Georgia Sheriffs Adopt Program To Help Find Missing People
Law enforcement officials in Northwest Georgia say a quick-response program has enabled local agencies to safely recover 49 missing people over the past two years. The sheriffs of Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, and Murray counties on Dec. 11 formally adopted the technology, which is able to place more than 1,000 telephone alert calls, regardless of jurisdictional boundary, when a person is missing.
The program is called “A Child Is Missing,” but the law enforcement agencies use the technology in efforts to find elderly people who have Alzheimer’s, and the disabled.
According to Dade County Sheriff Philip Street, the program would generate a telephone message such as: “This is an urgent message from your local sheriff’s office. We are currently looking for a missing child in your area.”
The technology would then provide the name of the missing child and a description. Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson says city police in each county will have access to the program, which costs each sheriff’s department $100 annually.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) (12/17/03) P. B1; Martin, Stump.