Rant: Amber Alert b/s

[RazorDingo]

I was home sick on Wednesday, and as a result I was looking forward(?) to the dubious pleasure of enjoying some mid-week daytime TV. But it was not to be.

Just as I was settling in to watch some high definition Mythbusters, I heard the jarring tones heralding the issuance of an "Amber Alert."

Now, don't get me wrong: I sympathise greatly with anyone with a missing child. And as a responsible citizen, I will gladly do my part to assist law enforcement in locating them.

But this particular Amber Alert was, IMHO, pure nonsense.

1) It was issued by a police department well over a hundred miles from where I live. And the description of the suspect vehicle was so vague as to be virtually meaningless: ie. "A brown or tan car with a 2 in the license plate."

2) The local broadcasters repeated it, every fifteen minutes, for almost six hours. It literally was impossible to watch any non-recorded TV that afternoon and evening.

3) This Amber Alert was aimed almost exclusively at people who were watching TV. Not people who were driving around the local highways, and hence more likely to see a suspect vehicle. Once an hour for this message would have been plenty.

4) A now I learn that the police department doesn't even have a report of a missing child - basically they took the word of some kid who thought he saw something.

We believe the boy did see something and that it was possible he might have misinterpreted what he saw

There is an old story about the "little boy who cried wolf." I suggest police departments keep that story in mind.

 

[Fnord5]

Agreed that it was a bit excessive, especially based on the word of a little kid.

HOWEVER, if it were real, and your daughter kidnapped, you wouldn't hesitate to interrupt every Americans tv watching for hours on end to get her back.

Small price to pay IMHO.

 

[Barbarian]

Heaven forbid someone misses Sanford and Son reruns to potentially save a child!

 

[Baloosh]

In before the "I'd rather have 100 false alarms, than have a real missing child not get an Amber Alert posted, and potentially never have him/her found because of it" crowd.

To me, there are a lot worse things to get upset over.

Like the drive-thru man... why can't they EVER get an order right? They don't care, because they know you're not going to drive back to get your fries they forgot. Sup?

 

[TheHatter]

I like Mythbusters as much as the next guy, but I'd still rather a false alarm interrupt my show than no alarm result in a real problem with a missing child.

 

[RazorDingo]

Trust me, if you'd seen the TV interview with the eleven (11) year old kid who claimed he saw this episode - you'd be questioning the thing too.

Without going into too many details, the kid was obviously a) really enjoying all the attention he was getting from the cops and the media and b) his story was so full of holes you could drive a mysteriously rusty and dented car through it.

I've got no problem with the cops issuing a statewide alert. But I question constant, inescapable interruptions of every tv channel in a three hundred mile radius every fifteen minutes for more than six hours based on little more than a silly little boy's story.

 

[TimmyBoston]

I agree with you that the government tends to overreact about many things, but complaining that you missed Mythbusters because some poor, small child was missing, I see that as very shallow.

 

[ouch]

Isn't Mythbusters on something like fifteen times a day?

 

[ClubmanRob]

Isn't Mythbusters on something like fifteen times a day?

That's a myth.

 

[Jatte]

i heard on the news that for another missing kid in the us in the last few days they didn't issue an amber alert but they should have,

why can't they do anything right,

lol, rob, your posts always make me laugh

 

[Baloosh]

That's a myth.

No, actually it is.

BUSTED

 

[_JP_]

That's a myth.

No, actually it is.

BUSTED

He mythed it.

 

[Barbarian]

He mythed it.

Am I mything something?

 

[toucanlamp]

Well I remember reading an article which referenced a little study done which basically showed that an Amber alert plays no greater role in returning a child safely than regular means.

And they do really stupid stuff around here sometimes, like issuing Amber alerts after some mother comes running in saying her 16 year old daughter is kidnapped and she turns out to just have run away from home.

It's all part of the modern political notion that if we just pass enough laws that all tragedy, suffering, and misfortune in society can be completely eliminated.

I think the bottom line is just that it's some rediculously expensive and far reaching program that has shown absolutely no evidence that it does any good whatsoever. But silly emotional stuff like people saying "Well it may cost a massive amount of money, but if it saves just one life it is worth it.." Guess what, there's not unlimited resources in society so no it isn't worth it unfortunately.

 

[Erebos]

Well I remember reading an article which referenced a little study done which basically showed that an Amber alert plays no greater role in returning a child safely than regular means.

And they do really stupid stuff around here sometimes, like issuing Amber alerts after some mother comes running in saying her 16 year old daughter is kidnapped and she turns out to just have run away from home.

It's all part of the modern political notion that if we just pass enough laws that all tragedy, suffering, and misfortune in society can be completely eliminated.

I think the bottom line is just that it's some rediculously expensive and far reaching program that has shown absolutely no evidence that it does any good whatsoever. But silly emotional stuff like people saying "Well it may cost a massive amount of money, but if it saves just one life it is worth it.." Guess what, there's not unlimited resources in society so no it isn't worth it unfortunately.

Agreed. It turns out that the majority of amber alerts are issued in cases that don't warrant them, and that it's very unlikely to be of help in the types of cases it was designed for. It was certainly designed with the best of intentions, unfortunately the reality is it's mostly a waste of money.

 

[castlecraver]

I agree with you that the government tends to overreact about many things, but complaining that you missed Mythbusters because some poor, small child was missing, I see that as very shallow.

+1

In the big scheme of things, out of all the things I can think of that we could complain about, this doesn't even warrant the faintest bit of consideration.

 

[RazorDingo]

Your lack of interest is duly noted.

Please don't bother reading any of my posts in the future.

 

[BrewMaster]

You watch live TV? Why?

I <3 my DVR.

 

[Bertilak]

In the Austin, Texas area at least one of the main limited-access highways has huge electronic signs every mile or two in the heavily traveled section that they use for "Amber" or other alerts. That seems to be a pretty effective (and cost-effective) way to do things. One common notice I see is for missing old people, often Alzheimer sufferers, with reasonable description and often full license plate numbers of the car involved.

I believe other large cities in Texas have similar setups.

 

[Kratos]

An agency is usually going to err on the side of caution, especially these days. You never know when the most ridiculous thing you ever heard will turn out to be true.