2015 AMBER Alert Report: Analysis of AMBER Alert Cases in 2015

• NCJ Number: 250639
• Date Published: May 2016
• Length: 42 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2015-MC-FX-K001
• Agencies: OJJDP-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Statistics; Report (Technical Assistance); Report (Grant Sponsored); Report (Annual/Periodic); Program/Project Description
• Award: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Program

Annotation

This report presents information on cases that involved AMBER Alerts issued throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015, and intaked by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Abstract

Although an AMBER Alert case may be activated in multiple areas, this report only profiles alerts in the State/territory of first activation. The report analyzes cases according to the case type for which the AMBER Alert was issued, not the case type at the time of recovery. For the purposes of this report, the cases are classified as one of four types, which are 1) family abduction, which involves abductors with a family connection with the child victim (FA); 2) non-family abduction, which involves an abductor with no familial relationship to the child victim (NFA); 3) lost, injured, or otherwise missing (LIMs); and 4) endangered runaway, which is any missing child between 11 and 17 years old who is missing at his/her own initiative, with whereabouts unknown (ERUs). A child recovery is considered a success story when his/her safe recovery occurred as a direct result of the AMBER Alert being issued. At the time the AMBER Alert cases were intaked at NCMEC, there were 121 FAs, 47 NFAs, 8LIMs, and six ERUs. Fourteen cases were later determined to be hoaxes, and 13 cases were later determined to be unfounded. Of the 182 AMBER Alerts issued during the period under review, 153 cases resulted in a recovery, 50 of which were successfully recovered as a direct result of an AMBER Alert being issued. 23 figures and 24 tables