, 17 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I had put those questions in there to accompany the sectstub that was applicable to the History section. Someone squeezed in a new section above the stub and comments last month. I believe the history section is still not much of a history, so I am restoring the stub and will point to the talk page. &mdash; mjb 23:28, 17 January 2006 (UTC)


 * Sure thing. Like you pointed out in your edit summary, the comments and stub template got moved around so I was just confused as to why they were there. Mrtea (talk) 00:38, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

Missing White Woman Syndrome
I removed this link from the see also. The program is used to help find children of a variety of colors and both genders in my area and I am sorry if it is only used to find white females in the area of whoever added it but it is not related to this article. - Kuzain 16:46, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

Since Amber Alerts are predominantly concerned with white rich kids, particularly female, certainly the link about "Missing white woman syndrome" is relevant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome Kuzain censored it out because he or she doesn't want anything in the article that conflicts with his or her opinion. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Nehmo (talk • contribs).


 * Can you back up this claim with some facts? If that link is to be there, it needs to be accompanied with properly sourced justification.  In my case, the last two Amber Alerts that I've seen were for hispanics.  --Bletch 13:34, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

I concur with Kuzain. The Amber Alert system has nothing to do with the cultural phenomenon "Missing White Woman Syndrome." I could see an article on "Missing White Woman Syndrome" referencing the Amber Alert article, but not the other way around.Tragic romance 03:29, 6 December 2006 (UTC)


 * As the article documents, the Amber Alert system was created in response to – and was promoted by – well-publicized cases of Missing White Girl Syndrome (such as Amber), so saying it "has nothing to do with" it, is simply incorrect. -Jason A. Quest (talk) 11:51, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

Amber Article on 3-01-06 is complete junk
This article as it was on 3-01-06 is emblematic of what is wrong with Wikipedia. It was an advertisement rather than an impartial encyclopedia-like article. Amber alerts, who issues them, how they are used, how much funding goes to them, and what happens to the funding, are controversial subjects. Promotional writings on Amber alerts deserve a skeptical eye.

There are so many people profiting from child protection scams, particularly the government sponsored ones, that nowadays in America, almost any program or agency claiming to help children should be suspect. Nobody should simply assume these programs or agencies are blossoming from the goodness of someone's heart. &mdash; Nehmo 15:06 1 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Sign your post with four tildes ( ~ ) next time (I added an attribution of your comment for you this time).


 * You raise some excellent points, but you also demonstrated some of the other shortcomings of Wikipedia. For one, your attempts to correct the situation consisted of turning the article into a very informally phrased message board post; your contributions belie your frustration, as they sound more like sour grapes than anything academic. Also, the article was actually far more neutral before someone started messing with it on February 19. You should always check the recent history on an article that attracts scam artists because they tend to sneak things in, and they make their last change be a minor edit that causes people checking watchlists to overlook the more drastic changes made on the same day. That's pretty much what happened here (I'm not calling anyone a scammer, I'm just saying there were some less-than-ideal edits that snuck in). For now, I have reverted it to the last 'good' version. This also includes reverting the 'Successful Examples' section that was added by Zappa.jake; in hindsight, I think a discussion of examples should include a mention that unsuccessful examples are rarely publicized, and the likelihood that the 'success' of the system is hard to measure, since many cases are never proven to be abductions. So please review the current article and see what you think is needed, and let's discuss its shortcomings here (see below). &mdash; mjb 19:44, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Article changes needed
I think it's not necessary to elaborate on the criticisms of child protection scams in general, at least not in an article devoted to AMBER Alerts specifically, but I'd like to at least characterize the controversy (i.e., mention that it exists). Would you say that the system's high visibility is thought, by some, to feed into the public's paranoia and hysteria about child abductions? I think I would, but I can't cite a source for that.

What are some of the other criticisms?

Some of the contributions by Nehmo (click) that were removed when reverting the article to the relatively neutral version include the following: &mdash; mjb 19:44, 1 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Who prompts the issuing of alerts? It was speculated that sometimes it is local police departments, and sometimes it is child protection services divisions of state governments, while some erroneously think it is the Dept. of Homeland Security. Who's doing the issuing and at whose behest seems like it should be verifiable info; would someone mind doing some Googling for that?
 * It was speculated that an AMBER Alert wouldn't have helped Amber Hagerman, and "Maybe it was just a feel-good the media wanted after the kid's murder". Wikipedia is not the place for such speculation, but there might be ways we can work these points into the article when discussing the intent and justification of the system when it was created.
 * Criteria for issuing an alert varies widely, and the state of Maine's criteria was given as an example, along with discussion of how other jurisdictions' criteria may differ. I think this is good stuff and can be restored, but it needs some phrasing cleanup. Did you (Nehmo) author it yourself or did you pull it from somewhere? It was formatted with hard line breaks which makes me think you copy-pasted it from somewhere.
 * More examples of successes and failures were given. I like the general idea but it could grow out of hand; we need to first write some prose about the variable measures of 'success' and the fact that failures are not publicized. Then, any examples must have sources cited.

