ADAM Program Speeds Recovery of Missing Children; ChoicePoint-Sponsored Wireless and Fax Solution Reunites Families; Aids NCMEC.ALPHARETTA, Ga., June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighty-seven children are reported missing every hour -- more than 2,000 each day -- totaling more than 750,000 missing children in the United States last year. Many of these children never return home according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC NCMEC National Center for Missing & Exploited Children NCMEC National Concrete and Masonry Engineering Conference ). ADAM Adam, the first man, in the Bible Adam (ăd`əm), [Heb.,=man], in the Bible, the first man. In the Book of Genesis, God creates humankind in his image as a species of male and female, giving them dominion over other life. (R), a new program co-developed by NCMEC and ChoicePoint(R) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CPS), the nation's leading provider of credential verification and identification services, increases the chances of safely recovering missing children by dramatically improving NCMEC's ability to inform authorities and the public of child abductions. Named in honor of Adam Walsh, whose kidnapping and murder brought the horror of child abduction to national attention in 1981, ADAM reduces the distance a perpetrator A term commonly used by law enforcement officers to designate a person who actually commits a crime. can successfully travel from the point of abduction by transmitting a text and graphic image report on a child and abductor to police, hospitals, businesses and media within the search area. Since November 2000, eleven children have been recovered because of ADAM. ADAM, which has wireless and fax components, uses Motorola interactive pagers and ChoicePoint's patented imaging technology to immediately distribute secure visual and text messages to law enforcement and public safety agents with information on missing children as reported by NCMEC. The fax component of ADAM is capable of sending posters to police, hospitals, news media, businesses, and other recipients within the search area. As part of the program, ChoicePoint provided NCMEC with 12 pagers equipped for use with ADAM. Currently, ADAM is available in 12 cities including Dallas, Houston, and Abilene, Texas; Concord N.H.; Phoenix; Santa Rosa, Calif.; High Point, N.C.; Aurora, Ill.; Tulsa, Okla.; Atlanta and Savannah, Ga.; and Boise, Idaho. The officers equipped with the pagers receive reports about abducted children complete with an image of the child, as well as the child's vital statistics. These reports are transmitted via a secure messaging server in order to be sent without fear of interception. These messages are also forwarded to other two-way wireless communication devices, PCs, and fax machines. "A picture is worth a thousand words A picture is worth a thousand words is a proverb that refers to the idea that complex stories can be told with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text. ," said Matt Eberz, vice president of technology for ChoicePoint. "With ADAM we're able to take what ChoicePoint does as a business and provide a targeted paging and fax service to NCMEC that gives law enforcement officials, hospital workers and media the information needed to locate a child during the most critical stage, the beginning," "ADAM is a wonderful tool in helping finding missing kids because it gets you the information right away," said Detective William Sharpley of the Savannah Police Department. "The most critical thing you can do is get a picture and get it out. The more people know what you're looking for, the more people can help you find that person." "The ADAM program has been a tremendous resource for us," said Ernie Allen, NCMEC co-founder, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "The ability to communicate instantly with law enforcement officers all over the country through pagers -- alerting them, providing breaking information so they can respond quickly, that's invaluable." Other program partners and sponsors include AVT AVT avian arginine vasotocin. See vasotocin. , Brooktrout Technology and Motorola. About ChoicePoint Inc. ChoicePoint is the leading provider of credential verification and identification services for making smarter decisions in today's fast-paced world. The Company serves the information needs of insurance, business, government and individual customers, including Fortune 1000 corporations, asset-based lenders and professional service providers, and federal, state and local governments. ChoicePoint is committed to the responsible use of information and the protection of personal privacy as fundamental planks of the Company's business model. For more information about ChoicePoint, visit the Company's web site at www.choicepoint.net . ChoicePoint and ADAM are registered trademarks of ChoicePoint Asset Company. About NCMEC The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) was established in 1984 as a national resource center on child protection and a clearinghouse for information on child victimization victimization Social medicine The abuse of the disenfranchised–eg, those underage, elderly, ♀, mentally retarded, illegal aliens, or other, by coercing them into illegal activities–eg, drug trade, pornography, prostitution. . Since its creation, the Center has assisted law enforcement on over 73,000 cases of missing children, and has played a role in the location and recovery of over 55,000 children. For more information about NCMEC, contact them toll-free, 24 hours a day at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit their website at www.missingkids.com . MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X57296279 |
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