§ 143B-499.7. North Carolina AMBER Alert System established.
§ 143B‑499.7. North Carolina AMBER Alert Systemestablished.
(a) There is established within the North Carolina Center forMissing Persons the AMBER Alert System. The purpose of AMBER Alert is toprovide a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regardingabducted children.
(b) The AMBER Alert System shall make every effort todisseminate information on missing children as quickly as possible when thefollowing criteria are met:
(1) The child is 17 years of age or younger;
(2) Repealed by Session Laws 2003‑191, s. 3, effectiveJune 12, 2003.
(3) Repealed by Session Laws 2003‑191, s. 3, effectiveJune 12, 2003.
(4) The abduction is not known or suspected to be by a parent ofthe child, unless the child's life is suspected to be in danger of injury ordeath;
(4a) The child is believed:
a. To have been abducted, or
b. To be in danger of injury or death;
(5) The child is not a runaway or voluntarily missing; and
(6) The abduction has been reported to and investigated by a lawenforcement agency.
If the abduction of the child is known or suspected to be by a parentof the child, the Center, in its discretion, may disseminate informationthrough the AMBER Alert System if the child is believed to be in danger ofinjury or death.
(c) The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures forthe statewide implementation of the AMBER Alert System and shall provideeducation and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters toparticipate in the System. The Center shall work with the Department of Justicein developing training material regarding the AMBER Alert System for lawenforcement, broadcasters, and community interest groups.
(d) The Center shall consult with the Department ofTransportation and develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanentchangeable message signs to provide information on the abduction of a childmeeting the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section, wheninformation is available that would enable motorists to assist law enforcementin the recovery of the missing child. The Center and the Department ofTransportation shall develop guidelines for the content, length, and frequencyof any message to be placed on an overhead permanent changeable message sign.
(e) The Center shall consult with the Division of EmergencyManagement, in the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, to develop aprocedure for the use of the Emergency Alert System to provide information onthe abduction of a child meeting the criteria established in subsection (b) ofthis section.
(f) The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, onbehalf of the Center, may accept grants, contributions, devises, bequests, andgifts, which shall be kept in a separate fund, which shall be nonreverting, andshall be used to fund the operations of the Center and the AMBER Alert System. (2002‑126, s. 18.7(c); 2003‑191, s. 3.)