New Alert System Activated In Ohio
A new Ohio alert system, called “A Child Is Missing,” uses computer-mapping technology and a national database of 45 million telephone numbers to contact 1,000 homes and businesses in the surrounding area where the missing person was last seen.
When police register an abduction or missing person report, the system goes live within five minutes, and a recorded message with the description of the missing person, the last-known sighting, and local contact number alerts those in the designated radius.
“We become a first responder where we use the eyes of the community to help you,” says Sherry Friedlander, founder of the Fla.-based nonprofit corporation. “We’re told that 74 percent of the slain abduction victims were killed within the first three hours.”
Robert Cornwell of the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association adds that the program can also be used to track down other people who may need to be located, such as the aged. Local departments can launch A Child Is Missing at no cost–grants and donations support the program, and Friedlander is working to get federal funding.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Columbus Dispatch (02/19/03) P. 5C; Cadwallader, Bruce.
