AMBER Alert International – Issue 3 2022

After the AMBER Alert became widespread, pictures of missing children no longer appeared on milk cartons. Now a London-based charity, Missing People, is taking the effort a step forward by using digital billboards with 3D portraits of missing children. The pictures look “live” with blinking eyes and tilting heads. The billboards have a QR code to help spread the image and information on social media. The signs also use the words “help find” instead of “missing” because behavioral scientists say this will give the public a call to action.

Several online petitions are seeking an AMBER Alert-like system for missing autistic children after the body of an 11-year-old Lindsay, Ontario, boy was recovered in a river. Draven Graham had a sensory irritation to touch and would not answer to his name. The petitions are asking for a “Draven Alert” for missing autistic and vulnerable/special needs children. Some suggest expanding the alert for autistic adults.

AMBER Alert Europe has launched a worldwide campaign to urge people to stop sharing naked images. The campaign addresses the dangers minors face when sharing self-generated naked images, otherwise known as “nudes.” The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found a dramatic 77% rise in self-generated naked teen pictures shared online since 2019, and that one in three teenagers have admitted to seeing non-consensually shared nudes. “These kinds of self-generated images can have far-reaching consequences on (a teen’s) health and wellbeing; and once shared, could also lead to sexual extortion and coercion – even criminal charges,” said AMBER Alert Europe Chairman Frank Hoe. The campaign’s video and posters are being shared in 27 countries.

Quebec’s provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec, plans to launch a Silver Alert pilot program to help find missing seniors. The police agency estimates that 800 missing seniors would qualify for the alert every year. The Silver Alert would send the public essential information when a senior with neurocognitive challenges, such as Alzheimer’s disease, goes missing. Police were originally opposed to the alert, fearing it would desensitize the public’s response to AMBER Alerts.