Benton police push AMBER Alert texts

Phone notices 1 more tool, they say

  Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane announces that his department is in a partnership with the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice in promoting the use of Wireless Amber Alerts. This project allows those who choose to be involved to receive a free text message when a amber alert is posted in the subscriber's designated area. They have photos of missing children on the back windshields of their partol cars.
Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane announces that his department is in a partnership with the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA), the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice in promoting the use of Wireless Amber Alerts. This project allows those who choose to be involved to receive a free text message when a amber alert is posted in the subscriber's designated area. They have photos of missing children on the back windshields of their partol cars.

— Benton police want residents to sign up to get free AMBER Alert text messages with the hope that the community could help prevent a tragedy.

The Benton Police Department is the first law enforcement agency in Arkansas to champion the wireless aspect of the AMBER Alert program, officials announced Tuesday.

Arkansas’ alert system is called the Morgan Nick AMBER Alert system, named for a girl who disappeared from an Alma park in 1995 and was never seen again.

Already there are electronic billboards that carry the emergency message and notices go out to news outlets across the state. Since 2006, cell-phone users have been able to sign up for text messages.

But Benton police said they recently partnered with the wireless association CTIA, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Department of Justice to promote the text alerts so there is an informed network of people locally in the event a child is kidnapped, said police spokesman Lt. Kevin Russell.

Anyone can sign up for text messages and get the wireless alerts on abductions in any ZIP code by selecting up to five ZIP codes, officials said.

Most wireless companies cooperate with the program and offer the text messages free regardless of the subscriber’s cell-phone plans, officials said at a news conference in Benton.

The Web site for signing up is www.wirelessamberalerts.org or a text message can be sent to 26237 with the word “amber” followed by a space and the ZIPcode of interest.

Sen. Shane Broadway, DBryant, with cell phone in hand, signed up for the service during the news conference.

He said the hope is that allowing residents to choose which area of the state they want to get AMBER Alerts about will make residents pay close attention when something goes wrong in their communities.

Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane said this and a recent effort to find missing children by putting their photos on squad car windows are initiatives to “keep our children safe.”

Police said there hasn’t been a recent abduction that prompted the programs. But they said the goal is to be prepared for the worst.

Arkansas, Pages 13 on 12/23/2009

Upcoming Events