THE AMBER PLAN

The Amber Plan was started in July 1997 to help safely recover missing children that police believe have been abducted. The Association of Radio Managers (ARM) in Dallas, Texas, created the program in memory of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was abducted and murdered in 1996.

The goal of the Amber Plan is the safe recovery of missing children that a law enforcement agency believes has been abducted and is in danger of serious harm or death. Missing adults, runaways, and children taken in child custody disputes usually do NOT qualify for Amber Plan activation. 

OTHER AMBER PLAN PROGRAMS
Since the Dallas Amber Plan was established in 1997, more than 100 other Amber Plan programs have been adopted or modified at local, regional, and statewide levels. For the latest list of Amber Plan programs nationwide, visit:
http://www.ncmec.org/html/amberplan.html

Each city or state’s Amber Plan program is administered separately in accordance with EAS procedures approved by the FCC. Each program establishes its own Amber Alert criteria, activation procedures, and distribution methods.

The Houston Regional Amber Plan has five Alert criteria:

1. The child is 17 years of age or younger.
2. The law enforcement agency believes the missing child has been abducted (unwillingly taken from their environment without permission
     from the child’s parent or legal guardian or taken by a parent or guardian during an act of murder or attempted murder).
3. The law enforcement agency believes the missing child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
4. The law enforcement agency has conducted an investigation that has verified the abduction or ruled out alternative explanations.
5. Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, or suspect’s vehicle. 

Missing adults, runaways, and children taken in child custody disputes usually do NOT qualify for Amber Plan activation. 
The Houston Regional Amber Plan not only distributes Amber Alerts using the Emergency Alert System, but also integrates broadcast fax, e-mail, and other technology with a website (http://www.amberplan.net/secure/) to post Amber Alert messages and photos.