Esta ley enmienda la "Puerto Rico Police Act of 1996" para añadir definiciones de "Niño" y "Plan AMBER", y facultar al Superintendente de la Policía de Puerto Rico para desarrollar e implementar un programa de alerta nacional, conocido como Plan AMBER, a través de los medios de comunicación para localizar niños secuestrados. La ley detalla los requisitos para la activación del Plan AMBER, incluyendo la corroboración del secuestro, la evaluación del peligro para el menor y la disponibilidad de información descriptiva.
(Approved December 24, 2002)
To add subsections
(u) and
(v) to Section 2; and subsection
(n) to Section 5 of Act No. 53 of June 10, 1996, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Police Act of 1996," in order to add definitions; and empower the Puerto Rico Police Superintendent to develop a national alert program through the various communications media in Puerto Rico, to find the whereabouts of a child who has been abducted; coordinate the implementation thereof with the Director of the Federal Communications Commission in Puerto Rico; and promote its adoption in the various cable systems and local television and radio stations, until the Federal Communications Commission makes it compulsory through its regulations.
In 1996, the creation of the AMBER Plan alert system was promoted in the United States, to be transmitted through the different communications media, and thus notify the citizenry in the event of the abduction of a child. At the beginning, same radio broadcasters used the Emergency Alert System (EAS, English acronym) to broadcast on the air the description of the child and of the alleged abductor. This method is similar to that used in Puerto Rico during national emergencies due to bad weather. Certainly, the purpose of this idea is to involve the entire community to help in the search, so that these innocent victims are returned to their homes safe and sound. However, this does not usually apply in cases of missing adults and
runaways, or children who are moved to other jurisdictions by one of the parents.
This idea arises as result of the death of Amber Hagerman, a small girl who was a resident of Arlington, Texas, who was abducted and subsequently brutally murdered. This tragedy shocked the entire community, which caused its residents to call the different radio stations in the Dallas area to request that emergency bulletins be broadcast in cases such as this, to promote citizen participation and prevent the repetition of this tragedy in the future.
Subsequently, on February 22 of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC, English acronym), amended the EAS regulations to include an alert for child abduction cases. This regulation which also applies to Puerto Rico, provides for it be used in conjunction with the AMBER Plan, of each state or territory, but establishes that the participation of the different communications media, at present, is voluntary.
Undoubtedly, this effort is in harmony with the work being done by our Government focused on protecting our hope for the future: our children. The approval of laws such as the one that establishes a security procedure, known as "Code Adam," to forestall the abduction of children in public buildings, represents the commitment of this administration to provide a better quality of life for all Puerto Ricans.
Finally, recognizing that the first hours after the abduction of a child are extremely critical to locate him/her, this Act is hereby approved to empower the Puerto Rico Police Superintendent to develop a national alert program to locate a child who has been abducted, coordinate its implementation with the Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission in Puerto Rico and to promote its adoption in the different local cable systems, radio
broadcasting and television stations, until the FCC makes it compulsory through its regulations.
Section 1.- Subsections
(u) and
(v) are hereby added to Section 2 of Act No. 53 of June 10, 1996, as amended, to read as follows: "Section 2.- Definitions.- For the interpretation of this Act, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated below, unless another meaning clearly arises from the context:
(a) ...
(u) "Child" means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age.
(v) "AMBER Plan" means a national alert to manage emergency child abduction cases."
Section 2.- A new subsection
(n) is hereby added to Section 5 of Act No. 53 of June 10, 1996, as amended, to read as follows: "(n) Develop, in coordination with the Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission in Puerto Rico, the implementation of the AMBER Plan, and also promote its adoption in the different cable systems and local radio and television stations, until the Federal Communications Commission makes it compulsory through the approval of the corresponding regulations. To these effects, the Superintendent shall draft a regulation that specifically deals with the provisions of this subsection, which shall include, without it being understood as a limitation, the following:
Section 3.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval for the sole purpose that the Puerto Rico Police Superintendent may adopt the regulations needed to establish the provisions of this Act. Its remaining provisions shall take effect ninety (90) days after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 290 (S.B. 1801) of the $4^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to add subsections
(u) and
(v) to Section 2; and subsection
(n) to Section 5 of Act No. 53 of June 10, 1996, as amended, known as the "Puerto Rico Police Act of 1996," in order to add definitions; and empower the Puerto Rico Police Superintendent to develop a national alert program through the various communications media in Puerto Rico, to find the whereabouts of a child who has been abducted; coordinate the implementation thereof with the Director of the Federal Communications Commission in Puerto Rico, etc., has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $8^{ ext {th }}$ of October of 2004.
Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director