Joining efforts with the Amber Alert 2023/09/28

What does this mean? That this initiative seeks to ensure that all mobile phone service concessionaires cooperate with the authorities in cases where minors are reported missing and the so-called Amber Alert is activated, disseminating it through text messages to cell phones.

This alert arises from a case in 1996, where a minor disappeared in the state of Texas and, days later, was found dead, with signs of torture and sexual violence.

Subsequently, it was in 2012 when the Mexican government implemented and put into operation the Mexico National Amber Alert Program, being the first country in Latin America to use this system.

This program arises from the need to assist in the search and prompt location of girls, boys, and adolescents who are at imminent risk of suffering serious harm to their personal integrity or any other circumstance where the commission of some crime, which occurred in National territory.

According to data issued by the National Registry of Missing and Unlocated Persons of the Ministry of the Interior, 17 people between the ages of 0 and 17 disappear daily. Since 2012, the disappearances of 93,044 minors were reported and, as of May 2023, one in five of these people remained missing or not located, for a total of 18,562.

As of May 2023, 797 minors reported missing or not located were found dead.

The disappearance and non-location of girls, boys and adolescents is a phenomenon that afflicts the entire country. However, from 2020 to date, 4,209 disappearances have been recorded in the State of Mexico, 1,775 in Tamaulipas, while 1,408 cases are in Mexico City.

Since 2015 and 2017, AT&T and Telefónica Movistar, respectively, have signed a collaboration agreement with the Mexican authorities to disseminate the Amber Alert through text messages, having successful results, since, in the case of AT&T, they have been sent more than 24 thousand text messages in 328 alerts, of which 71% have been successful. While Movistar has sent 588 Amber Alerts, of which around 70% have been successful cases of locating minors.

According to various studies, today there are just over 129 million Mexicans, of which 96% have a cell phone, meaning that more than 123 million citizens have this service.

Likewise, various surveys have shown that Movistar closed 2022 with 23 million users, while AT&T approached 22 million, so we are talking about 78 million Mexicans who use services from companies such as Telcel, which accounts for 60% of the Mexican market, that is, more than 74 million people. We also have companies such as Unefon, Virgin Mobile, Freedompop, Flash Mobile, Weex, Cierto and Maz Tiempo, of which we seek, by law, to assist with the Mexican authorities in cases of disappearance of minors.

The purpose of this initiative is to guarantee the well-being, integrity and Human Rights of the minors in our country, adding more mobile phone companies to this cause, since successful results have been obtained in the countries where this is done. carry out this action, as is the United States. Likewise, given that there are several mobile phone companies in Mexico, by adding all of these to this cause, the information could reach more citizens.

Senator for Campeche* X: @RocioAbreuA