Nehmo, please adhere to Wikipedia conventions here. Don't split up someone's original comments. If you need to address them point-by-point, then make separate copies what you're responding to, and use indenting (everything at a particular indent level should be attributable to the same person, so they don't have to sign every paragraph). I've reformatted your replies below, and added my own responses. &mdash; mjb 11:40, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

You seem to make your own "conventions". Wikipedia is a collaborative effort, and you simply a vandalize to exclude anybody who disagrees with you. Fortunately for you, I don't have time to repeatedly edit the Wikipedia pages you meddle with. With the instant issue, if the article omits the controversial points, then it is unjustly giving credibility to the ones mentioned. 07:19, 27 August 2016 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nehmo (talk • contribs)

I think it's not necessary to elaborate on the criticisms of child protection scams in general, at least not in an article devoted to AMBER Alerts specifically,


 * Amber alerts *are* a child protection scam. But I did not elaborate on "child protection scams in general" in the article I posted. You are confusing my comments on the discussion page with the article I posted. -- Nehmo

''but I'd like to at least characterize the controversy (i.e., mention that it exists). Would you say that the system's high visibility is thought, by some, to feed into the public's paranoia and hysteria about child abductions? I think I would, but I can't cite a source for that.''


 * I don't know. But it's a separate issue than anything I discussed. The main issue is that Amber alerts are claiming to be something they are not. A Wikipedia article that parrots what Amber alert promoters say is not an accurate article, and it ignores Wikipedia's neural point of view philosophy. -- Nehmo

''What are some of the other criticisms? Some of the contributions by Nehmo that were removed when reverting the article to the relatively neutral version include the following:''


 * Since you at least read some of what I wrote, you must understand that I would not agree with your characterization of the previous article as "relatively neutral". Indeed, it's grossly biased. It unabashedly presented Amber alerts as benevolent, and it didn't even contain one critical item.


 * Moreover, you displayed your own bias this when you choose to include (subsequently removed by Lendu ) as the only example of an Amber alert the vague "successful" example added by Zappa.jake. There were so few details in the story, I couldn't conduct a decent search on it, but I tried . Let me know when you find the story. Actually, Zappa.jake, the original submitter of the example, should provide a cite. If Wikipedia allows submitters to just fabricate examples, biased ones at that, then Wikipedia is less reliable than even the usenet. At least in that case the possibility of a challenge is more likely.


 * I provided links for my examples. -- Nehmo


 * Pretty much everything you've said above is based on incorrect assumptions. When you started making changes to the article, it was, I agree, in a pretty sorry state. It got that way mainly due to a series of edits made on February 19 by an anonymous user at IP address 65.25.18.202 (this person was attempting to fill in some history details in order to justify removal of the sectstub, but they ended up just adding propaganda), and Zappa.jake's edit on February 21, which added the so-called 'succesful example'. (And all Lendu did was add a link to the Finnish version of the article.) Prior to 65.25.18.202's changes it was actually in pretty good shape, and did not have egregious bias problems. You are completely mistaken when you say that I reverted it to a version that said "She could possibly been rescued shortly after she was abducted. If only there had been a means of spreading her information, the nine-year-old girl could have lived." That text clearly came from 65.25.18.202's ill-advised changes made on February 19.


 * Neither did I knowingly "allow speculation to stand for so long" as you ask about below. It was actually not even two weeks. And what happened was this: when I checked my watchlist on the night of Feb. 19, I saw only the very last edit by 65.25.18.202. It was very benign, and I didn't think to check to see if any more drastic edits had been made prior to that. Watchlists only show the most recent change, you know, so when someone follows up a major change with a minor one, it has the effect of "nothing to see here, move along". This is a trick some people use when they make controversial edits. Sometimes it is just an accident. Anyway, that's how it slipped by me and probably everyone else who is watching this article. Then, when I checked my watchlist on the 21st, I saw Zappa.jake's edit. I could see that his edit was rather useless and unverifiable as an example, but it wasn't demanding immediate attention, and I figured it would be dealt with by someone with a greater interest in the article anyway. The next edit was TSP's on Feb. 26, which got buried in my watchlist (which is rather long) and I never saw it. It didn't reflect any bias, though. Then you came along with a ton of changes that, in conjunction with what came before, left the article looking not just "unpolished" but also resembling an informal message board post editorializing in rebuttal to some unseen propaganda. It needed more than copyedits and would have had to be completely rewritten to bring it up to encyclopedic standards. So I reverted it to the pre-chaos version, and then posted here in order to explain the action and start some productive discussion on what this version of the article actually needs in order to be improved.

