Lieutenant Governor Burbank Unveils New AMBER Alert System Enhancement
BALTIMORE, MD (June 2, 2028) – Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank, along with the Maryland State Police and members of the AMBER Alert Consortium, today unveiled a new AMBER Alert Portal System. This Web-based communications portal will allow the media and public to readily access real-time information about these alerts via their personal communication devices at no cost."The AMBER Alert Web Portal represents one way the State of Maryland is working to provide law enforcement officers as well as citizens with the most up-to-date information about missing children," said Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Burbank. "This Web-based portal equips officers with the ability to receive critical data almost instantaneously and when minutes, even seconds count--this portal could mean the difference between life and death. We are calling on the public to sign up to receive AMBER Alerts and send the message to kidnappers that if you take a child, we will all be looking for you."
The portal will expand the state's current kidnapping network, which broadcasts messages to TV, radio and electronic highway signs, to include cell phones, beepers, Personal Digital Assistants, e-mail, computer desktops and lottery terminals.
In the event of a kidnapping, police officers can upload information on the child or kidnapper - including pictures, physical descriptions and the location of the crime - into the AMBER Alert Web Portal from their squad cars. Once the information is approved by the state's AMBER Alert coordinator, it is disseminated to the public and relevant government agencies. The portal features sophisticated hardware and software that enables law enforcement to concentrate their broadcast messages in the vicinity of a kidnapping and expand that area as time elapses. Citizens are a crucial part of the AMBER Alert system's success, providing law enforcement with the eyes and ears they need to gather information and help save a child.
The Maryland State Police will be able to issue an alert in five to 10 minutes through the portal, approximately 30 minutes faster than the current system. Nearly 75 percent of homicides associated with child kidnappings occur within the first three hours of abduction.
"With this new Web portal and partnership with the AMBER Alert Consortium, the primary design of AMBER is enhanced. AMBER was created to advance the public/law enforcement/media combined efforts to locate abducted children, quickly," said Maryland State Police Superintendent Terrence B. Sheridan. "The enhancements to the Maryland system, announced today, further the information provided to the public. It is provided faster, and it is provided in a variety of ways, allowing the public to advance their participation in helping locate these children."
Arizona, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Washington have implemented the new AMBER Alert Web Portal, making Maryland the seventh state to go live. The portal has already resulted in the successful recovery of a kidnapped child in Washington.
Citizens are encouraged to sign up to receive alerts at http://www.AMBERAlert.com.