ebook img

Texas Amber Alert Network - TxDPS - Texas Department of Public PDF

36 Pages·2005·0.47 MB·English
by  
Save to my drive
Quick download
Download
Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.

Preview Texas Amber Alert Network - TxDPS - Texas Department of Public

Texas Amber Alert Network Office of the Governor September 2002 This program is supported by Grant # 2000-DB-BX-0048 awarded to the State of Texas, Office of the Governor, by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of Crime. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice. Texas Amber Alert Network 2 Table of Contents Letter from Governor Rick Perry 5 Activating the Texas Amber Alert Network 7 Deactivating the Texas Amber Alert 7 Notifying the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management 8 Amber Alert Request Form Notification 8 Transmitting An Amber Alert Activation Request 8 What Happens Next 8 Amber Alert Request Form 10 Using BeyondMissing.com 11 Contacts 35 Other Resources 36 Revised 06/2004 Texas Amber Alert Network 3 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Texas Amber Alert Network 4 Texas Amber Alert Network 5 THIS PAGE INVENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Texas Amber Alert Network 6 Activating the Texas Amber Alert Network The Texas Amber Alert Network is designed to work in coordination with local abduction alert plans and is not intended to supercede activation of local plans. To activate the Texas Amber Alert Network, the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction must determine that an abduction meets the following state criteria: (cid:131) The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger. (cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must believe that the child has been abducted, that is, unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian or by the child’s parent or legal guardian who commits an act of murder or attempted murder during the time of the abduction. (cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must believe that the missing child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death. (cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must confirm that an investigation has taken place that verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative explanations for the missing child. (cid:131) Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, the suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction. Local law enforcement agencies have been issued login names and passwords to activate the Texas Amber Alert Network. Triggering the system is a simple, two-step process for the responding law enforcement agency: (cid:131) Notify the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM) that an abduction meeting the Amber Alert criteria has occurred. DEM will contact the National Weather Service to issue an alert to the media, contact the Texas Department of Transportation to activate electronic highway signs within the 200-mile radius of the abduction and send an alert on the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (TLETS). (cid:131) DEM will generate a poster using the beyondmissing.com Internet site. This poster will automatically be sent via fax and e-mail to media outlets, law enforcement agencies and selected private businesses within the search zone. Approved activations will only be issued for a period of 24-hours. The requesting law enforcement agency will be given a reminder after 12 hours, 18 hours, and 23 hours of activation, and provided an opportunity to request an extension of the Amber Alert. Requests for an extension should be directed to the State Operations Center (SOC), DEM at (512) 424-2208 and must be accomplished on or before the 23-hour reminder from the SOC. All requests for extension will be submitted to the State Coordinator for consideration. Revise d 06/2004 Texas Amber Alert Network 7 Deactivating a Texas Amber Alert Once the kidnapped child has been recovered, the abduction has been resolved or law enforcement decides that the alert is no longer effective, the Texas Amber Alert Network must be deactivated. To deactivate the system: (cid:131) Notify DEM to cancel the alert. DEM will then be responsible for sending appropriate notification to the National Weather Service, the Texas Department of Transportation and other law enforcement offices. (cid:131) DEM will logon to the beyondmissing.com Internet site and edit the original submission to show that the child has been found or that the abduction has been resolved, or the alert cancelled. Notifying the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management The primary method to notify the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM) to activate an Amber Alert will be by faxing an “Amber Alert Request Form” to DEM. Backup methods for notification include phone, TLETS and e-mail. Amber Alert Request Form (cid:131) All requests for activation must include a point of contact and telephone number for confirmation and verification of any request. Fill in “Authentication password” with the password from your Amber Alert Network access card. (cid:131) Faxed and e-mailed requests for activation should be placed on the Amber Alert Request Form. The form may be copied from Page 7 or may be downloaded at www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem. (cid:131) Requests made by TLETS should include the same information on the Amber Alert Request Form, including a point of contact, phone number and agency password. Transmitting An Amber Alert Activation Request (cid:131) Preferred method: Fax the Amber Alert Request Form to (512) 424-2281 or (512) 451-2291 (cid:131) Secondary method: Send a TLETS message to AZAA, the DEM Communications Group in Austin (cid:131) Backup methods: E-mail the Amber Alert Request Form to [email protected] Call (512) 424-2277 or (512) 424-2208 Revised 06/2004 Texas Amber Alert Network 8 What Happens Next Upon verification of the activation request, DEM will issue an Amber Alert through the following process: (cid:131) Advise the National Weather Service via the Texas Warning System to issue an Amber Alert in the appropriate region or regions. (cid:131) Notify the Texas Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center to activate electronic highway signs in the search zone to flash messages about the Amber Alert. (cid:131) Contact state and local law enforcement offices within the search zone and provide those offices with details of the abduction via TLETS. (cid:131) Notify the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse of the abduction. (cid:131) Notify the Governor’s Office that an Amber Alert has been issued. Texas Amber Alert Network 9 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AMBER ALERT REQUEST FORM Fax (512) 424-2281 or (512) 451-2291; and Call (512) 424-2277 or 2208 MAXIMUM ACTIVATION - 24 HOURS Reporting Agency Information YES NO 1. Is this child 17 years of age or younger? Name of Reporting Agency 2. Does the law enforcement agency believe that the child has been abducted, that is, unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child's parent or legal guardian or by the child’s parent or legal guardian who Name/Title of Investigating Officer commits an act of murder or attempted murder during the time of the abduction? 3. Is there reason to believe that the victim is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death? Contact number for Investigating Officer 4. Is it confirmed that an investigation has taken place that verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative explanations for the missing child? Fax number for reporting agency 5. Is there sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, or vehicle used in the abduction? Authentication password (cid:153) IMPORTANT: Do NOT send AMBER ALERT if the answer is NO to ANY of these questions. If activated, your request is only valid for a period of 24 hours. You will be contacted after 12 hours, 18 hours, and 23 hours in which you may decide to request an extension. All requests for extension must be accomplished on or before the last 23 hour reminder from the State Operations Center. Contact (512) 424-2277 or 2208 for all requests for extensions. Abduction Date: Time: Last known location: VICTIM DATA: Name: Age: Weight: Height: Race: Sex:__________Eyes:___________ DOB: Hair: Clothing: _______________________________________________ Unique Physical Characteristics: SUSPECT DATA: Name: Age: Weight: Height: Race: Sex:___________Eyes:___________ DOB: Hair: Clothing: _______________________________________________ Unique Physical Characteristics: VEHICLE DATA: Make: Model: Year: Color: LP-State: Number: Any other descriptors: AA 1Revised06/10/04 Revised 06/2004 Texas Amber Alert Network 10

Description:
Texas Amber Alert Network 2 . The Texas Amber Alert Network Internet site explains how the Texas system works and offers tips for protecting
See more

The list of books you might like

Most books are stored in the elastic cloud where traffic is expensive. For this reason, we have a limit on daily download.