PRINTER'S NO. 4315
No. 665 Session of 2002
INTRODUCED BY MELIO, BARD, BARRAR, BELARDI, BELFANTI, BISHOP,
CAPPELLI, CORRIGAN, COY, DALEY, D. EVANS, GEORGE, HERMAN,
LAUGHLIN, LESCOVITZ, MAITLAND, McGEEHAN, McILHATTAN,
PHILLIPS, RIEGER, ROHRER, SCHRODER, STABACK, WANSACZ, WATSON,
JAMES, YOUNGBLOOD, MACKERETH, CALTAGIRONE, CAWLEY, COSTA,
CREIGHTON, DeWEESE, FRANKEL, HARHAI, HERSHEY, LEDERER, LUCYK,
MANN, McGILL, MICOZZIE, READSHAW, ROBERTS, SANTONI, SOLOBAY,
TIGUE, WATERS, JOSEPHS, GRUCELA, ADOLPH, THOMAS, HENNESSEY,
M. COHEN, HARPER, STEELMAN, PISTELLA AND BROWNE,
SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, SEPTEMBER 25, 2002
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Pennsylvania State Police as the administrator of the
2 Pennsylvania AMBER Alert System to expand the criteria for
3 activation of the alert to include abduction victims 21 years
4 of age and younger.
5 WHEREAS, The recent nationwide publicity of several juvenile
6 kidnappings over this past summer has brought nationwide
7 recognition to the success of the AMBER (America's Missing:
8 Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert System; and
9 WHEREAS, The AMBER Alert System was created by Dallas/Fort
10 Worth area broadcasters and law enforcement agencies in memory
11 of nine-year old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and murdered
12 in Arlington, Texas, in 1996. The plan is a voluntary
13 partnership between law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to
14 activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child abduction
15 cases using the Emergency Alert System (EAS); and
1 WHEREAS, The program's popularity and success have been
2 sweeping across the United States and Canada. Since the original
3 AMBER Alert System was established 43 modified versions have
4 been adopted at local, regional and statewide levels, including
5 14 states with statewide versions, according to the National
6 Center for Missing and Exploited Children; and
7 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's AMBER Alert System was enacted on
8 February 20, 2002, and was one of the first statewide systems in
9 the nation to alert the public about missing children 16 years
10 of age and younger; and
11 WHEREAS, California's program was successful in saving the
12 lives of two teenage girls ages 16 and 17; and
13 WHEREAS, The United States Department of Justice's Bureau of
14 Justice Statistics year 2000 report shows persons between the
15 ages of 12 and 24 sustained violent victimization at rates
16 higher than individuals of all other ages, and that persons
17 between the ages of 16 and 19 were victims of rape or sexual
18 assault at rates higher than individuals of all other ages. In
19 addition, the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice
20 and Delinquency Prevention reports show that a large majority of
21 teenagers kidnapped by acquaintances are 12 to 17 years of age;
22 and
23 WHEREAS, Since the success of this program has been proven,
24 raising the age required to activate the plan to include young
25 adults in danger of death or serious injury may save the lives
26 of these abduction victims; therefore be it
27 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
28 Pennsylvania State Police to expand the alert activation for the
29 Pennsylvania AMBER Alert System to include kidnapping victims 21
30 years of age and younger.
H16L82MSP/20020H0665R4315 - 2 -