''Who prompts the issuing of alerts? It was speculated that sometimes it is local police departments and sometimes it is child protection services divisions of state governments, while some erroneously think it is the Dept. of Homeland Security.''


 * I addressed this already, and I could expand on the topic too.


 * What I meant, and I provided two explanatory links, was that some people confuse Homeland Security advisories with Amber alerts. They see the words "Amber alert" and they think it's a risk level, which are colored for distinction, and two of the colors are amberish. I don't know of any instance of someone believing Homeland Security issued a missing-kid Amber alert. -- Nehmo


 * OK, I see what you are saying (The "AMBER" in AMBER Alert is sometimes mistakenly thought to indicate a risk level in a color-coded system like those used for air quality and national security alerts, whereas it is actually just the name of the type of bulletin issued by agencies participating in this system). If we are careful how we phrase it, we could say this in the article.

''It was speculated that an AMBER Alert wouldn't have helped Amber Hagerman, and "Maybe it was just a feel-good the media wanted after the kid's murder". Wikipedia is not the place for such speculation, but there might be ways we can work these points into the article when discussing the intent and justification of the system when it was created.''


 * The previous article _speculated_ that such an Amber alert back then in Arlington would have helped Amber: "She could possibly been rescued shortly after she was abducted. If only there had been a means of spreading her information, the nine-year-old girl could have lived." Why did you allow that speculation to stand for so long if speculation is inappropriate? -- Nehmo

''Criteria for issuing an alert varies widely, and the state of Maine's criteria was given as an example, along with discussion of how other jurisdictions' criteria may differ. I think this is good stuff and can be restored, but it needs some phrasing cleanup. Did you (Nehmo) author it yourself or did you pull it from somewhere? It was formatted with hard line breaks which makes me think you copy-pasted it from somewhere.''


 * I wrote it myself. I agree, it wasn't in polished form, but the previous version of that section was worse. Even though the section used the qualifiers "most" and "guidelines" It implied those criteria are indeed used.


 * The article I changed states "… most alerts follow the following guidelines".


 * 1. Since written guidelines or criteria vary widely, how can anyone say they are followed? Just what is being followed?


 * 2. Nobody follows the criteria. None of the examples I posted conformed to any criteria. And if you look at the local alerts in your community, you'll see how loosely the criteria in your area are followed. Many cases are girls who left with their boyfriends, foster kids trying to escape, or parents "taking" their own children. These aren't Amber-alert-monsters abducting little kids. -- Nehmo


 * OK, well, regarding point #1, the qualifiers made it pretty clear that the four criteria listed were in the ballpark, but were not supposed to be exhaustive. I don't think people reading it would come away with the wrong impression of what the criteria actually are, because it disclaimed away any pretense of the list being anything more than representative. On the second point, though, you are correct, there was no citation provided to verify that most jurisdictions follow the guidelines, and it's plausible, if not verifiable, that they don't. I think TSP's edit today tightens up the language of that section pretty well, and makes good use of scare quotes and a reference to a source. &mdash; mjb 11:40, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

''More examples of successes and failures were given. I like the general idea but it could grow out of hand; we need to first write some prose about the variable measures of 'success' and the fact that failures are not publicized. Then, any examples must have sources cited.''


 * I never characterized anything as a success of failure, and it would be simplistic to divide cases into those categories. If, via an Amber alert, a mother gets caught for trying to keep her baby from what she believes are kidnappers, the state government, is her capture a success? In a way it is. It's a successful kidnapping. &mdash;Nehmo 16:56 2 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Perhaps, but the article isn't a place for such "food for thought". Any examples must be illustrating an explicitly stated point. I think if you/we can come up with a way to phrase that point as matter-of-fact rather than implying it or editorializing, then those examples might be useful. &mdash;mjb 11:40, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Hi. Inexperienced editor here, but I have to ask: why is Quebec listed separately from Canada, and Ontario as a subheading under Quebec? 199.212.215.11 (talk) 16:25, 18 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Good point; I've fixed it. Thanks, Orange Suede Sofa  (talk) 16:29, 18 April 2012 (UTC)

False alarms
I don't know if this has been noted, but they don't by any means stick to the stated criteria when issuing these alerts. I've seen false alarms. I know of one where none of the criteria was met. --DanielCD 14:54, 6 March 2006 (UTC)


 * If you can provide any source or citation for this, then it can be included in the article. Wikipedia policies don't, however, allow us to include information based purely on the personal experience of a contributor. TSP 15:43, 6 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Oh, gee. I didn't know that. Duh.


