AMBER Network Gets Go-Ahead From Davis

California is launching a statewide notification system to alert parents and the community when a child is abducted.

Governor Gray Davis gave the order today to get the system online. It´s called the California Child Safety AMBER Network, and will be modeled after similar programs throughout the nation.

State officials say that they will contact every law enforcement agency in the state within forty-eight hours to let them know about the program. It will be used following witnessed abductions.

The technology is already out there, but California Highway Patrol Commissioner Spike Helmick said that many departments need a push to start using it regularly.

Officials are also trying to enlist the help of media. They hope that radio and television stations, as well as newspapers, will transmit information about victims and kidnappers.