Tempe Police Offers Tips to Keep Children Safer on AMBER Alert Awareness Day

(Tempe, AZ)– Wednesday, January 13 will mark the 20th anniversary of AMBER Alert Awareness Day, which honors the day nine year old Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in front of her family’s home in Arlington, Texas, and found murdered two days later.  In recognition of this day, we are encouraging parents to do three things to keep their children safer.

Smart911 and Tempe Police encourage parents to:

• Determine a password with your children.  If you ever need to send someone to pick them up or when an emergency happens, they can ask that person for the password to ensure it is safe to go with them.
• Be aware of how much information about your child is available. Do not add their names to backpacks or post information about them, including name, address or school on social media websites which can be viewed publicly.
• Create a free, private and secure Safety Profile for your household at www.smart911.com which can include current photos and physical descriptions of your children. If a child goes missing and a family member calls 9-1-1, their Safety Profile will be displayed to the dispatcher allowing them to share the child’s photo and description to responders in the field immediately.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the first three hours are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child. When a child is reported missing it can take an hour or more just to distribute a current photo to law enforcement officers in the field.  Smart911 is available to all residents through the Tempe Police Department and public officials encourage all families to take advantage of the free service by signing up today.

A mother in Arkansas experienced the benefits offered by Smart911 when she received a call that her daughter did not get off the bus at daycare. Frantic, she dialed 9-1-1 and her family’s Smart911 Safety Profile appeared, including her daughter’s photo and description. The call taker was able to use that information to send deputies to the scene immediately.

Smart911 is currently available in 40 states and more than 1,500 municipalities. It has been credited with positively impacting emergency situations and saving lives across the U.S., including a missing child case in Arkansas, a heart attack victim in Tennessee and a man trapped in a house fire in Michigan. As a national service, anytime a person with a Smart911 Safety Profile dials 9-1-1 in any location in the U.S. that supports Smart911, their profile will automatically appear to dispatchers allowing for more information to be available at the time of an emergency.