Missing children partnership expands

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and a coalition of the state's leading retailers announced a program to train store employees to respond quickly and effectively to find missing and abducted children.

The "Code Adam" program - conducted with the New York chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - will expand to include hundreds of retail stores throughout the state.

Janine Lucas, executive director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children/New York Branch said: "The Code Adam program allows retailers to play an important role in the recovery of missing children. We are so thankful that the state Attorney General's Office is helping coordinate this training effort and we look forward to our continued partnership."

The "Code Adam" program trains store personnel in strategies to prevent child abductions and how to respond in cases of suspected child abductions to help ensure the safe recovery of children. "Code Adam" is named for Adam Walsh, a six-year old whose 1981 abduction from a Florida shopping mall and subsequent murder helped raise awareness about child abductions.

In the United States, some 4,600 children are abducted each year, 300 of whom are abducted by strangers. Typically, about 100 of the children abducted by strangers are murdered, the vast majority within three hours of being abducted. Most child abductions are committed by family members or family acquaintances.

In 2001, the New York State Missing Children Register received over 22,000 reports of missing children. Law enforcement intervention resulted in the safe return of children in about 25 percent of the cases. Eight of the missing children were murdered. In Monroe County, in 2001, there were 1,149 cases of missing children reported to police.

A swift and effective response is critical for the safe recovery of an abducted child. The victim has an estimated three-hour life expectancy and there is typically a two-hour delay before the police are notified that a child is missing.

When a customer reports a missing child to a store employee, a "Code Alarm" alert is broadcast over the store's public address system. A description of the child is obtained and provided to all specially trained employees who immediately search for the child in their assigned areas and monitor exits to prevent the child from leaving the store. If the child is not found within minutes of a store-wide and parking lot search, or if the child is seen accompanied by someone other than a parent or guardian, a trained store employee contacts the local police department and requests help.

By undergoing a three-hour "Code Adam" training program, store personnel learn how to swiftly take appropriate action when a missing child is reported to them. "Code Adam" training has helped foil numerous child abductions in stores in Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey and other states.