The Amber Alert System (AAS) has helped reunite many abducted children with their families. Family law in British Columbia — and in all the country — makes the best interests of a child paramount, and that includes keeping a child safe from harm. Although the AAS has helped many kids, some Canadians are thinking the system could be better, and many have complained that the shrill sound coming from their cell phones in the middle of the night isn’t creating fans of the system.
Canadians are calling for the AAS to be overhauled. Some people have been so irked about being awakened in the middle of the night by the alarm that they have called 911 to complain — something for which 911 is not intended. Some believe that the system is operated poorly, despite the fact that it has been successful in finding abducted or lost children.
A 10-year-old study conducted stateside indicated that, since most children were actually taken by a family member, the alert was not instrumental in helping to find the child; that the children would have been found even without the alert. These instances usually involved child custody issues when one parent was disgruntled about the other having custody. Most people disagree with that, however, including a now 24-year-old man who was abducted when he was 10 and who says, if not for the AAS, he probably wouldn’t have been found.
Having the help of a British Columbia family law lawyer to come to child custody agreements may help thwart these types of abductions. A lawyer will also always have the best interests of a client’s children at heart. For those who are uncertain of laws that involve children and custody, a lawyer may be the best person to turn to for solid legal advice.