New App Provides Abducted and Missing Children's Information to Authorities Reports Get Any Private Info
FBI claims it has already assisted in abduction cases
San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/30/2012 -- It appears that law enforcement has a new weapon in their bid to save abducted children from their kidnappers: Smartphones.
U.S. Ambassador Jeffery Bleich played host to the launching of a phone app that will support the FBI’s efforts. The Australian Federal police, along with the support of the U.S. FBI, developed the application.
The app allows for parents to store important information regarding their child within the phones in the event of abduction. That information can then be accessed by law enforcement to increase the efficiency of the search-and-rescue process.
Bleich stated that the American campaign to save abducted children began on May 25, 1979, after a six-year-old named Etan Patz disappeared. The disappearance sparked outrage across the country, and Patz was the first child to have his face posted on milk cartons as a way to help locate him.
The smartphone app is noted as crucial due to the fact that 75% of abducted children are murdered within the first three hours of the abduction.
Using the application allows parents to preload photos, contact details, descriptions, as well as other important information onto the smart phones. The information stays within the phone until, in the event of an abduction or disappearance. They share information with authorities so it can be circulated widely in an efficient manner.
The database is updateable so that photos can remain recent. The Australian Federal Police Commissioner, Tony Negus, stated that the system is already operating with success, and is totally secure.
"The information is stored on your phone until it is needed,'' he said. “I encourage all Australian families to download the app.''
According to Negus, over 130,000 Americans had downloaded the U.S. version of the software since its release. The FBI had indicated that a number of cases had been assisted by the software.
"Almost 20,000 Australians under the age of 18 go missing each year,'' he said.
"This can be for many different reasons and, thankfully, most are located in one week - but imagine the anguish of that week for their families.''
Bleich stated that Australia had shared the “sophisticated and sensitive” source code, which allowed the apple to exist.
The application allows parents to pre-load information to be accessible and shareable for the authorities.
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