 * My point is that mention of this might improve the article, if it's not mentioned already. I didn't say anything about personal experience. --DanielCD 16:09, 6 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I should have checked out whether you were an experienced editor. I agree that it would improve the article; but I don't know of any particular such instances, and I was wondering whether you had any citations which would allow us to include content on them.  The only citations/references we have at the moment are to official sites, so the article is likely to only contain positive material; which is indeed a problem, but attempts to balance it by including uncited material aren't helping. TSP 16:39, 6 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I'll see if I can find something that can be cited. --DanielCD 18:45, 6 March 2006 (UTC)


 * There's got to be citable articles on this. A quick scan of Google News turns up all kinds of stories just in the last couple weeks, including some that look pretty critical. Add "false" to that query, for kicks... mjb 11:46, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

In 2005, Scripps Howard News comissioned a study of all Amber Alerts that ocurred in the United States in 2004. Only one-third of the alerts actually met the U.S. Department of Justice's criteria for issuing of alerts. I've written a short section for false alarms, citing and linking the study. Kevyn 05:16, 24 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Darn I forgot to get back on this; a lesson to me to keep better track of all the little side projects I get myself into. My thanks to Kevyn and others who helped address the issue. --DanielCD 17:40, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

When is an AMBER Alert issued?
Amber alerts are issued at the discretion of the city or county emergency manager. Traditional ways of issuing alerts are to send faxes to all media outlets (namely television and radio stations). The Emergency Alert System is the key dissemination instrument. EAS is a FCC-mandated network of radio and television stations, and has by far been the most effective way of distributing AMBER Alerts (called Child Abduction Emergencies [CAEs]). While the EAS system is mandated by the FCC, broadcasting of AMBER Alerts are not- a station is free to choose to not disseminate an alert. While most stations will broadcast an alert for public safety issues and (frankly) good press, there are stations who refuse to interrupt programming for a child abduction alert. Billboards that have marquees dedicated to local emergencies have also been extremely effective ways of distributing alerts. Difficulty arises when the child "abducted" has been taken by a divorced parent- the emergency manager must be selective in issuing AMBER Alerts because he/she does not want to desensitize the local population to serious alerts such as AMBERs. There is no universal protocol for determining when or when not to issue a CAE. —24.11.214.174 22 March 2006 (UTC)

Senior alerts
Colorado just passed legislation 'to extend Amber Alerts to missing senior citizens'. It's not 100% clear from the media reports whether this is going to be a separate system or is just a change to the state's existing AMBER Alert criteria. It will apply to 'persons 60 years of age or older with a "verified impaired mental condition" and "whose disappearance poses a credible threat to the safety and health of the person."' I'm not going to try to work it into the article until I know more about it.—mjb 01:16, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

I know Talk pages are not for general discussion about an article's subject, so I apologize if this is a nuisance and I'll understand if it must be deleted, but this is the problem with the way these bureaucrats work. Whether it's Amber Alerts, tax code, higher education, transportation, or any other govt project, they can't resist tinkering with it and tacking on more and more complications. The "crying wolf" desensitization is the biggest threat to the Amber Alert system. It was meant for children. Now people are going to pay even less attention to it. Tragic romance 03:46, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

External link policy
Since many web sites and services relating to missing kids and AMBER Alert are contentious—it is argued above that they are scams, and previous links have been unceremoniously deleted—I intend to delete any non-authoritative resource links. Official sources and press articles about AMBER Alert are OK, but portals and "keeping your kids safe" sites are not. I encourage others to help enforce this, if they agree.—mjb 19:25, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree with you. I've reverted that safekids site in the past. A lot of these AMBER Alert "informational" sites have obvious hidden agendas. Mrtea (talk) 01:31, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
 * 24.225.89.38 was back at it again tonight, removing the section on the web-based amber alert system, and changing two of the links to authoritative sites to link to scammer sites. I have reverted all changes. Kevyn 05:37, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

Naming?
Why did they choose an indirect naming like AMBER? Why didn't they go for something more clear like "missing child alert"? Wouldn't that be more helpful?--Sonjaaa 03:41, 23 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Apparently honoring Amber Hagerman's memory is more important than recognition. But then again, it's fairly widely known that an AMBER alert is. --DanielCD 16:59, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Amber Alert History - Sources?
An anonymous user, with this edit, replaced the paragraph describing who came up with the idea of the Amber Alert with an entirely different story. Can people supporting either version provide any credible an verifiable sources backing up their version? TSP 22:41, 7 May 2006 (UTC)


 * That anonymous edit should not be allowed to stand, but since the book it references does exist, we can say something about how the origin of the AMBER Alert system is debated and the fact that this book exists and that his pastor claims to have had the idea first; some say… others say… etc. I hate weasel words, but sometimes there's no avoiding them.—mjb 03:13, 8 May 2006 (UTC)

It's my opinion that the pastor is mistaken, and is trying to generate book sales with his claim that he initially suggested the Amber Alert. In his story, he mentions that the Arlington Police Chief was Dee Anderson and I know for a fact that is absolutely incorrect. Dee Anderson worked for the Arlington Police Dept as a media spokesman *only* at the time of Amber's abduction. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.142.189.255 (talk • contribs).

