Amber Alert will not be abolished on July 22

Amber Alert will not be abolished for the time being at the request of the House of Representatives. JA21, SP, VVD, PvdA, D66, DENK and BBB filed a motion to keep the warning system that would be abolished on 22 July.

The House of Representatives asked outgoing Minister of Justice and Security Ferdinand Grapperhaus to postpone the abolition of Amber Alert. The request was supported by a large majority.

The MPs who signed the motion are afraid that messages about missing children will be spread less quickly if there is no longer an Amber Alert, because this system is well known both nationally and internationally. That is why the House of Representatives wants the government to look for a solution in which the brand awareness of Amber Alert and the associated benefits remain intact.

Notifications are sent via the system on social media and by text message if a child is missing that may be in danger of life. Amber Alert is deployed on average twice a year. Grapperhaus is now in talks with the police about the future of Amber Alert.

The intention was for the task of the Amber Alert system to be taken over by Burgernet. The contract with the company Netpresenter, which provides technical support for Amber Alert, would end on July 22, 2021. The company did not agree with the discontinuation of the service and at the beginning of this year used Amber Alert to spread a petition to overturn the cabinet’s decision.