Keeping track of children
SAPS urged to make more use of the Amber Alert system
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is urging the SAPS to better familiarise the general public about their Amber Alert project, which was officially launched earlier this year.
“At the initial launch, all provinces were encouraged to implement and utilise this new feature, but to date it appears that this facility has been underutilised and under-publicised in the Eastern Cape, with no Amber Alerts made this year,” said DA shadow MEC for safety and security Bobby Stevenson.
“This feature is a positive measure that should be taken forwared particularly as we have just emerged from the period of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, where everyone is calling for more action.”
The project has seen the SAPS partner with Facebook which allows them to send out messsages to the public alerting them about missing children.
Each alert is sent to all Facebook users within 160km of the missing child ’ s last known location and the project is monitored by the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit.
“When this feature is correctly utilised, it has great potential to assist in finding missing children, as such posts can go viral in a short space of time, through community members sharing it,” Stevenson said.
“I want to urge the public and SAPS to make use of this new feature, especially as we are heading into the festive season.”
Amber Alerts were first pioneered in the USA in 1996 and the name is actually an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.