The "History" section is currently in first person and is missing some punctuation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.108.169.176 (talk) 14:16, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

The True History and facts are Pastor Williams had nothing to do with the Amber alert and sources he quotes will tell you so! I Bruce Seybert ran the Organization from Day one and worked with Richard and Donna's Parents handling all since the Day she was abducted the Media coverage and all related showing all was posted on a Link for http://www.amberalertcreator.com But terrerfan, removed it, it also included all released articles to the press in Jan of 1996, the Amber Alert is Being trademarked right now and  with the Media Proof and People involved I am trademarking this the DOJ knows the facts! the Concept of the Amber Alert came from Mark Klaas! TXBad1 aka Bruce Seybert 07:44 August 8th 2008 I Figure I will shed some Light also, Dee Anderson was the Arlington Texas Police Media spokesman at that time and the Chief was David Kunkle and the Mayor was Richard Green, Dee Anderson is a Good Friend and Now Tarrant County sheriff, David Kunkle is now the Dallas Police Chief! Both can Verifie what I say! TXBad1 aka Bruce Seybert 07:44 August 8th 2008 People Posting and editing call the Sources get your Facts straight, do not always believe what you read! the Amber Alert Name Because of abuse and Profiteers is Now Being rightfully Trademarked and will only be allowed for proven non profit use!do to this page and other misinformation with the media proof and facts I Have a Congressional waiver and an assigned Attorney from the Trademark Commission to do this!I Have provided them the proof and what I have posted on here! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Txbad1 (talk • contribs) 12:52, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

NCMEC
I just added a link to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, because I got some of my International Influence information from that site. I don’t know for sure, but I hope that that site does not fall into the “spam” category – if it does, that was not my intent. According to the website, it is a private non-profit organization, but it does have corporate sponsors... Jaksmata 00:25, 7 June 2006 (UTC)
 * NCMEC is entirely appropriate for the context of this article. Kevyn 04:25, 3 August 2006 (UTC)

Split off Child Rescue Alert into separate article?
I think that the section on England's "Child Rescue Alert" system probably merits being split off into its own article, since the program is so separate from the AMBER Alert system in the U.S. and Canada. A new section for "Child alert systems in other countries" with a link to the new article would probably be sufficient. Does anyone object to this? Kevyn 08:14, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

That sounds correct to me. This article is not about "Child alert systems." This is specifically about the "Amber Alert" system. I also agree that the two proposed articles be linked. Tragic romance 03:51, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

MySpace to distribute AMBER Alerts
Just announced today. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap//ap_on_hi_te/myspace_amber_alerts

Probably should go in the article somewhere.

-PK9 20:27, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

Amber Alert Sound
can someone who had an audio clip of an Amber Alert from North Texas please put it up here on Wikipedia. i mean that they have the EAS sounds on the EAS page but no audio links here. can someone put an audio link up here.

- User:boutitbenza_69_9 23:34, 19 May 2007 (UTC) –

I live in Georgia, and although "Levi's Call" is one form of alert listed official GBI website, when an alert comes on television or via email or on the radio, it's called an "Amber Alert" so it's appropriate to consider deleting the reference to "Levi's Call." 64.50.71.194

"England's Child Rescue Alert system"
I have several concerns with regard to this section:


 * 1) First of all, why isn't it at Child Rescue Alert or Child Rescue Alert System (I'm not sure which is the official name) already? It would seem to be significant enough to have its own article.
 * 2) The references to "England" grate horribly. Yes, all the forces mentioned in the article are English, but there is no "English" police or justice system. This BBC News article mentions that the system was at least trialled in North Wales as well. Actually, it mentions the Isle of Man too, which isn't even part of the United Kingdom, let alone England!
 * 3) Almost as an afterthought, the final line mentions that an alert issued in 2007 was the first for a long period. The CRA system is nothing like AMBER Alert in terms of frequency of use.
 * 4) Related to the above, the CRA scheme also has nothing like the public profile of AMBER Alert. There's a current news story in this country about a missing nine-year-old girl. I have read a fair bit about this story, and have not seen one mention of the CRA, even in a general, "we ought to have that in West Yorkshire" way. Frankly, I doubt many of my British compatriots have ever even heard of CRA.

