Feb 24th, 2009
A Child Is Missing Alert Program
A New Jersey community has opted into the “A Child Is Missing Alert Program”, which was created to help quickly spread the word about missing children. The Cape May County Herald explains exactly how the system works:
ACIM uses a three prong program, a telephone data base, GEO mapping system and satellite imagery System.
When a child or elderly person has been reported missing in Lower Township, police will call ACIM and provide pertinent information about the individual such as description, clothes worn and time and location last seen. ACIM Technicians will pull up the location provided with a computerized satellite mapping system.
Then a customized phone alert message is recorded and phoned to the area where the person was last seen. ACIM can place up to 1000 calls in 60 seconds. Call recipients are to call police with any information they have about the missing person. Answering machines will record calls so that residents will receive the alert when they return home. The program is available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Moments after the police department contacts ACIM, the technician punches up an aerial view of the region complete with street names, local landmarks, type of terrain, business listings, types of restaurants, schools, water hazards, parks, bus and train stations. The technician is then able to grasp the distance, scale, and proximity of the last known sighting of the missing person. All of this information can prove invaluable when evaluating a missing child or elderly person’s scenario.