Dks01 Maybe “the situation didn’t meet the criteria” is a rationalisation that some can use to assuage their conscience, but frankly, that just isn’t good enough. Even only with the publicly-known details of this case, it is clear that police needed help, and it is also clear that the information provided by one or two witnesses, in particular, led to the rescue of the child, close to what is widely accepted as the realistic cut-off time for finding her alive. It’s no time to be worrying about items on a checklist.
Nobody will disagree that the absolute top priority was finding her before it was too late. It doesn’t matter if they call it an Amber Alert or something else; just get the appeal out to the public as soon as it becomes clear that a child appears to be in danger, the parent is exhibiting unusual behaviour that could present a risk to the child, and members of the public may be aware of critical details.
Combine the previously-mentioned statement from one of the witnesses with what one OPP officer had to say:
police would not have found the girl in time without “critical information” from the public. “This was a search where we knew, especially given her age, that every hour mattered,” he said.
“This search proves that when a child goes missing, there are no interprovincial boundaries. There is only one goal: to find them.”
This makes it clear that not releasing a widely-broadcast public appeal, regardless of what you call the appeal, and irrespective of “criteria”, was a mistake. It’s not a question of being in an “emotionally-charged” situation. Now that she has been found, there should be time allocated to analyse what happened and when, and decide — nationally — whether the criteria for Amber Alerts should be revised, another initiative started, or just allow a little more discretion in the application of the criteria.
The same debate has now surfaced in Nova Scotia, proving that it is something that needs official consideration. At this point, we’d be stupid not to pay attention. It shouldn’t take another tragedy to get legislators off their arses.