WASHINGTON, DC – December 22, 2009 – The Benton Police Department of Benton, Arkansas, announced today that it has signed on to help enroll its residents’ wireless phones in the Wireless AMBER Alerts™ program, a voluntary partnership among law enforcement agencies and the transportation and telecommunications industries, which issue urgent public bulletins in order to help solve child abduction cases. The Benton Police Department hopes thousands of residents in the Benton and neighboring Saline County communities sign-up to receive a text message on their cell phones whenever an AMBER Alert has been issued in their community.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the wireless industry, local businesses, and our community on this important matter. The Benton Police Department plans to be an active advocate for bringing missing, abducted, and runaway children home to their families with new programs over the next year. In accordance with our current ‘Keeping our Children Safe Campaign,’ enrollment begins starting today and we will continue with several other community initiatives through 2010.  I hope everyone will join the efforts of our partners to ensure that we protect our children and assist in returning them home to their loved ones,” said Kirk Lane, Benton Police Chief.  “We encourage you to visit or call our office at 501-776-5948 or find us online at www.bentonpolice.org to learn more about our programs.  To register your wireless phone to receive AMBER Alert text messages, please visit www.wirelessamberalerts.org.”

AMBER stands for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response” and was created in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed-up with local police to develop an early warning system to find abducted children. The AMBER Alert Program was soon adopted across the nation and is a legacy to Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old girl who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. All 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have AMBER Alert plans. Approximately 20 tribes have AMBER Alert plans. Arkansas’ own Morgan Nick Amber Alert Program is named in honor of Morgan Nick, a young girl who was abducted on June 9, 1995 while she played at a baseball field in Alma, Arkansas, and unfortunately is still missing.

“The first three hours following a child’s abduction are absolutely critical to finding an abducted child and returning safely home. Wireless technology has greatly enhanced our ability to galvanize communities and to provide law enforcement with timely and effective assistance,” said Steve Largent, President of The Wireless Foundation and President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association®. “We are pleased to add the citizens of Benton, Arkansas to this program as part of our national program to keep our children safe.”

President Bush authorized the national AMBER Alert program as part of the PROTECT Act signed in 2003. The law formally established the federal government’s role in the AMBER Alert program and appointed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as the agency responsible for coordinating national AMBER Alerts. The wireless industry, through The Wireless Foundation, officially partnered with the DOJ and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to make free Wireless AMBER Alerts available to cell phone subscribers.

Any wireless subscriber may opt-in to receive free Alerts by completing a simple registration process at www.wirelessamberalerts.org or their wireless carrier’s website.  Most wireless customers can sign up by texting the word “AMBER” followed by a space and their 5-digit ZIP Code to 26237. The wireless carriers that participate in this program serve more than 96 percent of all wireless customers in the United States.

To date, 492 abducted children are home safely as a direct result of an AMBER Alert.