Chapter 378
2003 -- H 5015 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/21/03
A N A C T
RELATING
TO CHILD PROTECTION -- AMBER ALERT
Introduced
By: Representatives Giannini, Petrarca, McNamara, Gallison, and Lima
Date
Introduced: January 09, 2003
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Legislative intent. When an immediate and coordinated abduction
emergency
alert to the public is appropriate to respond to the most serious child
abduction cases,
the
legislature hereby finds that involving appropriate law enforcement
authorities, state and local
officials
and cooperating members of the broadcast media may increase the likelihood that
an
abducted
child will be located and safety returned to his or her family. This
legislation designates
the
Rhode Island state police as the coordinating laws enforcement agency for Rhode
Island in
the
America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan “AMBER Plan.” When an
AMBER
Alert is activated, voluntary broadcasting of emergency alerts by radio
stations and
broadcast
media outlets will be activated by a request from the state police acting
through the
Rhode
Island emergency management agency.
SECTION
2. Chapter 42-28 of the General Laws entitled "State Police" is
hereby
amended
by adding thereto the following sections:
42-28-3.1.
AMBER Alert. – (a) The division of state police, in consultation
with other
appropriate
agencies, shall develop a voluntary partnership between law enforcement
agencies,
media
outlets and other appropriate entities to send out emergency alerts entitled
the Rhode Island
America’s
Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan (“AMBER Plan”). The AMBER Plan
shall
provide a pro-active emergency public alert plan as part of the response to
serious child
abduction
cases that may be expediently triggered by law enforcement personnel in
accordance
with
protocols and procedures established by the division of state police in
consultation with
appropriate
law enforcement authorities, the Rhode Island emergency management agency,
state
and
local officials and cooperating members of the broadcast media (“AMBER Alert”).
(b)
Once a law enforcement agency has confirmed that a child has been abducted and
that
the
circumstances of the abduction indicate that the child is in serious danger of
bodily harm or
death,
the confirming agency will obtain descriptive information for the AMBER Alert,
contact
the
state police to provide the descriptive information to the state police and
identify a point of
contact
within their agency.
42-28-3.2.
AMBER Alert procedures for protocol and implementation. – The
division
of state police shall establish protocols and procedures to implement an AMBER
Alert.
The
protocols and procedures shall be updated as may be necessary in consultation
with the
entities
and agencies involved in the AMBER Alert process to provide effective and
efficient
procedures
to assist law enforcement agencies, broadcast media and other cooperating
agencies or
entities
in providing an emergency alert to the public in response to a serious child
abduction
case.
SECTION
3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
=======
LC00412/SUB
A/2
=======