California Child Safety AMBER Network
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Background
Unfortunately tragedies have highlighted the importance of a cooperative effort among law enforcement agencies, media outlets, and the public in responding to child abduction incidents. This is especially important when you consider a study by the United States Department of Justice, which found that 74 percent of children who were abducted, and later found murdered, were killed within three hours of being taken.
In response to this need, a statewide child abduction notification system was implemented on July 30, 2002. This system, the California Child Safety AMBER Network, is partially modeled after the original Amber Alert Program developed in 1996 following the abduction and murder of 9-year old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. Although it is modeled after the plan developed in Texas, California’s plan utilizes several additional resources to aid in the dissemination of child abduction information throughout the state.
The California plan, which addresses issues required as a result of the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 415, requires law enforcement agencies to request activation of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in response to a report of a child abduction incident.
CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL – STATEWIDE AMBER ALERT COORDINATOR
The America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert is part of the nationwide AMBER Plan and is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies and media broadcasters. The plan utilizes the latest tools and resources to quickly notify the public of an abducted/taken child. The importance of this program is what drives the continued need to develop technologies and strategic partnerships to aid in the safe recovery of our most vulnerable loved ones.
KEY PARTNERS
The California Broadcasters Association, California Department of Transportation, California Lottery, Facebook, Twitter, California law enforcement agencies, and the media.
AMBER ALERT CRITERIA
In order for an AMBER Alert to be activated, the following criteria must be met (Government Code section 8594):
1. Confirmation that an abduction has occurred or a child was taken by anyone, including, but not limited to, a custodial parent or guardian.
2. The victim is 17 years of age or younger, or an individual with a proven mental or physical disability.
3. The victim is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
4. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the victim.
The AMBER Alert cannot be used for custodial disputes or runaway cases which do not meet the criteria. Here are the steps a law enforcement agency must take once it has been determined the criteria have been met:
• If the agency is within a CARE county (Los Angeles, Orange, Alameda, or San Diego) they will first contact their local Sheriff's Department. CARE counties are authorized to activate an in-county only alert.
• If the agency is not within a CARE county, contact the CHP’s Emergency Notification and Tactical Alert Center to activate the alert.
• The agency should be prepared to provide all pertinent information regarding the incident with current photos of the victim and, if possible, the suspect.
More information: https://www.chp.ca.gov/Pages/Amber-Alert.aspx
SILVER ALERT:
The California Silver Alert Program was introduced through Senate Bill 1047 and became law in 2012 by adding section 8594.10 to the California Government Code. A Silver Alert is activated when an elderly, or developmentally or cognitively-impaired person has gone missing and is determined to be at-risk. Silver Alerts provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of at-risk persons meeting the criteria.
SILVER ALERT CRITERIA:
In order for a Silver Alert to be activated, law enforcement must be satisfied the following criteria have been met (Government Code section 8594.10):
1. The missing person is 65 years of age or older, developmentally disabled or cognitively impaired.
2. The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized all available local resources.
3. The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
4. The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, environment or weather conditions, the person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person, or other factors indicating that the person may be in peril.
5. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.
More information: https://www.chp.ca.gov/Pages/Silver-Alert.aspx
EBONY ALERT:
The California Statewide Ebony Alert Program was introduced through Senate Bill 673 and became law in 2024 by adding Section 8594.14 to the California Government Code. An Ebony Alert is a resource available to law enforcement agencies investigating the suspicious or unexplainable disappearance of a black woman or black person. The Ebony Alert will provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of missing black persons.
EBONY ALERT CRITERIA:
In order for an Ebony Alert to be activated, a law enforcement agency may consider that the following criteria have been met. (Government Code section 8594.14):
1. The missing person is between 12 to 25 years of age.
2. The missing person suffers from a mental or physical disability.
3. The person is missing under circumstances that indicate any of the following:
(A) The missing person’s physical safety may be endangered.
(B) The missing person may be subject to trafficking.
4. The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
5. The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, or environment or weather conditions, that the person is in the company of a potentially dangerous person, or that there are other factors indicating that the person may be in peril.
6. The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized available local resources.
7. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.
More information: https://www.chp.ca.gov/Pages/Ebony-Alert.aspx
FEATHER ALERT:
The California Statewide Feather Alert Program was introduced through Assembly Bill 1314 and became law in 2022 by adding Section 8594.13 to the California Government Code. A Feather Alert is a resource available to law enforcement agencies investigating the suspicious or unexplainable disappearance of an indigenous woman or indigenous person. The Feather Alert will provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of missing indigenous persons.
FEATHER ALERT CRITERIA:
In order for a Feather Alert to be activated, a law enforcement agency must determine that the following criteria have been met. (Government Code section 8594.13):
1. The missing person is an indigenous woman or indigenous person.
2. The investigating law enforcement agency has utilized available local and tribal resources.
3. The law enforcement agency determines that the person has gone missing under unexplainable or suspicious circumstances.
4. The law enforcement agency believes that the person is in danger.
5. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in the safe recovery of the missing person.
More information: https://www.chp.ca.gov/Pages/Feather-Alert.aspx
ENDANGERED MISSING ADVISORY:
AAn Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) is an alert available to law enforcement agencies investigating the suspicious disappearance of at-risk missing children or other endangered persons. EMAs provide immediate information to the public to aid in the swift recovery of at-risk persons. EMAs fulfill the federal Ashanti Alert Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-401).
ENDANGERED MISSING ADVISORY CRITERIA:
In order for an Endangered Missing Advisory to be activated, the following criteria must be met:
1. The person is missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances.
2. The person is believed to be in danger because of age, health, mental or physical disability, or the environment; is in the company of a potentially dangerous person; or any other factor that may put the person in serious peril.
3. There is information available that, if disseminated to the public, could assist in a safe recovery.
More information: https://www.chp.ca.gov/Pages/Endangered-Missing-Advisory.aspx
DISTRIBUTION PROCESS
In addition to assisting with statewide or regional AMBER Alerts, the CHP can assist local law enforcement agencies with the use of other resources to disseminate information to assist with the recovery of an abducted child. The following is a general overview of other resources that may be used to disseminate child abduction information:
The California Highway Patrol will distribute AMBER Alerts to law enforcement, broadcasters, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), California Lottery, Ports of Entry, and the public.
• Be-On-The-Lookout (BOLO) – BOLOs will be issued/broadcasted by CHP Communication Centers to CHP personnel located in the affected areas. The BOLOs will contain suspect, victim, and vehicle information, if available.
• CHP will use the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to initially notify California broadcasters of the alert.
• Pertinent information, including photographs, will be posted to Twitter @CHPAlerts.
• Media outlets will post alerts on their websites.
• Numerous private businesses have agreed to put the alerts on their electronic signs.
WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS PROGRAM (WEA)
The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) will allow consumers with WEA-capable smartphones and feature phones to automatically receive free AMBER Alert messages, along with Presidential, Public Safety[CT1] , and Imminent Threat Alerts. When a subscriber with a WEA enabled cellular phone is within range of the activated cell tower, they will receive the AMBER Alerts, even if the wireless customer is not from the area. The program is an "opt out" program, meaning subscribers do not have to enroll in the program to receive alerts. The message includes an audible tone followed by a text-like message with a link to pertinent information.
CHANGEABLE MESSAGE SIGNS
Changeable Message Signs (CMS) are operated by the California Department of Transportation. CMS are used to disseminate real-time traffic safety and congestion information to the public as they utilize the highway transportation system.
CMS will contain the following message when the suspect's vehicle information is known:
• Child Abduction
• Vehicle Description
• License Plate Number
