Do you think Amber Alerts work?

[Gin0710]

Have you ever paid attention to them and do you actually look for the vehicle they are looking for? I do keep my eye open, but after a while I forget about it.

 

[Profit5500]

I would not know how to really answer that question. In some cases it could work and the missing person could be found. In other cases some people just ignore it and go on about his or her business. If the alert is not done I do not think that people would pay any attention to who is missing. Then again there people who just do not really care about another human being going missing. Its a sad society in todays world but I cannot see why not pay attention to those amber alerts.

 

[Gin0710]

I remember watching Penn and Teller's Bullshit show and they did an experiment. They posted flyers all over a shopping mall that described a missing boy and even provided a photograph. Meanwhile, the same missing boy was wandering around the shopping mall. One lady stood there reading the flyer for about five minutes and as she moved on, the boy crossed right in front of her. She didn't even recognize him. I think people are so busy with their lives, that even though I think they want to help, they are too busy to realize when things are happening right in front of them.

 

[Rhoda D'Ettore]

According to CNN's Aug story, over 650 kids have been saved by the use of Amber Alerts. I just saw John Walsh talking about exactly this, which is how I knew to look for the number. Remember, his own child was abducted by Sears in 1979, only his head was found.

 

[Gin0710]

According to CNN's Aug story, over 650 kids have been saved by the use of Amber Alerts. I just saw John Walsh talking about exactly this, which is how I knew to look for the number. Remember, his own child was abducted by Sears in 1979, only his head was found.

That's just horrible. I try to pay attention, but I don't always.

 

[Patrick]

I don't think that they are very effective, many people are just too preoccupied with their own affairs. I would like to pay some attention, but more often than not these things just slip your mind.

 

[DancingLady]

I think they are effective if the suspect is traveling on well traveled roads and they do have accurate descriptive information about the vehicle. The problem is that so many people do not listen to the radio anymore, they just listen to their ipods or CDs in the car, so not as many people will get them as they used to. If the suspect is traveling on back roads, or figures out quickly that there may be an alert and gets off main roads, the likelihood of someone spotting and reporting the vehicle are not too good.

 

[dolittle94]

Honestly, I think that they rarely work. I saw that movie 'the Call' and maybe if every 911 operator and person in danger were to act as they did, there might be a better chance of Amber Alerts working out for the best. However, there is also the factor that some people have this horrible tendency to not say anything when they do see something happening or spot something that may help the police. It's a crappy thing to do, but it happens anyway.

 

[olivia]

I think it's possible that they could work, but the majority of people probably do ignore them. I remember there was an alert awhile back that caused loud notifications on people's cellphones, which prompted many to turn off those emergency alerts so they wouldn't be bothered. However, some people probably do look out for the person or vehicle after hearing an alert, so it is worth it if it can save just one child.