On Monday, June 25th, AMBER Alert Europe visited the headquarters of the French Judicial Police at the Ministry of the Interior in Nanterre, Paris. The aim of the visit was to get a better understanding of the future development of the French missing child system, Alerte Enlèvement, as well as to further enhance cooperation between both AMBER Alert Europe and the specialised missing persons unit of the French police (OCRVP).
OCRVP is a long standing member of AMBER Alert Europe’s Police Expert Network on Missing Children, which brings together law enforcement experts in the field of missing children. In order to save more missing children across Europe, members can quickly contact and consult each other about missing children cases.
“Cross-border police communication and cooperation is crucial when dealing with missing children cases. Abductors do not stop at the border. Just one day after our visit to the French Judicial Police, an AMBER Alert was issued in Luxembourg for a 7-year-old boy. The boy was found in good health that same day across the border in France.”, says Frank Hoen, Founder and Chairman of AMBER Alert Europe.
Alerte Enlèvement
During the visit, AMBER Alert Europe was given an insight into the future development of the French Alerte Enlèvement. The national missing child system sends a mass notification to the public when a child has been abducted, allowing a rapid dissemination of information about the child via TV channels, radio, highway signs, railway stations, social media and websites. Alerte Enlèvement, which was the first missing child system in Europe, was introduced in 2006. Since then there have been 22 activations of the system, all of which have been successful.
Hoen: “This success doesn’t surprise me. France has always been a pioneer in protecting children’s rights. I truly look forward to further strengthening our cooperation with the French police and working together to reach #ZeroMissingKids in Europe.”
