I am writing in the hope you will be able to either help spread the word of Alarm Bells, or maybe know of someone who would be Information can be found on www.alarm-bells.co.uk
All the information regarding why and how Alarm Bells came about is included, and since then various agencies have been approached. There are officers in the police who wish to officially sanction AB., as the concept is to work like a neighbourhood watch for children. The ability of the organisation to go into action when a child is lost, should be very fast with the forewarned actions in place. This means in effect, should a child go missing in an area, the local members would all have pre-programmed places to be and check. This being an area where the police do not have either enough manpower or , in most cases in depth knowledge which the parents concerned would have gathered. The measures which would be taken should an action be necessary also provide the police with information taken in the first vital hour. As can be seen in the case of Daniel in Great Yarmouth, who went missing on a Bank Holiday Saturday evening. On the Monday his headmaster, in an interview, hoped that the next day when businesses went back to work he would be found in a building ,trapped but well. Alarm Bells is designed for just these things, on the Saturday night buildings in the area would ALL have been checked, with the knowledge of who the key holders were they could also, in a great many cases been opened, but more than this, at prearranged times All buildings in an ever increasing diameter would be checked, On the Thursday the police put out an appeal for the public to help.
During last year an important development began with East Sussex Police, Amber Alert brought over from America. Some of the same features of Alarm Bells in spreading a quick alert, through media and technological means. This is great, Alarm Bells could work with this giving it the information necessary. Secondly a mobile telecommunications company devised a method of contacting people through mobile phones, funnily (In ever growing circles), they are based in East Grinstead, where the web hosting company of Alarm Bells is based, and they even use some of the same terminology. I mention this, not because I feel aggrieved, far from it, I do not want recognition or seek it (preferring to remain anonymous in most things), but because the idea was taken up by the East Sussex police, originally, it seems to show that these ideas are good. And as I stated previously Alarm Bells can work to enhance these messaging systems, feeding in information.
The community officer in Scarborough made contacts to the crime prevention partnership through another officer. The partnership would publicise and sanction provided the word was given the go from Northallerton. County Hall would inform all schools should the sanction come from the partnership, and a local headmaster pressed for it to go ahead, but has his hands tied by County Hall.
In Northallerton it had been decided that as a messaging system was being set up, which was due any time now, that they would wait to see. I pointed out at the time that as this was going to be anything from 6months to longer children would be lost as soon as the spring nights began, and of course it has begun. It appears because a messaging system is to be set up that unfortunately a great many people believe this to be all that is needed, it isn?t but it is a great start. With the word of Alarm Bells being put out, people will be able to act as a community and do positive things to help in emergencies, and psychologically this alone is therapeutic, but also to help prevent abductions, although we will never know how many.
I hope that the occasional personal professional aspirations, which seem to appear, have not delayed, too much, Alarm Bells from being the integrated but individually motivated organisation it is designed to be, always ready. We do need help and if you feel there is any person or persons able to give that I, and many others who will probably never know it would be grateful.
There has been procrastination, and misunderstanding by some agencies, possibly egotistical, but PLEASE lets go forward, using our schools, School Friends and PTA?s as the face of the concerned.
This was first written in late Spring 2003. Alarm Bells had been ready to go for over a year.
In December 2003 a group of others with an organisation called S.A.F.E. which is helping to make the streets of Bradford safer, by watching and helping each other ,was recognised and given a grant to take this further. WELL DONE LADIES
Ion January Saturday 10th it was reported in The Independent That Shane Pearce, had his up market Mitsubishi stolen; with the help of modern technology, and people wanting to help, it was tracked down and followed in different areas of Britain until the thief was caught.
This was a car, We have had the ideas to save CHILDREN for a couple of years. COME ON, www.alarm-bells.co.uk LETS MAKE OUR CHILDREN A LITTLE SAFER.