Image Credit: AlertReady

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Amber Alert worth being woken up?

Sep 25, 2022 | 6:54 AM

THIS QUESTIONS DOESN’T NEED to be asked, does it? It does.

Last Monday night, I was snug in my bed, visions of sugar plums dancing in my head, when out of my phone there arose such a clatter, I turned to my iPhone to see what was the matter.

As it turned out, it was an Amber Alert, issued out of Vancouver, for a child missing from B.C.’s Children’s Hospital.

The fact that it was 11:20 PM made it all the more urgent. And the fact that this was the first time the AlertReady system had been used for an Amber Alert in B.C. had many people wondering what was happening.

I first turned to my home security app to see if someone was breaking into my house or if my house was on fire. Then I checked out the City/TNRD system to see if a wildfire was nearby.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Short-term rental rules coming into effect in British Columbia

12h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Board may as well not have asked public about school's name

16h ago

Finally, I discovered the source of the noise — and was glad that we had received the warning.

Some weren’t so excited to be wakened. To which I say the end justifies the means.

Some wondered why they got the alert when Vancouver was so far away. The fact the alleged abductor was found near Calgary should answer that question.

The AlertReady system is designed to save lives. It can be used for other emergencies as well — threatening wildfires and flooding. It’s a system that could be used better to keep the public informed following tragedies like the James Smith Cree Nation stabbing in Saskatchewan, or the multiple killings in Nova Scotia.

Why did we not do that? Would it have helped prevent deaths? In the Nova Scotia case, quite possibly.

Issuing alerts on Twitter and other social media is not the answer. People don’t know the source of those tweets and tend not to trust them. But a system like AlertReady, which automatically goes out on radio and TV even when the stations are unattended and can be directed regionally, could be a godsend in saving lives. It sits there, unused most of the time.

Let’s start changing that. Given the right guidelines, it can be an instrument for positive change. And I don’t think it’s that much of an inconvenience being woken up from a sound sleep if it saves lives.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

P.S. My humble apologies to Clement Clarke Moore.

——

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.