Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Sen. Hutchison: Amber Alert Should Go Nationwide
Aired August 22, 2002 - 10:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANNOUNCER: Jennifer Short is among dozens of children who have gone missing this year. In some of the cases, authorities have used Amber Alerts to help locate youngsters. That system is aimed at the swift dissemination of crucial news about child abductions. Right now, 15 states have statewide Amber Alert plans, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children credits the system with saving 26 children.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison believes that the Amber Alert system should be adopted nationwide. And she is joining us from Dallas, Texas, to talk more about that.
Senator, good morning. Good to see you.
SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: Hi, Daryn. Thank you very much.
KAGAN: I know that just the idea of the Amber Alert is very near and dear to Texans because it's named after a little girl who was kidnapped and murdered in Texas, in Arlington, Texas.
HUTCHISON: Yes, that's exactly right. And the first Amber Alert system stared locally, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
KAGAN: They did start locally. But I think it is interesting, senator, that you are pushing for a nationwide program when even your own state does not have a statewide Amber Alert program.
HUTCHISON: That's correct. It will have one. We will have a statewide alert system in place probably in the next couple of months. But I think it is amazing that we had the local systems, but it was other states who started first to have the statewide systems, which have worked so very well.
KAGAN: We have seen in recent cases with the Amber Alert, when it works, why it is important for many jurisdictions to have it, because if the kidnapper takes a child outside of a certain where there is Amber Alert, then you are kind of stuck because the information is not being disseminated properly?
HUTCHISON: That's exactly right. And we are also trying to make it easier to alert contiguous states. In so many states, you can travel one hour and be in another state or two states. So we want to have just one coordinator that a person in law enforcement can call and that one call will trigger the Amber Alert in the places where it would be the most effective. Time is so important in these child abduction cases. All the experts and all the evidence show that if you get the child within the first 24 hours, that is your best chance of saving that child's life; the longer it goes, the harder it is.
KAGAN: I would imagine it is kind of hard to find anybody anywhere who would be against help in finding abducted children. What's your biggest battle in getting this passed for a nationwide system?
HUTCHISON: Hopefully, we will get it through Congress quickly, but the biggest battle is getting anything through Congress quickly.
(CROSSTALK)
KAGAN: That's right. And it is a simple bill; it's not a bill that is going to require any new people or -- we will have some grants available for states to help with highway signage. But it is a minimal amount. And when you see the success of the fast Amber Alert system, where the members of the public are looking for a certain kind of an automobile or truck, no one can in their right mind say that -- this is a very small price to pay for the saving of children's lives.
KAGAN: The only thing I can think of, senator, real quickly, is that it becomes too much noise if it is used too much often. It becomes like the milk carton that we don't really look at anymore, those flyers that we get in our mailboxes.
HUTCHISON: Yes, I think that is a valid point. I think what we are trying to do is put parameters around it. And the Amber coordinator will have standards -- they will set the standards. It would probably be children 18 or under only, and it would be when there is a real need and a real help -- for instance, if you know the kind of car, you know something about the suspect, and you can go to the FBI files and get better information. So you might have a clue about where the person would be going. Those kinds of things would be necessary for an Amber Alert. And we don't want it to be overused, but we do want it to be readily available where it can be helpful.
KAGAN: And I imagine there are millions of parents out there cheering you on in your efforts.
Senator Hutchison...
HUTCHISON: Every parent wants the security of their child.
KAGAN: Absolutely.
Thanks for stop by. Good to have you with us this morning.
HUTCHISON: Thank you, Daryn.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
