SAPS launch tool to find missing children
The Amber Alert system, which is also the first of its kind, will enable the SAPS to seek assistance from the public when it is suspected that a child has been abducted and there is reason to believe that the child is in immediate danger.
The South African Police Service and Facebook announced a new partnership to help find missing children by sending Amber Alerts to the Facebook community across the country, recently, Rising Sun Chatsworth reports.
The Amber Alert system, which is also the first of its kind, will enable the SAPS to seek assistance from the public when it is suspected that a child has been abducted and there is reason to believe that the child is in immediate danger.
The Amber Alert enables citizens to instantly share important information through Facebook’s newsfeed about the missing child and suspected abductores such as a photo, hair colour and clothing with their friends, family and Facebook groups.
How Amber Alerts work:
The decision to declare an Amber Alert is made by SAPS when investigating suspected abduction case. Once they have been notified about an abducted child, they must first determine if the case meets their Amber Alert criteria, which includes:
-The abducted child is 17-years-old or younger.
-There is a reasonable belief that the child has been abducted.
-The South African Police Service believes the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm.
-There is enough descriptive information about the victim and suspected abduction for law enforcement to issue an Amber Alert to assist in recovering the child.
A senior officer from the SAPS will assess whether these criteria have been met before authorising the Amber Alert. The police service will then notify Facebook’s Global Security Operations Centre, which operates 24/7, that a verified Amber Alert is active. Facebook will then quickly send the alert to the newsfeeds of people located in targeted search areas in South Africa.
Facebook head of public policy, SADC region, Emilar Gandhi, explained that this was an important step forward in their continued investment and commitment, not only to South Africa but across the African continent.
“The goal of Facebook’s Amber Alerts programme is to instantly galvanise the entire community in the search and recovery of a missing child. Using Facebook enhances the current distribution system by providing all of this information in one place and giving people the ability to share it, wherever they are,” she added. The Amber Alerts have been active as of Thursday, January 30.
Read original story on risingsunchatsworth.co.za