Loganberry (Talk) 03:47, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Success rate
This article describes what the AMBER Alert system is, and how it operates. The article doesn't mention so much as a single case, where somebody has been recovered safely as a result of this. Does anybody have any information on whether or not it is effective, and how effective it is that can be added? Thanks Guinness (talk) 09:46, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

Amber alerts are a publicity stunt. There is no evidence they have ever been effective. They cost a lot of money, cause concern for the public - probably instilling muhc unnecessary and unhelpful fear. And as for the "as of August 2002, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that 17 children had been successfully recovered after an Amber alert was issued, including one case in which the abductor released the child after hearing the alert", how many children who had been abducted were killed when the abductors heard the alert? Probably a lot more than one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 01:06, 15 May 2011 (UTC)

History Section changes
Just a brief explanation of what I did to the history section.
 * a) I removed POV, so that the article would more neutrally reflect the events that occured.
 * b) I removed excessive detail. This article should not be relating all the details of Amber Hagerman's disappearance and the search for her.  Those details belong in the article on Amber Hagerman.  Only what is directly relevant to the creation of the AMBER Alert belongs in the article on the AMBER alert.
 * c) The history section contained uncited quotations. That is a big no-no on Wikipedia.  Quotations should be attributed to reliable sources, which could include newspaper and magazines.  It does not include self-published websites.
 * d) I rewrote the section so that it had a proper encyclopedic tone.
 * e) I also wikified the article, so that it now has wikilinks to let people get more information about different people or concepts mentioned.

Karanacs (talk) 13:44, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

I would say that wikipedia has been called over this, if you want to see the facts there on my website and also I have Donna Norris and Mark klaas's cell phone numbers, were still working on things and, if you want to post facts post the true facts, I am the one that spoke at the media symposium and released the Amber alert, Donna was at work and Richard Hagerman was there with me! and Dee Anderson was a media spokesman for the Arlington Texas police Department at that time and at every city council meeting from the 1st one calling for the Amber Alert from Day 1 before Ambers Body was found! So if Truth and Facts posted not half facts then no editing will be needed! TXBad1 13:00 August 8, 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Txbad1 (talk • contribs) 18:01, 8 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Txbad1, I am sure that you have the best interests of the article in mind. However, please note that Wikipedia is not your personal website and articles are expected to abide by certain policies and guidelines.  Among these are No original research (facts must be verifiable by reliable sources, not people's memories), neutral point of view (meaing we should present facts and let others draw conclusions) and the wikipedia manual of style, which helps us to determine how articles should be written and formatted.  Please also note that those with conflicts of interest should be especially careful in their editing practices.  This article is on the Amber Alert, NOT Amber Hagerman, and does not need the amount of detail that is here on Amber's tragic kidnapping and murder.  Can you please explain to me what had been removed from the first paragraph of "your" version which upset you?  Perhaps we can discuss paragraph by paragraph. Karanacs (talk) 18:08, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Many parts of this article need citation of sources, particularly the History section. If you have the sources, post them. Also, the Amber Hagerman article states "President George W. Bush signed the AMBER Alert legislation, making it a national program," (albeit unsourced) yet this is not mentioned in this article. Does anyone know the real facts? Cactusjump (talk) 23:43, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

first use of Amber alert
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1997_1422693 child found - not abducted - http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1997_1423089 Karanacs (talk) 18:55, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Levi's Call
FYI: The first place I ever heard the term "Amber Alert" was when I lived in Georgia. I've never heard "Levi's Call" before in my life. MrBook (talk) 14:08, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Amber Alert Nederland
I am wondering how much detail the Dutch AMBER Alert should be given, as long as it has not been used yet, thank god there not been any need to do so yet, it does not deserve its own article. It is primarily internet (and mobile phone) based, it's a private & police-undertaking, no legislature involved. The Missing Persons department of the (national) police is the only "user" and uses no abduction condition. ThW5 (talk) 17:10, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Well, it has been used now. 19:18, 13 April 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by ThW5 (talk • contribs)

Use of attack warning/disaster warning tones in US/Canada
The article needs to add a section, I think, discussing controversy over the fact that the Amber Alert often (if not always) utilizes the local EAS/EAN system (at least this is the case here in North America). Which means the same alert tones intended to notify viewers of nuclear attack warnings, tsunamis, tornadoes, terrorist attack, etc. are also now heard for Amber Alerts. This is extremely dangerous and in fact I know of people who now tune out the EAS tones because either they think it's a test -- or it's "just" an Amber alert. There's already mention of concerns over desensitizing viewers to the Amber Alerts, but I think something should be added regarding concerns over the potential to distract from warning that might affect a much wider range of the population. Surely someone in a reputable source has discussed this issue. 68.146.81.123 (talk) 17:14, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Canadian spelling
All of the cited sources for Canada use "Amber Alert" instead of "AMBER Alert". I've changed the spelling in the Canada section to reflect this. Regards, Orange Suede Sofa  (talk) 21:58, 27 August 2011 (UTC)

