WATCH: SAPS partners with Facebook on ‘Amber Alert’ for missing children

The South African Police Service has launched its partnership with social media giant Facebook on Facebook Amber Alert for missing children.

National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole, in conjunction with the SAPS National Bureau for Missing Persons and Crime Stop made the announcement at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton on 30 January.

According to Sitole, this initiative is a voluntary partnership with law-enforcement agencies across the globe and the SAPS is the first in Africa to launch this initiative. “An Amber Alert is a missing child emergency alert which works by distributing a message through a system that will enable the Facebook community to actively participate in finding missing children. The system is designed for activation in the shortest possible time after a child has disappeared,” he said.

Facebook’s Director of Trust and Safety, Emily Vacher explains the idea behind Amber Alert:

AMBER Alert system is a law enforcement investigative tool used only in high-risk cases. Partnership with Facebook to distribute AMBER Alerts has helped galvanize the community to protect the most vulnerable. Thank you Facebook for an amazing partnership and continued expansion. pic.twitter.com/gjss1uO1Dg

— ICMEC (@ICMEC_official) January 14, 2020

As soon as an alert is activated, it will appear on a Facebook user’s news feed if they are in close proximity of the town or city where the child was last seen. The alert can then be shared.

Sithole noted that the Amber Alert function has been launched in 23 countries across the world.

If anyone has information on the missing child, they can contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or provide information on the #MySapsApp

Related articles

https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/150290/a-missing-child-is-one-too-many-keep-children-safe/

https://sandtonchronicle.co.za/213170/sandton-police-ramp-up-child-safety-programme-efforts/