District joins child abduction plan
by Jason Holt, reporter

    Parents who send their children to College for Kids at TCC during the summer may be relieved to know that the district is now a part of the Amber Alert Plan.

   About one month ago, the district joined the program, Karen Pool, lead dispatcher for the South Campus police department, said.

   “When it’s publicized that we’re doing this, it will make the parents as well as the children feel like they’re in a safer environment,” she said.

   The Amber Alert Program is a cooperative effort between radio and TV stations and law enforcement agencies to provide listeners and viewers with timely information about area child abductions.

   “It is our responsibility to act in the case of an abduction,” she said.

   Pool said that all police agencies are urged to get involved in the Amber Plan.

   “I believe that with the information that we have and the action that we’re required to take,” she said, “we are prepared for any emergency involving an abduction.”

   Local media, with the direct assistance of law enforcement, can broadcast a description of the missing child, the conditions of the child’s abduction and any descriptive information about the abductor or the suspect’s vehicle.

   “We will act appropriately, accurately, quickly, in a timely manner. This is all based on a time factor, and that’s why the Amber Alert was created,” she said.

   According to information provided by Pool, the plan received its name from 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was abducted while playing near her Arlington home in 1996. After an extensive search, her body was found a few days later.

   The Amber Alert was designed to get information to law enforcement agencies and the general public immediately to help prevent tragic endings to child abductions.