Dutch AMBER Alerts will now also be displayed on ATMs. The Netherlands is the first country ever to share missing children appeals with the public using ATM screens.
More than three hundred ATMs of Dutch ATM provider In2Retail will now show information about a missing child, for whom a national AMBER Alert has been issued, on their screensavers. The ATMs will also display so-called Vermist Kind Alerts. The ATMs are located in multiple airports such as Schiphol and Rotterdam Airport, in large shopping malls and near popular tourist attractions.
When the Dutch police decide to issue an AMBER Alert, the life of the child is in immediate danger. When they are extremely worried about the wellbeing of a missing child, a Vermist Kind Alert is sent out. For both, a quick response is crucial. “When an AMBER Alert or Vermist Kind Alert is issued, we need the help of the public to find the child as quickly as possible’’, says Izanne de Wit, Head of the Missing Person’s Bureau of the Dutch Police. “That’s why we are happy that these alerts will now also be displayed on ATMs, adding to the list of means we already have. Sharing the missing child’s information on these screens helps us to expand our reach even further.”
Frank Hoen, Founder and Chairman of AMBER Alert Europe: ‘’We are very pleased with this new and innovative partnership and we hope other countries will follow this great example,’’ concludes Hoen.
