Facebook AMBER Alert system to help find missing kids

THERE’S a new feature Facebook users will notice on their feeds from today — and Australia is one of the first countries in the world to see it.

A Facebook AMBER alert example.

A FACEBOOK alert system which sends immediate notifications to every user in the area when a child goes missing has been launched.

The Australian Federal Police and Facebook unveiled its AMBER Alert system in Melbourne today.

The new system will use GPS to send an image and details of the missing child to people in the vicinity of where the child was last seen.

It works in a similar way to that of a cyclone warning.

The AFP believes it will prove to be a vital tool to help find and return abducted children.

Around 15 million Australians are on Facebook and police believe the new system will help in the first crucial hours of a child’s abduction.

Emily Vacher, Facebook Director of Trust and Safety and a former FBI agent, said that when a child goes missing the most important thing is to get information out to the public as quickly as possible.

“By getting the right information to the right people, at the right time, through AMBER Alerts on Facebook, we hope to help reunite missing children with their families faster,” Ms Vacher said.

The AMBER Alert will remain active for 24 hours, unless cancelled by the police.

The system is already in place in a number of other countries, including the US, UK, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea, Greece and Mexico.

Joanne Ratcliffe was abducted from the Adelaide Oval at the age of 11 in August 1973, along with Kirste Gordon who was four at the time.

Joanne’s sister Suzie Ratcliffe said had the technology existed then it could have been used to notify the public on the day.

“Social media can play an integral part in locating a missing child,” she said.

“If Facebook AMBER Alerts were available in 1973, it could have created a crucial earlier response time, which could have made all the difference in locating Joanne and Kirste.”

The girls were seen on several occasions in the company of a man for up to 90 minutes following their disappearance.

The Queensland Police Service launched the AMBER Alert system in 2015.

Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said the system has already led to the safe recovery of abducted children thanks to the quick actions of members of the public who called police after seeing or hearing the emergency broadcasts.

“(It) will give us far greater reach into the community to appeal for urgent help to safely locate children who are at significant and imminent risk,” he said.

Maura Harty, President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) said that for two years ICMEC has been working with Facebook to introduce rapid emergency child alert systems around the world so that communities can respond quickly when a child goes missing.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Facebook, the Australian Federal Police, and local law enforcement agencies to bring the Facebook AMBER Alert program to Australia, and to build an even stronger community of concerned individuals helping to keep children safe,” Ms Harty said.

The AMBER Alert was launched in the US in 1996 following the abduction and murder of nine-year-old of Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas.

[e-mail]

@davidhurleyHS