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Published on Tuesday, February 10, 2004
in the NBC-2.com
LEE COUNTY, February 10, 2004 -- When an Amber Alert is issued time is of the essence. The more time that passes, the less likely law enforcement will find the child alive. Law enforcement officers have a new tool to allow them to react faster to Amber Alerts.
Law enforcement officers have a lot of tools available to help them find a missing person including their cruisers, K9's, even helicopters. But the most important tool they have is inside their cruiser's laptop.
When an Amber Alert goes out, Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Greg Bueno already knows about it. He finds out on a laptop in his cruiser.
"A message will come on, just like if you were checking your email at home," said Bueno.
The message includes a description of the child, where they were last seen, and if there is a car involved. That valuable information is spread across the state in just a few seconds.
"That's our most important tool, getting it out to the troopers who are patrolling our roadways," said Bueno.
At the Collier County Sheriff's office they can send that same message with a photo attached - and they can do it almost instantly.
Stephanie Spell of Collier County Sheriff's Office communications can create an alert with a photo in 26 seconds and send it to every deputy in the county.
"We can get eyes looking for these people almost immediately, as soon as we get information we try to get it pushed out to the field," said Spell.
Collier County also uses Code Red. Dispatchers can set up an automated system that calls every home phone in the area where the child was last seen.
"If they were on foot then we would limit the area to what a child would travel on foot," said Spell.
Whoever picks up the phone will get a detailed message about the missing child. Over 60,000 calls can be made in an hour.
In the few instances the system has been used, tips and leads have been generated.
"It's all in real time," said Bueno.
For the Florida Highway Patrol and the sheriff's office, this technology is a long way from the old way of doing things: faxes, flyers, and radio calls.
Statewide, not every patrol car has this technology, but efforts are underway to change that.