Changes are coming to the Amber Alert system here in Michigan in 2017.
As of January 1st, Amber Alerts will only be issued for cases of child abductions involving victims under the age of 18 years old. All Amber Alerts will receive a Wireless Emergency Alert. In addition, a license plate number will no longer be required for a wireless alert.
As it stands today, Amber Alerts are authorized for missing children with severe mental or physical disabilities who wandered away and were unable to care for themselves. Those alerts will not be issued in 2017. However, missing child cases that don’t meet the revised AMBER Alert criteria will be eligible for a new notification called an Endangered Missing Advisory. The Endangered Missing Advisory is a notice sent to broadcast and print media in the geographic area of the incident, but will not utilize the Emergency Alert System.
“Any time a child goes missing, it’s an urgent situation and we should all pay attention; however, in the case of child abductions the urgency is even greater,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP. “By tightening the standards for issuing an AMBER Alert we will ensure these alerts are utilized in only the most dire of circumstances to get credible, useful information out to the public in order to bring abducted children home safely.”
Michigan’s AMBER Alert is a partnership among the MSP, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, Michigan Sheriff’s Association and Michigan Department of Transportation.