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Kate and Gerry McCann had called for an abduction alert
system |
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Police will unveil a new nationwide alert system for enlisting
the public to help them rescue abducted children next month.
Officials have been working behind the scenes for months to iron
out bureaucratic hurdles to broadcasting sensitive information.
Kate and Gerry McCann
have campaigned for such a system to be introduced since their daughter
Madeleine disappeared in
Portugal in May 2007. They emphasised how the first hours after an
abduction are crucial and that an alert would spread information more
quickly.
The new network, comparable to the amber alert system in the
United States, will be compatible with other European countries for the
first time.
As a result a continent-wide alert could be issued in
circumstances where youngsters may be taken across national borders.
Although some 100,000 children are reported missing to police
each year, senior officers expect the national alert to be used
extremely rarely.
The upgraded child rescue alert system will use new computer
software to handle the anticipated deluge of calls from concerned
members of the public.
Similar alerts in France provoked 600 calls within the first
three hours, leaving investigators struggling to prioritise information.
Regional and national television and radio stations will
broadcast messages, in some cases interrupting scheduled programmes.
Those behind the system also hope to eventually use internet and text
messaging as well as motorway information signs.
The system is being co-ordinated by the National Police
Improvement Agency (NPIA) and any national abduction will be led by
Greater Manchester Police. |
