Index    

Amber Alerts are issued to area news media organizations by local law enforcement agencies after investigations confirm child abduction.

Investigation criteria include the following:

• Abducted child must be 15 years of age and younger.

• Local law enforcement agency must believe that the child has been abducted, which means unwillingly taken from their environment without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian.

• Local law enforcement agency must believe that the missing child is in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death.

• 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.

• Local law enforcement agency must have sufficient information available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the child the suspect or the vehicle used in the abduction.

When parents cannot find their children, the criteria provided above must be met before an Amber Alert is issued.  Local law enforcement agencies must first determine whether the children are at friends’ houses, involved in custody battles, or runaways.

If the local law enforcement agency investigation (which will involve working with the child’s family) verifies the abduction, an Amber Alert will be issued.

In Irving, the Irving Police Department (Public Information Officer David Tull) issues an Amber Alert by notifying area news media – radio, television or both.  Since 1996, the Irving Police Department has issued two Amber Alerts.

For children that are Irving residents, the Public Information Department will relay Amber Alert information to central administrators and principals, when time appropriate.  Time appropriate means if the release of information comes during the school day and notifying the IISD staff is possible.  In these rare situations, principals should forward the information to teachers by e-mail.  According to the advice of the Irving Police Department, notifying as many people as possible in the community is often the key to obtaining information that is helpful in finding the child and solving the abduction.

With regard to state or national Amber Alerts, the Irving Police Department will contact the IISD when it needs assistance.  Principals are advised not to send out information they receive over the Internet because the information may not be authentic.