The Iowa Department of Public Safety announced some changes to the statewide AMBER Alert System that’s used for find missing children. D.P.S. spokesperson Jessica Lown say the changes are all designed to speed up the system.
Lown says they’ve re-designed the AMBER alert website , and behind the scenes there are some functional changes that allow them to upload information quicker. The department has also created a "Child Abduction Response Program." She says when an abduction takes place there will be trained staff deployed all across the state of Iowa who have specific training in searching for abducted children so they can be a "team leader" in all the components of searching for an abducted child.
Lown says Iowa’s been fortunate that the system does not have to be used very often. Lown says they’ve only had to trigger the system about 13 times in the five years it has been in operation. She says hopefully people will know that lawn enforcement officers are always working to update the system if it is ever needed. The changes were announced as National Missing Children’s Day approaches.