BajaNomad

Baja first Mexican state to adopt Amber Alert program

BajaNews - 5-11-2009 at 11:18 PM

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/11/bn11baja-...

May 11, 2009

SAN DIEGO – Baja California has become the first Mexican state to adopt the voluntary Amber Alert program that spreads the word about the most serious child-abduction cases, authorities announced Monday.

Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, Baja California's attorney general, said his agency will begin issuing immediate Amber Alerts to the media, businesses, and nonprofit groups, in cases where a child's life is considered at risk. Until now, Mexican officials have typically waited 72 hours before issuing an alert, to verify that the child was truly missing.

Moreno was accompanied by U.S. and California law enforcement officials in making the announcement in San Diego. He said the program will improve collaboration among agencies in both countries in cases of cross-border child abductions.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to train law enforcement officials in U.S. and Mexican border states in the Amber program, said Cecilia Duquela Fuentes, of the department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Child Delinquency Prevention.