Ontario missing child ("Amber Alerts") system launches on email and SMS

Link: TheStar.com – Amber Alerts to hit cellphones, email.

The provincial government and the OPP announced today that they are expanding the much-heralded Amber Alert system so that cellphone and email users can receive instant notification whenever a child disappears.”

We need to disseminate critical and time-sensitive information across the widest possible spectrum,” said OPP Deputy Commissioner John Carson. “Today’s announcement adds significantly to that reach.”Ontario residents can now log on to a website set up by Bell Canada to sign up for the alerts. When an alert issued, users will receive a text message or email telling them to tune in to local TV or radio stations for details.

Bell customers will receive the messages for free, while customers on other networks may be charged the price of one text message per alert.

Reader Krystal in Ontario sent this in. Thanks Krystal! I think this is a good, smart usage of the technology. I’d like to see it made available in the UK too. It’s a successful programme, so I hope that the addition of text/email helps make it more effective —

There were two Amber Alerts in Ontario last month, both of which resulted in the safe retrieval of the child concerned.