The Ohio AMBER Alert Steering Committee met in regular session on Wednesday, April 24th in Columbus. Robert Hoever, Director of Special Programs for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), was on hand to make a presentation concerning the new Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) Program. The WEA is a new cell phone alerting program coordinated through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Cellular Telephone Industry Association (CTIA) to alert citizens of Presidential Emergency messages, weather or hazardous material incidents and can be used for AMBER Alerts.
At the meeting, committee members unanimously approved use of the WEA whenever an AMBER Alert is issued in Ohio. This means all citizens with a WEA enabled phone will receive notification of AMBER Alert activations in their vicinity. Members agreed that the WEA alerts should be sent immediately upon activation, even if during the night, as the urgency in finding an abducted child outweighed any potential inconvenience the alert might cause.
“Criminals abduct children 24-hours a day, so the alert should go out 24-hours a day,” said committee member Linda Maloy, whose daughter was abducted prior to the AMBER Alert program existing and who serves as the victim’s advocate on the committee.
The NCMEC presentation allowed the committee to get fully acquainted with the new system capabilities to make an informed decision as to whether to include it in Ohio’s AMBER Alert Plan.
The WEA program was implemented in late 2012 and the program has undergone a few adjustments during that time frame. The program represents a partnership between the wireless industry and the federal government. All WEA enabled phones are programmed to automatically receive WEA alerts, which are distributed via cellular broadcasts.
The WEA system does have limitations. The cell phone message cannot include photos, webpage addresses or phone numbers and is limited to 90 characters. Ohio’s AMBER Alert WEA messages will contain the originating city or location, the word “AMBER Alert”, and then one of two pieces of information. If the license plate is known, the plate and vehicle description will be included in the message. If the plate is not known, the message will advise you to tune to media sources from the originating city.
Ohioans should be aware that full details about any AMBER Alerts issued in the state are available at www.ohioamberplan.org or by calling 1-877-AMBER-OH.
For further information regarding the Wireless Emergency Alert or WEA capabilities on your phone, go to your wireless provider’s website or FCC.gov. Additional information is also available at www.missingkids.com/amber/wea.
If you have questions regarding the Ohio AMBER Alert Program, please call (614) 728-1355.
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