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No, they don't prevent anything. In theory, they are to help find a child that has already been abducted and they think is in immediate danger. Being abducted,

No, they don't prevent anything. In theory, they are to help find a child that has already been abducted and they think is in immediate danger. Being abducted, by itself, isn't enough to get an alert. And IIRC, they don't do that very well. It isn't a system that is standardized across the US and some places cut down on the number of alerts because it causes distracted drivers (which cause accidents and whatnot) and the public has started to tune them out. On top of this, brains are flawed, and aren't always good at "look for this stranger for 5 minutes while driving and hearing your child cry".

jstarfish 3y ago
> In theory, they are to help find a child that has already been abducted and they think is in immediate danger. Being abducted, by itself, isn't enough to get an alert. The bar for Amber Alerts has been pretty low since its inception. I stopped paying attention myself once it became apparent they were being used to deputize the public as repo men for custodial abductions. Parents who murder their children usually don't kidnap them first-- unless the responders force escalation and standoff (see also: the police-chase debate). Settle that shit in court and stop being dramatic. It's only as of earlier this year that [in California at least] the criteria are being revisited to eliminate custody disputes as a qualifier. Though CA/AZ/NM/TX have added risk of such abductions becoming international affairs, which is the only concession I'd make for such histrionics. The system does work though, as does the FBI most-wanted list.
ianburrell 3y ago
The problem with amber alerts is that they alert as if they were a hurricane. Phones seem to have one kind of emergency alert. Frequent amber alerts devalues the emergency alert that should be saved for imminent danger. It causes people to turn off amber alerts or even worse all alerts. Amber alerts would work much better as a notification. A beep, a notification popup, easy to swipe away. They should be closer to weather alert.

jstarfish 3y ago

> In theory, they are to help find a child that has already been abducted and they think is in immediate danger. Being abducted, by itself, isn't enough to get an alert. The bar for Amber Alerts has been pretty low since its inception. I stopped paying attention myself once it became apparent they were being used to deputize the public as repo men for custodial abductions. Parents who murder their children usually don't kidnap them first-- unless the responders force escalation and standoff (see also: the police-chase debate). Settle that shit in court and stop being dramatic. It's only as of earlier this year that [in California at least] the criteria are being revisited to eliminate custody disputes as a qualifier. Though CA/AZ/NM/TX have added risk of such abductions becoming international affairs, which is the only concession I'd make for such histrionics. The system does work though, as does the FBI most-wanted list.

ianburrell 3y ago

The problem with amber alerts is that they alert as if they were a hurricane. Phones seem to have one kind of emergency alert. Frequent amber alerts devalues the emergency alert that should be saved for imminent danger. It causes people to turn off amber alerts or even worse all alerts. Amber alerts would work much better as a notification. A beep, a notification popup, easy to swipe away. They should be closer to weather alert.