Who activates an AMBER Alert?
Many law enforcement agencies throughout Washington State have formulated AMBER Alert Plans. Once notified there has been an abduction, they review the information relating to the abduction to determine if certain criteria are met. Many factors determine whether or not an actual AMBER Alert will occur, which include: • The age of the child. The child must be under 18 and known to have been abducted (e.g., not a runaway or thrownaway from home). • The abducted child is believed to be in danger of death or serious bodily injury. • The AMBER Alert activation should occur within 4 hours of the event qualifying unless circumstances warrant otherwise. • There must be enough descriptive information available to believe an AMBER Alert will assist in the recovery. • The incident must be reported to and investigated by a law enforcement agency. In the event a law enforcement agency does not have an approved plan, they must utilize the resources of another law enforcement agency with an approved
