Missing children are a delicate issue. Parents go crazy when they realize a child is missing. If the suspicion is that the child has been abducted, parents go absolutely bonkers. Of course, law enforcement officials have always worked with distraught parents and caregivers to recover a child that had been reported missing. In California, missing children are an issue just like they are anywhere else in this country or in others. Abducted kids are now being reported in record time via multiple modes of media including tv, radio, internet and other wireless devices. California boasts a perfect recovery rate of abducted kids who are looked for using the Amber Alert system.

What exactly is the Amber Alert system? It’s a newer way of going about recovering abducted kids; it works in two major ways. First, it gets people looking for the child. Second, it lets the abductor know that the child is being looked for, and if there is a description of the abductor, the description of the abductor is given right alongside the descriptions of the abducted kids. In many cases, the abducted kids have been abandoned by their abductor after having heard a report of the incident on the radio. This is working famously so far.

There are many criteria that have to be met before launching an Amber Alert. It is not automatically done for all missing children, it must be clearly suspected that the child was abducted and did not simply decide to walk by himself to his friend’s house across town. Many criteria have to be met before launching an Amber Alert for abducted kids, but once one is launched, there is a very good chance that the child will be found in record time.

The details of these criteria are as above, that a child was abducted and not simply missing, and that the child be younger than 17. There must also be knowledge that the child is in a high-risk situation, such that warrants rescue. Another requirement is that there is enough description in order to make the alert. If people don’t know what they’re looking for, they can not look; likewise, if the abductor does not hear a clear description of himself or his vehicle, he will not believe that he will be recognized.

Each state has an Amber Alert system in place. The system of each state works independently, but in cooperation. In some instances, one state will ask another state to also issue the same Amber Alert if they have reason to believe that the abductor was headed for that state. Of course, it is in the children’s best interest to make the system as seamless nationwide as it can possibly be.

In California, missing children are treated the same as anywhere else in the US. The same qualifications for an Amber Alert apply in California. The fact that California boasts a 100% recovery rate of abducted kids is what sets California apart. Every Amber Alert in California has resulted in efficient and successful rescue of the missing child.

The Amber Alert system was begun in 1996 and has since been set up in all 50 states in order to best help law enforcement officials recover abducted kids.