updated 11/12/02

Informational Website:
Contact Person:
Administrating Agency:	Washington State Patrol.
Participating Agencies and Organizations:	Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Washington State Association of Broadcasters, Washington State Emergency Management Division, Washington State Department of Transportation, Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the Washington State Patrol, local law enforcement among many others.
Steps for Activation:	The Washington State Patrol will act as the main point of contact for local law enforcement agencies wanting to broadcast their local child-abduction information statewide through the state’s Emergency Alert System, which is coordinated and operated by the state’s Emergency Management Division. The new statewide plan will take advantage of the communications and dispatching capabilities of various 9-1-1 and dispatch centers around the state that have developed their procedures to become “Amber Ready” as well as other communications systems of state government. The State Patrol will coordinate with the Washington State Department of Transportation to put customized messages about an abducted child on the department’s roadside reader boards. The State Patrol will also send a text message to all law enforcement agencies in the state about the case.
Scope of Amber Alert:	Statewide
Criteria for Activation:	A child has been taken and the incident is reported to law enforcement, the abducted child must be under 18 years of age, law enforcement must believe the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily harm or death, and there must be enough descriptive information to believe a broadcast will assist in the recovery of the child.
Utilizes Emergency Alert System:	The Washington State Patrol will act as the main point of contact for local law enforcement agencies wanting to broadcast their local child-abduction information statewide through the state’s Emergency Alert System.
Reporting Phone Number:	911
Success Story: