TORONTO – The safety net for missing kids was significantly enlarged today as Bell Canada, the Ontario government and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), announced the expansion of the Amber Alert program to include free cell phone text messaging and e-mail instant notification of abducted children.
Operating on the Bell 1X network, Canada’s largest digital voice and data network, vital Amber Alert notifications will now further help Ontario residents learn of the search for an abducted child in the first critical minutes after an Alert has been issued.
(Ed. Note: This is a great idea and we hope the nation’s other wireless carriers jump on board – and that the program is expanded across the country)
The partnership will also see Bell Canada’s 25,000-plus Ontario-based workforce automatically receive Amber Alerts via the company’s advanced internal communication channels.
"This partnership will provide police with another tool to help locate abducted children, as well as giving the families of these children the additional comfort of knowing that we are able to do more to improve the safety of our children," said community safety and correctional services Minister Monte Kwinter
"This is a Canadian first – never before has a telecommunications company joined forces with government to spread the news about Amber Alerts in this way," said Renato Discenza, senior vice-president, Bell Canada. "By providing the OPP with a wider network of eyes and ears across the province, Bell is leveraging our advanced technology, our people, and our community connections to help enable a positive resolution in the earliest stages of a search."
Bell, OPP and the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services are making a call to action for Ontario residents to register for Amber Alert notification. Free Amber Alert instant notification by e-mail and cell phone text message are available for individuals that register at www.bell.ca/amberalert.
Introduced in Ontario in January 2003, the Amber Alert program grew out of a partnership between the Ontario Government, Ontario police services and the Ontario Association of Broadcasters. The OPP is responsible for issuing Amber Alerts. Information about an abducted child, their abductor and suspect vehicles is posted on Ministry of Transportation electronic highway message signs. Radio and television stations interrupt regular programming to broadcast Amber Alert bulletins. Now, email and text messaging will further bolster those efforts.
"Thanks to the corporate support of Bell Canada, concerned citizens will be able to instantly assist in the location of a child in the critical early minutes of a child abduction," said John Carson, deputy commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police. "The expanded Amber Alert communication features being introduced today may reduce search time and quickly bring an abducted child home."
