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Child missing alert

89 replies

DennisA · 07/06/2022 12:52

My Family and I were recently on holiday in Florida, a child went missing and an state wide alert was issued to all Mobile phone users with details of gender, age and description amd where they were last seen.

Can you raise this idea with your Local MP and your local Police Commisioner to raise the profile of the need for a similar service to be created by either the government, the regional police forces, the Home office and the <obile phone networks with some urgency.

Children go missing every single day and no one is addressing the issue or raising the concern. If a State like Florida can do it, then we can.

My local MP said it was an issue with GDPR but I pointed out to him, the GDPR rules applied when we were in the EU, now that we are not we can create our own rules and I can't see why a system like they have in Florida has anything to do with GDPR where a missing child is concerned.

Social media is also a fantastic medium, recently my Granddaughters dog bolted and was "Lost". We engaged with the Local lost Dog Rescue Facebook group in Aylesbury and within 12 hours he was spotted by Dog walkers and was reunited with my Granddaughter.
The response from Dog Walkers in Aylesbury was overwhelming.

If we can be that affective where a dog is lost, just imagine how affective we could be if a child goes missing.

OP posts:
Inthesameboatatmo · 07/06/2022 16:13

HogDogKetchup · 07/06/2022 16:02

So are you saying it’s not worth the investment?

You said above you agree with terror or nuclear alerts, nuclear alerts are even less common and have a different sound. Now you’re saying they
happen so seldom it’s not worth it.

Im not trying to be antagonist but I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.

Its just utilising existing technology, you wouldn’t have thought it particularly difficult.

Of course it's not worth the investment for a once in decade possibility. An alert for a nuclear attack of course is needed because it has an impact on every single person in the UK and worldwide.
AGAIN the point I'm trying get across but for some reason nobody gets it is this. WE DO NOT HAVE A NEED FOR IT!.

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 16:13

@12Thorns you wouldn't be constantly getting text messages. They would only be sent out when it's at the stage of being reported on the TV news. Which (thankfully) doesn't happen often. Also I expect it would be regional at first. A child going missing from Northern Ireland would probably mean a text to phones in NI (and maybe in The Republic of Ireland at the same time) but not necessarily for England.

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 16:15

@Inthesameboatatmo I seriously hope you or someone close to you never have a missing child if that's your attitude.

HogDogKetchup · 07/06/2022 16:20

Inthesameboatatmo · 07/06/2022 16:13

Of course it's not worth the investment for a once in decade possibility. An alert for a nuclear attack of course is needed because it has an impact on every single person in the UK and worldwide.
AGAIN the point I'm trying get across but for some reason nobody gets it is this. WE DO NOT HAVE A NEED FOR IT!.

But if the technology already exists it’s not an investment as such but a change in policy.

In which case it’s a question as to whether it’s likely to be effective.

Inthesameboatatmo · 07/06/2022 16:20

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 16:15

@Inthesameboatatmo I seriously hope you or someone close to you never have a missing child if that's your attitude.

I wouldn't expect anyone to feel obliged to receive an alert that they didn't want because my child had gone missing. I don't know what's so hard for you to understand about that. The people who wouldn't want this are the majority ok accept that.

Reallyreallyborednow · 07/06/2022 16:27

also Alesha Macphail age 6 from Scotland in 2018

Alesha Macphail’s mum found out it was her daughter on fucking facebook. I read her comment and it was heartbreaking. Horrific.

Can you imagine if you found out by bloody text message?

Reallyreallyborednow · 07/06/2022 16:30

In which case it’s a question as to whether it’s likely to be effective

it’s not. The UK is a different beast to the US and I don’t think a text alert will make a blind bit of difference, and will possibly bollocks up a police investigation.

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 17:04

@Reallyreallyborednow that is heartbreaking about Alesha Macphail's mum but I can't imagine a Facebook post was an official one from the police. This scheme wouldn't be sending text messages out like that.
Sadly (if I remember correctly) she was found quickly - but it was too late. Poor little girl.

DennisA · 07/06/2022 17:43

why wouldn't parents want their children found if they have already been to the police?

The last time we were in Florida which is about as large as the UK, a child was found within 5 hours and the car they were in was also found. Happy ending I assume but the distress for the parents in that 5 hours must have been immense

OP posts:
12Thorns · 07/06/2022 18:31

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 16:13

@12Thorns you wouldn't be constantly getting text messages. They would only be sent out when it's at the stage of being reported on the TV news. Which (thankfully) doesn't happen often. Also I expect it would be regional at first. A child going missing from Northern Ireland would probably mean a text to phones in NI (and maybe in The Republic of Ireland at the same time) but not necessarily for England.

Have you any idea how many children go missing on the Uk? You are talking about one every 2-3 minutes.

Needmorelego · 07/06/2022 18:41

@12Thorns yes children go missing all the time but this would be the high profile ones that get reported on the front page of the papers or on TV news. For most missing children it doesn't get to that stage (thankfully). If it's at the stage of being reported on the news that would be when the alert is sent out.

Justkeeppedaling · 08/06/2022 06:39

Also I expect it would be regional at first. A child going missing from Northern Ireland would probably mean a text to phones in NI (and maybe in The Republic of Ireland at the same time) but not necessarily for England.

Using the location of the phone at the time the text is sent, or using the location of the address it's registered to?

If I'm in London for the day for work I don't want texts about missing children in that area.

12Thorns · 08/06/2022 07:26

These things only work according to the vacinity of the phone

Needmorelego · 08/06/2022 08:21

I am obviously just guessing at how I think it would work. I have no idea. I know that a emergency text system is/was being tested but I don't know how successful the trial has been.
Anyway... I'm going to leave it at that. I personally can't see an issue with the idea and have no problem with it.

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