Amber Alert Sound Audio link found
a few years ago i made a comment about how the Amber Alert has it's own warning tone, well i found a link to it, in fact it's clearly a scary alert tone, but now maybe someone here can at least try to put it on the Amber alert or Emergency Alert System page.

http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/other/amberalert.wavBoutitbenza 69 9 (talk) 07:16, 10 February 2012 (UTC)

Rilya alert
http://www.peasintheirpods.com/contact.shtml

External link addition. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Zephyr46 (talk • contribs) 01:08, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

Skylar's Law edit
I added a sentence about West Virginia's new Skylar's Law, which made changes to that state's Amber Alert activation criteria. Marla the Mop (talk) 18:01, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

AMBER Alert on Canada News TV
On CP24, when an AMBER Alert is issued in the GTA or in Ontario, this AMBER Alert tone plays along with a voice that says "This is an AMBER Alert!"

Here's the link to the tone as heard on CP24 when an AMBER Alert gets issued: http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/other/amberalert.wav — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.236.43.248 (talk) 01:51, 8 August 2013 (UTC)

International usage generally not Amber alerts
Amber alert is a specific American term for a specific missing child alert. The term does not appear to be used internationally, except perhaps in Europe. Therefore the article should be entitled Missing Child Alerts, or restricted to the American system.101.98.74.13 (talk) 02:41, 5 December 2015 (UTC)

Requested move 10 November 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Moved to Amber alert per consensus below with consideration of MOS on capitalizations and AT policy on common usage of term in reliable sources. There's opposition heavily hinged on official capitalization but these points were clearly refuted by supporters whose views I found more aligned to our policies concerning article naming. (non-admin closure) –Ammarpad (talk) 12:11, 9 December 2018 (UTC)

