OJJDP News @ a Glance - January/February 2006

"AMBER Alert Awareness Day"

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Conference Highlights From Friday, January 13

The conference closed on Friday with a ceremony to mark AMBER Alert Awareness Day. OJJDP Administrator J. Robert Flores began the proceedings on Friday morning by officially marking the close of the conference. Administrator Flores summarized highlights from the week and thanked the many attendees and participants. He also thanked the members of the Coordinating Council and the staff at OJJDP for their hard work and dedication in making the conference a success.

Assistant Attorney General and National AMBER Alert Coordinator Regina Schofield then took the stage to begin the AMBER Alert Awareness Day ceremony, which featured remarks by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the abduction and murder in Arlington, TX, of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, Friday, January 13, 2006, was designated AMBER Alert Awareness Day. Across the nation, state and regional AMBER Alert coordinators held press conferences and other events to increase public awareness of the AMBER Alert program and to encourage public participation in safely recovering missing children.

In her introduction to the Attorney General, Ms. Schofield called the AMBER Alert program "a cornerstone of our efforts to protect children" and "one of the most effective crime prevention tools." The Attorney General, recalling the events that spurred the creation of the AMBER Alert plan in his home state of Texas, noted that "Amber's tragic story inspired a national urgency to protect children." He declared that "our nation is committed to protecting children" and upholding "the promise and potential of every young life."

The new AMBER Alert stamp, unveiled on the closing day of the conference, will be available in May 2006.

The Attorney General recognized three individuals for their work on behalf of abducted children, presenting plaques to Donna Norris, Amber Hagerman's mother; Ernie Allen of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; and Steve Largent of the Wireless Foundation.

The ceremony concluded with the unveiling by Deputy Postmaster General Patrick Donohue of a new AMBER Alert stamp. Calling it an "opportunity to educate the American public," Mr. Donohue said the stamp would "help to heighten public awareness" of the AMBER Alert program and noted that the Postal Service has a tradition of drawing attention to important social causes. The 39-cent stamp, which features an illustration of a reunited mother and child, will be available nationwide in May 2006. Mr. Donohue also presented a framed reproduction of the stamp to Donna Norris.