Washington - The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to support the non-profit organization, A Child Is Missing. Under the legislation, the federal government would invest $25 million over five years into the program, which assists law enforcement efforts to locate missing persons quickly by generating 1,000 calls every 60 seconds to phone numbers in the immediate area where a missing person was last seen. The organization also provides missing persons training to law enforcement at no charge.The legislation now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
"Every single second during which a child is missing seems like an agonizing eternity to a parent," said Menendez. "We want to ensure that parents and law enforcement have access to the tools that can most quickly and efficiently locate a missing person. With state and local budget cuts threatening to overextend our community police departments, this legislation is needed now more than ever. Today, we are one step closer to helping bolster a proven program that has helped ensure that hundreds of missing person horror stories had happy endings."
"For the parents and loved ones of the missing, the Senate took a bipartisan step forward today to better protect our children and elderly," said Hatch. "This legislation will provide much-needed resources to state and local law enforcement to help find and recover not only missing children, but college-age kids and the elderly with severe health issues. By giving officers the tools to work a crime scene and to determine if the missing person is a victim of a crime, those missing can more easily be tracked down and returned home to their loved ones."
Through its efforts, A Child Is Missing has been credited with assisting law enforcement in the successful recovery of more than 700 missing persons since it was established in 1997. This system can often be initiated quicker than Amber Alert, which requires a confirmation that the missing person has been abducted.
A Child Is Missing (ACIM) is the only program of its kind that assists in all missing cases involving abduction, children who are lost, wander or run away, the elderly (including those who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease), and mentally and physically challenged individuals. When a person is reported missing to the police, ACIM utilizes the latest technology to place 1,000 emergency calls every 60 seconds to residents and businesses in the area where the person was last seen. ACIM works in concert with the Amber Alert and all child safety programs, and has the support of law enforcement agencies all across the country, including the National Sheriff's Association and the National Chief's Association.
A Child Is Missing also fills a critical gap in time. Although the Amber Alert has been an extremely successful program, there is still a crucial void from when a child is first reported missing and when an Amber Alert, which is activated only in cases of abduction, can be issued. Moreover, many local law enforcement agencies have scant resources and manpower to conduct searches that can cost as much as $400,000 over twelve hours.
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