Activation criteria
How it works
In Québec, only two police forces are authorized to activate an AMBER Alert: the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), which is responsible for the island of Montréal, and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), which is responsible for the rest of Québec’s territory. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is a partner in the AMBER program in Québec, through its support, when the alert is activated, for organizations that apply the law.
Criteria
An AMBER Alert is activated when a situation that involves a police force having jurisdiction in Québec is faced with the following three criteria, simultaneously and without exception:
The police force has reasonable grounds to believe that a child (someone under 18 years of age) has been abducted.
The circumstances of the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious physical injury or death.
The police force has sufficient descriptive information about one or more of the following elements:
child – the suspect – the means of transportation used
to consider that the immediate broadcast of the alert will help in finding the child.
The police force has reasonable grounds to believe that a child (someone under 18 years of age) has been abducted.
The circumstances of the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious physical injury or death.
The police force has sufficient descriptive information about one or more of the following elements:
child – the suspect – the means of transportation used
to consider that the immediate broadcast of the alert will help in finding the child.
Duration of the alert
In Québec, the alert is broadcast to media and associated partners for a minimum of five hours after its activation.
If the alert is activated after 9 p.m., it must be broadcast at least until 9 a.m. the next day.
A minimum of 5 hours
