Section 16.175 - Abduction of children - Kentucky Amber alert system - Department to operate in cooperation with other agencies(1) The Department of Kentucky State Police, in cooperation with the Transportation Cabinet, the Division of Emergency Management, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, and the Kentucky Press Association, shall operate a system to notify the public when a child has been abducted and the department determines that public notification might aid in the recovery of the child. The system shall be known as the Kentucky Amber alert system.(2) The system shall utilize existing resources, including but not limited to electronic highway signs, the emergency broadcast system, law enforcement communications systems, and local, regional, and statewide media providers.(3) No public alert using the system shall be issued unless the department, in consultation with the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the abduction of a minor occurred, has determined: (a) That the minor has actually been abducted or that all available evidence strongly indicates that the minor has been abducted;(b) That public notification is the most appropriate method of recovering the child in a safe and efficient manner; and(c) The geographic area in which the notification shall be made.(4) If it is determined by the department that public notification shall be initiated, the department shall notify the public and private agencies and organizations which will actually provide the notification and shall provide those organizations and agencies with the information which the department deems necessary.(5) All law enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth shall cooperate with the department in the provision and dissemination of information regarding any abducted minor.(6) No law enforcement agency, other than the department, shall activate the notification system specified in this section without the authority of the department.(7) The system shall be operated by all agencies of the Commonwealth within existing budgetary appropriations.Effective:6/26/2007
Amended 2007, Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 67, effective6/26/2007. -- Created 2003, Ky. Acts ch. 62, sec. 1, effective 6/24/2003.