The surge of media attention
surrounding the apparent increase
in child kidnappings has many
thinking that we are facing a
boom in child abductions.
According to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited
Children, child abductions in the
United States have actually
declined. The FBIs National
Crime Information Center reports
that there was a 4.1 percent
decrease in kidnappings from
2000 to 2001.
In 2001, 840,279 people
were reported missing. The FBI
estimates that of those missing, 85
to 90 percent were juveniles.
Approximately 98 percent of
child abductions are committed
by the abducted childs parent,
according to the Department of
Justice. A small percentage of
kidnappings are randomly
perpetrated by a stranger.
Overall, 94 percent of
abducted children are re-turned
safely.
Jacqueline Taylor, acting
director of career services and
mother of two daughters, says she
has been slightly unnerved by the
media reports of recent child
kidnappings but has always made
it a point to talk with her children.
Ive continually taught my
kids to be aware and close to us at
all times, Taylor said. No matter
who pulls up in the driveway, [my
children] are to come in the house
immediately and let us know.
Stacie Herr, wife of Dan Herr,
resident director of McAffee
Residence Complex, lives on
campus with her husband and three
boys.
Its not that it scares me that
we have all the students on
campus, its that we live so close
to the bypass, Herr said. A lot of
different people travel through
there.
We have boundaries, said
Herr about how she talks with her
children about safety.
Ernie Allen, National Center
for Missing and Exploited
Children President and CEO,
advises parents to know who their
children are with and where they
are. He also suggests that parents
talk with their children about safety
and put their a safety plan into
practice.
Many communities have
adopted a plan to aid in the search
and rescue of missing children
when prevention fails.
The AMBER Plan is named
for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman of
Arlington, Texas, who was
abducted and murdered while
riding her bicycle in 1996. AMBER
is an acronym for Americas
Missing: Broadcast Emergency
Response.
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The AMBER Plan is one
more life saving tool to help
recover abducted children when
time is the enemy, Allen said in a
released statement.
The AMBER Plan uses local
media to help make an abducted
childs community aware of the
kidnapping by putting out
information on the childs
disappearance.
In order for the AMBER Plan
to go into effect, the child must be
younger than 18. Law enforcement
must confirm that the child is
missing and that he or she may be
in danger.
Sixteen states are currently
using the AMBER Plan. New York
Gov. George Pataki instated the
plan on Sept. 2, making New York
the most recent state to join the
ranks.
Parts of Tennessee have or are
in processes of adopting the
AMBER Plan. The plan is already
in existence in Memphis and will
soon be put into place in East
Tennessee.
By Kari Jones
World News Editor
Adopting AMBER: Search and
rescue of missing children