AMBER Alert → Amber Alert – Per WP:UCN. Reliable sources almost never capitalize the "AMBER" part. See search results pages on New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN. BBC articles that refer to the American usage (as opposed to being a weather alert level) also don't put it in all caps (you may need to click "more" a couple times to get more examples). —  python coder    (talk &#124; contribs) 19:55, 10 November 2018 (UTC) --Relisting. Dreamy Jazz 🎷 talk to me &#124; my contributions 21:42, 18 November 2018 (UTC)  --Relisting. B dash (talk) 14:53, 1 December 2018 (UTC) — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  20:39, 16 November 2018 (UTC); revised:  — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  15:26, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support move per nom. Reliable sources do not capitalize "Amber".  ONR  (talk)  20:29, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support per nom and above. Randy Kryn (talk) 22:17, 10 November 2018 (UTC)
 *  Support ; the name is ultimately derived from that of a girl, Amber Hagerman. —BarrelProof (talk) 01:53, 11 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support, but use Amber alert (lower-case a), per SMcCandlish et al. —BarrelProof (talk) 01:17, 5 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Support As evidenced, reliable sources use "Amber Alert" without the capitalisation. AusLondonder (talk) 05:34, 12 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose Cited as "AMBER Alert" program by official government sources. Johntalk 19:41, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose Shown as "AMBER Alert" on official channels, including amberalert.gov, fcc.gov, and the official AMBER Alert Facebook and Twitter accounts. Lax journalistic editing does change the program's official name. "Sometimes referred to as 'Amber Alert'" should be a sufficient change. Ja0n8 (talk) 17:15, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Okay, but the fact remains that "Amber" is the capitalization used by multiple RS. Are they all "lazily edited" in every single article about them? —  python coder    (talk &#124; contribs) 18:32, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
 * It could have something to do with AP Style guidelines, or a failure to adhere to AP Style. It could also be a result of common shorthand that people don't question. There are a startling number of RS that use "FBI" without first referring to it as the "Federal Bureau of Investigation". That doesn't mean the Federal Bureau of Investigation article should be retitled to FBI. I have submitted a request with the AP about why AMBER Alert is so often referred to as "Amber Alert". Respectfully, I am of the opinion that the official name carries more weight than the common name. It definitely should be mentioned that it is commonly referred to in alternate capitalization. Ja0n8 (talk) 20:28, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
 * I strongly agree that the alternate capitalization should be listed in the lead. However, policy says that the common name is more important than official name when considering what the article's title should be. Also, the FBI example is different because it's using an acronym vs the spelled out version; this is about whether a backronym which is inconsistently capitalized should be listed in its capitalized or non-capitalized form. —  python coder    (talk &#124; contribs) 22:04, 15 November 2018 (UTC)
 * I can see your point on that. It certainly is a grey area. Does the non-official use of "Amber" by RS fully constitute common usage? I would imagine that there are more people (in the U.S.) that are familiar with the system from it sending them alerts on their phones than there are people whose familiarity is based on information gathered from news outlets. I don't know if that takes precedence. I am still of the opinion that the official "AMBER" is the most-appropriate of the two for encyclopedic accuracy and user-friendliness, but I could be wrong. Ja0n8 (talk) 15:05, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose The proper code is AMBER according to official publications. AMBER is used in governmental broadcast messages and official declarations. Wikiemirati (talk) 02:56, 16 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Please note that Wikipedia follows its own guidelines and the common usage in independent reliable sources, not official governmental guidance. —BarrelProof (talk) 23:11, 26 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support, but use Amber alert (lower-case a). This is an move, per WP:NCCAPS, MOS:CAPS, MOS:PN, MOS:ABBR (this is not an acronym), WP:MOSTM, and WP:OFFICIALNAME.  Governmentese over-capitalizes all sorts of things.  Wikipedia is not written in governmentese; it's written in proper English, following the WP:Manual of Style, not the GPO Style Manual. This is an eponym, of  the same form as Megan's law. The oppose comments above are making arguments that are simply invalid on Wikipedia. Furthermore, this needs to move to lower-case "alert" because it is no longer about only the US alerts, which someone might or might not argue is a proper name. Rather, it is about Amber alerts in all countries now, which is a generic common noun class. It is exactly the same as the distinction between "the British Parliament" and "the US Senate" versus "parliaments, senates, and other legislative bodies in many countries".  (And the idea that "Amber Alert" would be a proper-noun phrase in the US is very dubious anyway; just because it's a legal/governmental thing doesn't magically it require capital letters.)
 * I am fine with “alert” being titlecase or lowercase. —  python coder    (talk &#124; contribs) 20:31, 20 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support. Wikipedia does not necessarily use the subject's "official" name as an article title; it generally prefers the name that is most commonly used.  Calidum   17:03, 19 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Support “Amber Alert”, per WP:COMMONNAME. Blueboar (talk) 17:33, 20 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Oppose. As discussed above, the most authoritative sources use the current capitalization. Bsherr (talk) 04:49, 26 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Check the references in the article. Most use “Amber.”  Calidum   23:53, 4 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Oppose – MOS guidelines probably would not apply to proper/government names. However, I would support a move to a lowercase "a" in alert as discussed above by SMcCandlish. "AMBER" is technically an acronym, too, as its origin is stated in the articles ("America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response"). Redditaddict69 (talk) (contribs)  23:10, 4 December 2018 (UTC)
 * The MOS most definitely applies here, as does our naming policy. Amber alert is also a bacronym, not an acronym, for what it’s worth.  Calidum   23:50, 4 December 2018 (UTC)


 * Amber alert per SMcCandlish and BarrelProof. Dicklyon (talk) 15:10, 5 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Support Per naming conventions. The all caps 'AMBER' can still be put in the first sentenced like this 'stylized officially as AMBER Alert'. JC7V (talk) 02:10, 8 December 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 23:36, 1 May 2019 (UTC)
 * AMBER alert iOS.jpg

Possible original research in activation criteria section
This line appears in the Activation Criteria section with so source cited: "Many law enforcement agencies have not used #2 as a criterion, resulting in many parental abductions triggering an Amber Alert, where the child is not known or assumed to be at risk of serious injury or death."

There is no source cited for the assertions made here: 1. That many law enforcement agencies have not used #2 as a criterion 2. That this has resulted in many parental abductions triggering an alert 3. That the child is not known or assumed to be at risk by such abductions — Preceding unsigned comment added by 107.191.3.46 (talk) 23:10, 14 December 2021 (UTC)

Senate Bill 2256 (Philippines)
Proposals to have an amber alert system in the Philippines PengualaHeadphones (talk) 13:20, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Confusing section needs to be edited or removed completely.
"On hearing the news, Hagerman's father, Richard, called Marc Klaas, whose daughter, Polly, had been kidnapped and murdered in Petaluma, California, in 1993 and Amber's mother, Donna Whitson (now Donna Williams), called the news media and the FBI. They and their neighbors began searching for Amber."

Copy and pasted the above section from the article itself. The citation it has makes no mention of it and is completely irrelevant.

I'm confused about how Richard can be "called" two completely different names. Whoever inserted seems to be combining cases, or has sources I cannot find. Pigeonman20 (talk) 08:05, 10 July 2024 (UTC)