National AMBER Alert Network Will Now Become Law

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Thursday, 10 April 2003

National Center For Missing & Exploited Children Praises Lawmakers For Historic Vote For Child Protection Legislation

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) calls Congress' swift passage of the conference report on the "PROTECT Act of 2003" a historic milestone for our nation's children. "This comprehensive child protection legislation, which creates a national AMBER Alert system, sends a strong message that crimes against children will not be tolerated and those who prey on our children will be tracked down and face the harshest penalties," said Robbie Callaway, Chairman of NCMEC.

NCMEC expresses its sincere appreciation to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives for reaching consensus to combat child victimization through the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003. NCMEC especially recognizes the hard work of Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Joseph Biden (D-DE ), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) on this legislation.

"NCMEC is thrilled to see that a nationally coordinated AMBER Alert network will now become law," said Ernie Allen, President and Chief Executive Officer of NCMEC. Allen added, "This bill ensures that AMBER Plans become a vital law enforcement tool for every state and every community, and that they are implemented in a consistent, meaningful manner." The legislation provides funding for notification systems along highways for AMBER Alerts, as well as funding grants so that states may implement new technologies to improve AMBER Alert broadcast communications. Such monies will benefit not just abducted children but every member of the community when an emergency occurs, ranging from weather emergencies to terrorist threats.

NCMEC applauds important changes in attacking the insidious, expanding problem of child pornography. NCMEC also thanks the U.S. Congress for allowing the U.S. Secret Service to provide forensic and investigative support to assist NCMEC in efforts to find missing children.

"We commend Congress for taking a tough, serious look at the problem of sex offenders against children and how they are handled by the criminal justice system," added Allen. "Important provisions like changes in the term of supervision for released sex offenders, eliminating the statute of limitations for child abductions and sex crimes, mandating minimum prison sentences for those who kidnap children, punishing those who engage in child sex tourism, and other important changes will strengthen society's ability to cope with these serious crimes and keep children safer."

NCMEC, a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. NCMEC was established in 1984 as a public-private partnership to help find missing children and combat child sexual exploitation. It has assisted local law-enforcement agencies on more than 87,000 missing child cases, helping to reunite more than 71,000 children with their families. Today, the organization reports a 94 percent recovery rate. For more information about NCMEC, call 1-800-THE-LOST.

For more information, or to contact National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, see their website at: www.missingkids.org