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Silver Alert is a public notification system in the United States to broadcast information about
missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as Life, alive or Death, dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accide ...
s – especially
senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
s with
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
,
dementia Dementia is a syndrome associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, characterized by a general decline in cognitive abilities that affects a person's ability to perform activities of daily living, everyday activities. This typically invo ...
, or other mental disabilities – in order to aid in locating them. Silver Alerts use a wide array of media outlets – such as commercial
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
s,
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...
s, and
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
– to broadcast information about missing persons. In some states (specifically
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, Washington
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
and
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
), Silver Alerts also use
variable-message sign A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign or message board, often abbreviated VMS, VMB, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers info ...
s on roadways to alert motorists to be on the lookout for missing seniors. In cases in which a missing person is believed to be missing on foot, Silver Alerts have used Reverse 911 or other emergency notification systems to notify nearby residents of the neighborhood surrounding the missing person's last known location. Silver Alerts can also be used for children who are missing without being in danger or abducted. Supporters of Silver Alert point to the United States' growing elderly population as a reason for new programs to locate missing seniors. Approximately 60% of dementia sufferers will wander off at least once. However, a 2012 review of research into missing-senior programs found that Silver Alert had not been evaluated to determine whether it was effective in returning those people to safety, or even whether wandering was a severe enough problem to merit expending resources to address it. It characterized Silver Alert's rate of facilitating returns of missing people as " possible to tell", because the statistical records are distributed among state agencies which do not necessarily publicize them. The researchers also criticized it and similar programs for prioritizing safety over civil rights such as autonomy, and noted that broadcasting a missing person's identity might put them at risk for exploitation (such as identity theft).


History

In December 2005, Oklahoma state Representative Fred Perry (R-Tulsa) announced his intention to introduce an " AMBER Alert for seniors", which he dubbed "Silver Alert." In March 2006, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed H.R. 1075, a resolution calling for a Silver Alert system to find missing seniors. In response to this non-binding resolution, the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety added Silver Alert notifications to the statewide alerts sent to law enforcement agencies and the media for rapid distribution. In April 2009, Governor Brad Henry signed legislation permanently establishing the Silver Alert program. In Georgia, public efforts to locate missing seniors increased following the April 2004 disappearance of Mattie Moore, a 68-year-old Atlanta resident with Alzheimer's disease. Eight months after Moore's disappearance, her body was found 500 yards (460 m) from her home. The City of Atlanta created " Mattie's Call" to coordinate and support Metro Atlanta law enforcement, emergency management and broadcasters to issue an urgent bulletin in missing persons cases involving persons with Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other mental disabilities. Legislation to create a statewide Mattie's Call program was enacted in April 2006. In Florida, local and state government officials worked together to develop a pilot Silver Alert program following the case of an 86-year-old person who drove away from her assisted-living facility on February 26, 2008, and was found dead a week later, away in the
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...
near a boat ramp and her submerged car.


National growth

Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia have Silver Alert or similar programs targeting missing seniors. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have missing persons recovery programs that are formally called "Silver Alert": * Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Connecticut * District of Columbia * Florida * Illinois * Indiana * Kansas * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Mississippi * Nevada * New Jersey * New Mexico * North Carolina * North Dakota * Oklahoma * Oregon * Rhode Island * South Carolina * Tennessee * Texas * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin Additionally, nine states have programs to help locate missing seniors that are not officially called "Silver Alert" but contain criteria similar to existing Silver Alert programs: * Alabama Missing Senior Alert * Colorado Missing Senior Citizen Alert * Georgia Mattie's Call * Kentucky Golden Alert * Michigan Mozelle Senior or Vulnerable Adult Medical Alert Act * New Hampshire Missing Senior Citizen Alert * New York Missing Vulnerable Adult Alert * Ohio Missing Adult Alert * Virginia Senior Alert Plus, ten states have missing-persons alert systems with broader criteria than conventional Silver Alert programs. These missing-person alerts apply to larger categories of endangered persons, or apply to all missing people, regardless of age or impairment: * Delaware Gold Alert * Idaho Endangered Missing Person Alert * Minnesota Brandon's Law * Missouri Endangered Person Advisory * Montana Missing and Endangered Persons Advisory * Nebraska Endangered Missing Advisory * Pennsylvania Missing and Endangered Person Advisory * South Dakota Endangered Persons Advisory * Utah Endangered Person Advisory * Wyoming Endangered Person Advisory


