 Amber Alert Case Study
Skyline Products’ Variable Message Signs Lend to Success of Texas’ First Statewide Implementation of AMBER Alert Program
State DOTs Adopting Public Safety Applications for VMS Systems in addition to
Critical Traffic Advisory and Management Applications
The AMBER Alert program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters and departments of transportation (DOTs) to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to the NCMEC, 14 states have instituted a statewide AMBER plan. A total of 46 versions of the AMBER Alert program are currently in effect at local, regional and statewide levels.
“The Colorado Bureau of Investigation told us that the first three hours after a child is abducted are the most critical,” says Frank Kinder, project manager for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) branch of the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). The State of Colorado implemented its version of the AMBER Plan in April 2002. “The variable message signs in our ITS network, including Skyline Products’, will be an effective way to immediately get child-abduction alerts out to the traveling public. In addition, Skyline Products’ Central Control Software enables us to quickly select the variable message signs located nearest the incident and immediately post a ‘child-abducted’ message on those signs first. Since we can view a graphic of every message on every sign in our network, we can post the child-abducted message on appropriate variable message signs (VMS) and continue to display critical safety-related messages, such as accident alerts, on other variable message signs.”
The AMBER Alert program—including use of VMS systems for these public safety messages—has proven to be so successful in safely locating kidnapped children that, in the wake of recent AMBER Alerts, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) announced legislation to establish a nationwide communications warning network in child abduction cases. “We must do everything we can to protect the most innocent in our society—our children. When a child is abducted, the entire community grieves with the family. Through a nationwide AMBER Alert program, more people can play a key role in making that child’s safe recovery a greater possibility,” Senator Hutchison said on Aug. 7 at a press conference during the Crimes Against Children Conference. “The federal government can and should set up a national network dedicated to finding abducted children.”
Senator Hutchison plans to introduce the Trace and Recover America’s Children (TRAC) Act when Congress reconvenes this month. This Act would provide for a nationwide AMBER Alert network using VMS systems and broadcast media to notify the public of child abductions.
Skyline Products’ permanently mounted LED VMS systems contributed to the success of Texas’ first statewide implementation of the AMBER Alert program in September 2002. Skyline Products is a leading developer, manufacturer, and provider of ITS-Grade® LED variable message signs and Central Control Software, with installations throughout the United States. Recent California and Texas implementations of child abduction alerts have brought the use of VMS systems into the spotlight for applications not directly related to traffic advisory and management. Public safety alerts, such as the AMBER Alert child-abduction program, rely on VMS systems and regional broadcast media to announce critical situations to the public, helping to save lives and reunite families.
VMS systems were instrumental in resolving several recent, highly publicized AMBER Alert cases:
- In California, VMS systems used in the AMBER Alert program were credited with the safe rescue of teenagers Tamara Brooks and Jacqueline Marris on Aug. 1.
- On Aug. 13-14 in Texas, Skyline Products’ VMS systems contributed to successfully reuniting infant Nancy Crystal Chavez (kidnapped from a Wal-Mart parking lot) with her family. (This was Texas’ first statewide implementation of its AMBER Plan.)
- In a less publicized case, the Fort Worth, Texas, police department issued an AMBER Alert on Aug. 15 after 11-month-old Donavyn Andre Smith was taken from his mother by a family member. Skyline Products’ VMS systems played a critical role in this alert. Minutes after Texas Department of Transportation officials posted the message on area VMS, a school bus driver saw the message and called 911, which led directly to the safe recovery of the child.
- Most recently, California issued a statewide AMBER Alert on Aug. 20 to locate 10-year-old Nichole Timmons, who was found safe the next day in Nevada.
“In addition to presenting traffic-related alerts, Skyline Products’ LED VMS systems are now being actively employed in public safety programs throughout the nation,” says Chip Stadjuhar, general manager of Skyline Products’ Transportation Systems division. “Skyline Products’ VMS systems reliably present critical messages to the traveling public. Plus, our robust Central Control Software enables transportation agencies to post new messages throughout their entire ITS system on a moment’s notice—an important consideration in child-abduction cases,” he says. “Typical VMS messages help reduce congestion and help motorists effectively select routes and avoid incidents. For child abduction alerts, VMS systems engage the traveling public in helping to spot a wanted vehicle. It’s exciting to know that the driving public can actively help police solve crimes, rescue children, and reunite families. I’m proud that Skyline Products’ VMS systems play an important role in this program.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children suggests AMBER Alert programs meet these criteria: law enforcement confirms a child has been abducted and is in serious danger, and enough descriptive information exists to warrant an immediate broadcast alert. Many DOT agencies support their local AMBER plan with a specific VMS-usage policy; while policies vary, many DOT agencies agree that critical traffic messages, such as accident alerts, must remain on the VMS systems for the safety of the traveling public.
The AMBER Alert program is named for Amber Hagerman, a nine-year-old girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996 in Arlington, Texas. The outraged community rallied and created the AMBER early-warning system. AMBER is also an acronym standing for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.
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