Amber Alerts Now On Facebook

MIDDLETOWN — Life-saving Amber Alerts are now available to the millions of people on the social networking service Facebook, including those who live in Connecticut.

Facebook users are now able to sign up to receive state-specific Amber Alert bulletins, which will be sent to them through the Facebook News Feed feature. A total of 53 new Amber Alert Pages have been created, one for each state, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Facebook users will also be able to share the Amber Alerts with their friends.

The new Amber Alert Facebook page for Connecticut can be found at www.facebook.com/AmberAlertCT. The service went live on January 12.

“We are excited that the citizens of Connecticut will now be able to receive Amber Alerts on Facebook,” said Major Phil Halibozek, the acting commanding officer for the Connecticut Department of Public Safety. He is also the state Amber Alert coordinator. “This is an important step to keep all of our children safe.”

There are more than half a billion users of Facebook. The new Facebook Amber Alert pages represent an important expansion of the national Amber Alert program.

“Everyone at Facebook feels a responsibility to help protect children and, as a former federal prosecutor and a father of two, I am particularly proud that we are now part of the Amber Alert program,” said Facebook Lead Security and Investigations Counsel Chris Sonderby. “Our hearts go out to the families of the missing and our gratitude goes to the officers, volunteers, and other Amber Alert partners who work tirelessly to bring them home. We are hopeful that today’s announcement offers these dedicated officials another useful tool to find and safely recover abducted children.”

Information about the new initiative was announced on January 12 by Facebook, the US Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The announcement was made the day before the 15th anniversary of the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, namesake of the national Amber Alert Program. 

An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing every year. Amber Alert is a voluntary partnership involving law-enforcement agencies and broadcasters. An urgent Amber Alert bulletin is issued by law enforcement in the most serious child-abduction cases that meet specific criteria. The goal of an Amber Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child.

“Average people doing average things but paying attention are saving lives and reuniting families,” said Ernie Allen, president of NCMEC. “With more than 500 million Facebook users, this bold initiative will help us mobilize many more people and bring more missing children home.”