About

What is an AMBER Alert?

An AMBER Alert is a system that streamlines cooperation between various police forces and their partners in order to inform the population of a child abduction using all possible forms of media.
When such an event occurs, the first hours are critical, which is why an AMBER Alert requires the participation of the public to quickly find a child who has been abducted.

History

The AMBER Alert system was created in the United States in the wake of the abduction of Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl, in Arlington, Texas, on January 13, 1996.

Although a witness had provided a description of the suspect and the vehicle used to abduct Amber, she was found dead four days later, a tragedy that shocked the population to its core. On April 30, 2003, the National AMBER Alert Network Act was passed by the United States Congress, ensuring that the alert system would be applied uniformly across the U.S. and that the public would be notified of such events in order to find an abducted child as quickly as possible.

The AMBER Alert system was introduced in Québec on May 26, 2003.