AMBER ALERT SCHEME TO COUNTER CHILD ABDUCTIONS

Early day motion 1808, tabled 23 October 2002 by Tim Loughton (Conservative). Signed by 38 members.

That this House notes with great sadness the recent violent deaths of children and expresses its deep concern at the continued threat faced by our children at the hands of evil abductors; further notes that in the United States, the America's Missing Broadcast Emergency Response (Amber Alert) scheme started in Texas in 1996, and now operating in 15 states, has scored great success in saving the lives of abducted children by means of early interruption of television and other media broadcasts and messages beamed on to road signs, alerting the public to the details of missing children in the crucial early hours, and that since the adoption of the scheme in California in July of this year at least 11 children have been rescued as a result of this scheme; welcomes the response of Sussex Police who are looking to replicate the success of such a scheme backed by Adur Council and other local authorities; and calls upon the Government to set up pilots across the United Kingdom to evaluate the practical implementation of such a scheme in this country as part of an urgent campaign to provide a practical response to those horrific murders and help prevent further such deaths in the future.

Signatures by party: Labour 21, Conservative 10, Liberal Democrat 4, Labour/Co-operative 1, Plaid Cymru 1, UUP 1.