AMBER Alert International – Issue 1 2022

AMBER Alert Europe initiated an awareness campaign called “Friend or Monster?” to educate the public about children being sexually abused or harmed by someone they know, love, or trust. The campaign began on November 18, 2021: the European Day on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. Officials decided on the theme because the pandemic has led to more children being closed in with their abusers and have fewer chances to seek help.

Ukraine has created a Facebook AMBER Alert network to inform the public when a child is abducted. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Facebook to broaden its operations in the country to expand key communication channels.

National and municipal police officers in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) are now authorized to send AMBER Alerts and other public emergency alerts. The provincial government will no longer require police to seek authorization from the Emergency Measures Organization so the alerts can be issued faster.

The British Columbia mother of a woman who was found dead after she went missing wants Canada to create an “adult alert” for missing people over the age of 18. The body of Alina Durham’s 23-year-old daughter Shaelene Bell was discovered June 2, 2021, in a river four months after she went missing. Durham started an online petition to create Shaelene’s Missing Adult Alert so law enforcement can notify the public if an adult is missing and at risk of imminent danger or death.

Slovenia invited police experts from 26 other European countries to discuss best practices to find missing children and elderly people. The international conference was held January 9, 2021, with the cooperation of the Police Expert Network and AMBER Alert Europe.

Law enforcement officials in Rome have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the AMBER Alert Europe Foundation to formalize efforts to issue alerts and find missing children. The Polizia di Stato agreed to have officers receive more training so they can cooperate and assist law enforcement efforts to find missing children throughout Europe.