Federal legislation

In May 2008, Representative Lloyd Doggett introduced the National Silver Alert Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill to encourage, enhance, and integrate Silver Alert plans throughout the United States. Similar legislation was filed by Representatives
Gus Bilirakis Gus Michael Bilirakis ( ; born February 8, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, ...
(R-FL) and Sue Myrick (R-NC). The three bills were combined into a single bill, H.R. 6064. The bill was passed by the House in September 2008 by a
voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...
, but the 110th Congress adjourned before it could be considered in the U.S. Senate. The National Silver Alert Act was re-introduced in the 111th Congress as H.R. 632. It was passed by the House of Representatives on February 11, 2009, on a voice vote. Companion legislation (S.557) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI). Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) reintroduced the bill as S.1814 in the 113th Congress on December 12, 2013. The National Silver Alert Act was referred to the
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
but was not voted on before the U.S. Senate adjourned. The National Silver Alert Act has been endorsed by the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Foundation of America, Elder Justice Coalition, National Silver Haired Congress, the National Association of Police Organizations and the National Sheriffs' Association.


Criticism

Critics of Silver Alert have raised concerns that the proliferation of color-coded alerts will reduce their importance, risking that alerts would be ignored as a " wolf cry". For example, Texas has created an Amber Alert, Silver Alert and Blue Alert (issued to locate an assailant in the event a law enforcement officer is killed or injured.) In New York, Governor George Pataki vetoed Silver Alert legislation in 2003, citing his concern that it would weaken the Amber Alert system and make the alerts too common. In the absence of state-level legislation, local Silver Alert programs have been enacted by New York City and five New York counties: Rockland, Suffolk, Nassau, Niagara and Erie. Some critics have raised concerns about the cost of implementing the Silver Alert program on a nationwide basis. The
Congressional Budget Office The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress. I ...
has estimated that implementation of the National Silver Alert Act would cost $59 million over a five-year period. During the House debate on the cost, Representative
Ted Poe Lloyd Theodore Poe (born September 10, 1948) is an American politician who represented Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2019. Poe was the first Republican Party (United States), Republi ...
(R-TX) noted that states with Silver Alerts have reported nominal costs associated with operating the system, since they are able to utilize existing Amber Alert infrastructure to issue Silver Alerts.


Retrieval rate

In Texas, the Silver Alert system was invoked 52 times in the first year following its inception in September 2007. Of these alerts, 48 of the missing seniors were located safely, and 13 of these recoveries were directly attributable to Silver Alert. In Florida, 136 Silver Alerts were issued in its first year (2008–2009), leading to 131 safe recoveries. 19 of these recoveries were directly attributable to Silver Alert. According to a press release by the office of the governor of Florida, in the 2 years following the initiation of the program in October 2008, 227 Silver Alerts were issued in Florida and 220 seniors were subsequently located safely; 36 of these recoveries were attributed directly to the Silver Alert. Over three years, 377 Silver Alerts have been issued in Florida, with 367 seniors located safely, and 51 of those recoveries attributed directly to the Silver Alert. In North Carolina, 128 Silver Alerts were issued in 2008. Of these, 118 seniors were safely recovered. In Georgia, according to a spokesperson for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Mattie's Call garnered a safe return for 70 of the 71 calls issued between its inception in 2006 and January 2009. In Wisconsin, 18 Silver Alerts were issued in the first 5 months of the program, out of which 15 of missing seniors were found and safely returned home.


See also

* Amber Alert * Mattie's Call


References


External links


American Silver Alert Coalition

Report on Silver Alert Initiatives in the States, National Association of State Units on Aging
* {{Twitter Alzheimer's disease Emergency communication Emergency services in the United States Law enforcement in the United States Missing people organizations based in the United States United States elder law