Police, Facebook team up on Amber Alerts

Police forces in New Brunswick say they are the first law enforcement officials in the world to set up a first-hand Facebook page for issuing Amber Alerts.

The page, www.facebook.com/AMBERalertNB, was launched Wednesday.

The Amber Alert system tells media outlets and the public when police suspect a child is in danger after having been abducted. The system has been in place since 2003, but has never been used in N.B.

Miramichi Police Cpl. Todd Chadwick, the Amber Alert co-ordinator for the province, says the police have realized that many people now use social media to get their information.

In the event of an Amber Alert in New Brunswick, information will be sent out via Facebook at the same time as it is distributed to media outlets.

"We're putting [the] page as part of our initial dissemination message, so when we push the button or pull the trigger for an Amber Alert they're all notified at the same time," Chadwick said.

Although other individuals have set up various Amber Alert pages on Facebook, this marks the first time law enforcement agencies responsible for sending out the alerts have launched an official page in consultation with the site.

More than 2000 people had connected their Facebook pages to the Amber Alert page by mid-afternoon Thursday.