CANADA News

Poster's Note: IMHO this would be a great concept to revise American Amber Alerts guidelines.

Police agencies across Ontario now have new, clearer guidelines over
when to issue an Amber Alert in the case of abducted children.The changes, effective Monday, are being made after a review called by provincial police commissioner Julian Fantino in May.The
wording has been simplified to make it easier for police and the public
to understand the guidelines for when to issue an alert that's
broadcast on electronic highway signs, radio and television stations
and in text messages, said provincial police Insp. Dave Ross.Under
the previous criteria, police had to confirm an abduction of a child
under 18 had taken place before an Amber Alert was issued. Now, he
said, they only have to believe there's been an abduction.Police
will only have to believe a child is in danger to issue an alert,
whereas before they had to believe the child was in danger of serious
bodily harm or death.And police will only need to have
information about the child or the abductor or the suspect vehicle,
instead of all three, to issue an alert, Ross said.Oxford
Community Police were criticized for not issuing an Amber Alert in
April when eight-year-old Victoria Stafford disappeared in Woodstock,
Ont. Her remains were found north of Guelph, Ont., in July, and two
people were later charged with her abduction and first-degree murder.
At the time Victoria disappeared, police said the case did not meet the
criteria for issuing an alert."The Stafford investigation, you
could say, was a catalyst to initiate the review, but it wasn't the
only factor that led to the review being called by commissioner
Fantino," said Ross."We routinely review programs and practices
but certainly the case was a catalyst because it brought the program to
the forefront," he said.A petition dubbed "Tori's Law" called
for changes to the alert criteria and gained momentum online,
ballooning to more than 61,000 signatures. The petition said the Amber
Alert should be issued without question if the mother, father or
guardian finds it out of character for a child under 16 to be missing
for any length of time.As part of the review's recommendations
that were adopted, Sgt. Steve Montpetit has been appointed as a
dedicated Amber Alert co-ordinator. He will be responsible for all
aspects of the program, including training, education and awareness,
communication and expansion of the program.The Amber Alert
program was created in 1996, after the kidnapping and murder of
nine-year-old Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas. Her community started
it, hoping to prevent future abductions and improve the safety of
children.Ontario's program was set up in 2003 as a voluntary
co-operative between radio and television stations and Ontario police
and government agencies.Since 2002, there have been 15 Amber
Alert activations in Ontario, 14 of them since Ontario launched its
program. Of these cases, 12 children were recovered but Ross said it's
hard to know how great a role the program played in those cases."An Amber Alert can be an important tool in locating an abducted child," Fantino said in a statement."The
OPP and all our Amber Alert partners are determined to make this
program the best it possibly can be. A society's first responsibility
is to protect its children," said Fantino."Amber Alert has
proven itself to be a tremendous tool for police services across the
province," said Daniel Parkinson, president of the Ontario Association
of Chiefs of Police."The program helps police officers work with their community partners when a child may have been abducted," said Parkinson."The
Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) is honoured to partner with
police on this very worthwhile initiative and believe that the changes
to the Amber Alert will provide police with an enhanced tool to help
keep our children safe," said Douglas Kirk, President of OAB.

A "March for the Missing," remembering missing persons in
Saskatchewan, will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday in Moose Jaw.Organized
by the family and friends of Dylan Koshman -- formerly of Moose Jaw and
reported missing in Edmonton in October 2008 -- but aimed at the
relatives and acquaintances of all missing persons, it starts at the
Civic Centre in the city's north end and goes down Main Street to
Crescent Park.In the event of poor weather, it will go to the
Moose Jaw branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, 268 High St. W. Donations
collected at this event will go to Child Find Saskatchewan.

Parents of missing children were given a new tool to help in their search Tuesday.

On the eve of International Missing Children's Day, the Canadian
Centre for Child Protection unveiled MissingKids.ca, an online registry
allowing parents and the community to search a database of missing
children across Canada.

"Every day in Canada children across the country are reported missing
to police," said Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian
Centre for Child Protection.

"While police receive and take such reports seriously, resources are
often limited and families are often left to try and figure out, ‘What
should I do next?'"

She said the site offers families a one-stop shop of resources to
help find their missing children, including a central place to register a
missing child and the ability to request support from a trained
caseworker.

McDonald said the database will allow families to take immediate action in searching for their children.

Laurie Odjick, mother of Maisy Odjick who went missing from Maniwaki,
Que., three years ago, said she wishes MissingKids.ca existed when her
daughter first disappeared.

"I was at a loss," she said. "I didn't know where to turn."

Odjick said being able to type in her missing child's name herself is
helpful, adding when her daughter went missing she relied on other
websites that took up to two months to update.

The website compiles a digital footprint for each registered missing
child, enabling police and parents to track any online use of the
child's name.

The search tool pores through open-source websites and can also utilize social media sites like Facebook to track children.

McDonald said the centre quickly realized it was using outdated methods in searching for those kids.

"Children are constantly connected and communicate every day. Parents are at a loss," she said. "We're here to help."

An online billboard-like image for public alerts about missing
children is also a feature of the site, as well as providing a
downloadable community response plan to help co-ordinate search efforts.


There is also educational information available to help prevent children from going missing.

"MissingKids.ca will be a significant tool in the fight to ensure the
safety of our children and bring incidents of missing children to a
speedy resolution," said Hon. Rob Nicolson, Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110524/missing-children-database-110524/