Jan 13, 2013- 11:25 AM
Today marks National Amber Alert Awareness Day in the U.S., which commemorates the anniversary of the abduction and murder of Amber Hagerman in Arlington, Texas in 1996 and raises awareness about the program.
The Ontario Provincial Police facilitates the Ontario Amber Alert program under the direction of the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, and collaborates with its many partners throughout the province to locate children who are abducted in Ontario.
A new partnership with Liquor Control Board of Ontario will allow more people than ever to assist the OPP with their recovery efforts when a child is abducted. LCBO terminals will now have the capability of alerting customers that an Amber Alert is in progress, and with more than 600 LCBO retail stores in Ontario, Amber Alert notifications will reach significantly more people right across the province, according to the OPP.
“It's one more highly effective method to communicate information to the public in instances where a child has been abducted,” said Doug Kirk, Ontario Amber Alert steering committee member and OAB president.
“The more we broaden our audience for Amber Alert notifications, the greater our chances of locating abducted children,” said OPP Deputy Commissioner Larry Beechey in a press release. “We thank Liquor Control Board of Ontario for helping us enhance distribution of our Amber Alert notifications during those first crucial hours of a child abduction.”
“As a socially responsible, community-focused retailer, LCBO is proud to partner with the OPP and the Ontario Amber Alert Program,” said Bob Peter, LCBO president and CEO.
“Through our network of 630 stores in communities across the province, we are pleased to be part of the solution by notifying the public in the event of an Amber Alert to help find abducted children and make our communities safer.”
