Texas Amber Alert Network - TxDPS - Texas Department of Public Safety

36 Pages·2005·0.47 MB·English

Texas
Amber Alert
Network

Office of the Governor
September 2002
This program is supported by Grant # 2000-DB-BX-0048 awarded to the State of Texas, Office of the Governor, by
the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice
Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of
Crime. Points of view or opinions contained within this document are those of the author and do not necessarily
represent the official position or policies of the U. S. Department of Justice.

Texas Amber Alert Network 2
Table of Contents

Letter from Governor Rick Perry 5

Activating the Texas Amber Alert Network 7
Deactivating the Texas Amber Alert 7

Notifying the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management 8
Amber Alert Request Form Notification 8
Transmitting An Amber Alert Activation Request 8
What Happens Next 8
Amber Alert Request Form 10

Using BeyondMissing.com 11

Contacts 35

Other Resources 36

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Texas Amber Alert Network 4
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Texas Amber Alert Network 6
Activating the Texas Amber Alert Network
The Texas Amber Alert Network is designed to work in coordination with local abduction alert
plans and is not intended to supercede activation of local plans. To activate the Texas Amber
Alert Network, the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction must determine that an abduction
meets the following state criteria:
(cid:131) The abducted child must be 17 years of age or younger.
(cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must believe that the child has been abducted, that
is, unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s
parent or legal guardian or by the child’s parent or legal guardian who commits an act
of murder or attempted murder during the time of the abduction.
(cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must believe that the missing child is in immediate
danger of serious bodily harm or death.
(cid:131) The local law enforcement agency must confirm that an investigation has taken place
that verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative explanations for the missing
child.
(cid:131) Sufficient information is available to disseminate to the public that could assist in
locating the child, the suspect, or the vehicle used in the abduction.

Local law enforcement agencies have been issued login names and passwords to activate the
Texas Amber Alert Network. Triggering the system is a simple, two-step process for the
responding law enforcement agency:
(cid:131) Notify the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM) that an abduction
meeting the Amber Alert criteria has occurred. DEM will contact the National
Weather Service to issue an alert to the media, contact the Texas Department of
Transportation to activate electronic highway signs within the 200-mile radius of the
abduction and send an alert on the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System (TLETS).
(cid:131) DEM will generate a poster using the beyondmissing.com Internet site. This poster
will automatically be sent via fax and e-mail to media outlets, law enforcement
agencies and selected private businesses within the search zone.

Approved activations will only be issued for a period of 24-hours. The requesting law
enforcement agency will be given a reminder after 12 hours, 18 hours, and 23 hours of
activation, and provided an opportunity to request an extension of the Amber Alert. Requests for
an extension should be directed to the State Operations Center (SOC), DEM at [phone]
and must be accomplished on or before the 23-hour reminder from the SOC. All requests for
extension will be submitted to the State Coordinator for consideration.

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Deactivating a Texas Amber Alert
Once the kidnapped child has been recovered, the abduction has been resolved or law
enforcement decides that the alert is no longer effective, the Texas Amber Alert Network must
be deactivated. To deactivate the system:
(cid:131) Notify DEM to cancel the alert. DEM will then be responsible for sending
appropriate notification to the National Weather Service, the Texas Department of
Transportation and other law enforcement offices.
(cid:131) DEM will logon to the beyondmissing.com Internet site and edit the original
submission to show that the child has been found or that the abduction has been
resolved, or the alert cancelled.
Notifying the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management
The primary method to notify the Governor’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM) to
activate an Amber Alert will be by faxing an “Amber Alert Request Form” to DEM. Backup
methods for notification include phone, TLETS and e-mail.

Amber Alert Request Form
(cid:131) All requests for activation must include a point of contact and telephone number for
confirmation and verification of any request. Fill in “Authentication password” with the
password from your Amber Alert Network access card.
(cid:131) Faxed and e-mailed requests for activation should be placed on the Amber Alert Request
Form. The form may be copied from Page 7 or may be downloaded at
www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.
(cid:131) Requests made by TLETS should include the same information on the Amber Alert
Request Form, including a point of contact, phone number and agency password.

Transmitting An Amber Alert Activation Request
(cid:131) Preferred method: Fax the Amber Alert Request Form to [phone]
or [phone]
(cid:131) Secondary method: Send a TLETS message to AZAA, the DEM
Communications Group in Austin
(cid:131) Backup methods: E-mail the Amber Alert Request Form to
[email protected]

Call [phone] or [phone]

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What Happens Next
Upon verification of the activation request, DEM will issue an Amber Alert through the
following process:
(cid:131) Advise the National Weather Service via the Texas Warning System to issue an
Amber Alert in the appropriate region or regions.
(cid:131) Notify the Texas Department of Transportation’s Traffic Management Center to
activate electronic highway signs in the search zone to flash messages about the
Amber Alert.
(cid:131) Contact state and local law enforcement offices within the search zone and provide
those offices with details of the abduction via TLETS.
(cid:131) Notify the Texas Missing Persons Clearinghouse of the abduction.
(cid:131) Notify the Governor’s Office that an Amber Alert has been issued.

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TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
AMBER ALERT REQUEST FORM
Fax [phone] or [phone]; and Call [phone] or 2208
MAXIMUM ACTIVATION - 24 HOURS

Reporting Agency Information
YES NO

1. Is this child 17 years of age or younger?
Name of Reporting Agency
2. Does the law enforcement agency believe that the child has
been abducted, that is, unwillingly taken from their
environment without permission from the child's parent or
legal guardian or by the child’s parent or legal guardian who
Name/Title of Investigating Officer
commits an act of murder or attempted murder during the
time of the abduction?

3. Is there reason to believe that the victim is in immediate
danger of serious bodily harm or death?

Contact number for Investigating Officer
4. Is it confirmed that an investigation has taken place that
verifies the abduction and has eliminated alternative
explanations for the missing child?
Fax number for reporting agency

5. Is there sufficient information available to disseminate to the
public that could assist in locating the child, suspect, or
vehicle used in the abduction?
Authentication password

(cid:153) IMPORTANT: Do NOT send AMBER ALERT if the answer is NO to ANY of these questions. If activated, your request is
only valid for a period of 24 hours. You will be contacted after 12 hours, 18 hours, and 23 hours in which you may decide
to request an extension. All requests for extension must be accomplished on or before the last 23 hour reminder from the
State Operations Center. Contact [phone] or 2208 for all requests for extensions.

Abduction Date: Time:
Last known location:
VICTIM DATA:
Name:
Age: Weight: Height: Race: Sex:__________Eyes:___________
DOB: Hair: Clothing: _______________________________________________
Unique Physical Characteristics:
SUSPECT DATA:
Name:
Age: Weight: Height: Race: Sex:___________Eyes:___________
DOB: Hair: Clothing: _______________________________________________
Unique Physical Characteristics:
VEHICLE DATA:
Make: Model: Year: Color:
LP-State: Number:
Any other descriptors:

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