The Australian Federal Police today announced the rollout of Facebook AMBER alerts via a livestream on the social media website.
The AMBER system, which helps police find missing children, has been around in the US since 1996 and was named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was tragically abducted and murdered in the same year. 868 missing children were safely returned home since its launch.
While a version of the alert has been floating around Queensland since 2005, it’s the first time the life-saving feature will be implemented on social media in the country.
The feature is currently in use on Facebook in Canada, South Korea, Greece, Taiwan, the UK, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, the US and Luxembourg.
If a child is reported missing in your area, you’ll get an alert towards the top of your feed with a link to all of the details including a picture and relevant details of the abduction. These details are entered by the police only and contain contact details should you have any information that could help.
You’ll be able to share the post to your own page, but comments are disabled to ensure all important info goes directly through to the authorities rather than sit on a post that is potentially unmonitored.
“This is just another tool in the toolbox for law enforcement, but it’s a critically important one and it leads to kids coming home,” Emily Vacher, Facebook’s director of trust & safety told PEDESTRIAN.TV at a briefing earlier this week.
“The sooner we can get this information out to the public, the better it is for the child.”
Having previously worked for the FBI specialising in crimes against children, Emily knows all too well how powerful the community can be when it comes to returning children to their families.
“It’s not about the police, it’s not about us, it’s about the communities that care about these missing children and that’s what makes this so important,” she said.
It’s a system we’re glad to have, but sincerely hope we never see.
