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Press Release

Friday, January 30, 2009

Program Alerts When Sexual Predators And Offenders Move Into Your Neighborhood

The Lee County Sheriff's Office currently utilizes a program called "A Child is Missing" as a tool in the recovery of missing children, the elderly (Alzheimer's), the disabled, and college students missing on campus. Beginning February 1, 2009 the program will expand in Lee County to include notifying residents by telephone when a sexual predator or offender moves into their neighborhood.

Based in Fort Lauderdale, A Child is Missing (ACIM) Alert Program receives information from local law enforcement when a sexual predator or offender moves into a given area. Law enforcement provides ACIM with a sex predator's/offender's location and pertinent descriptive information. A trained technician inputs the information into a computer program and the designated calling area established by local law enforcement. An audio message is then specifically tailored and quickly disseminated within the calling area. For Lee County, the designated calling area will be a quarter-mile radius of the predator/offender address.

According to ACIM, the program can place 1,000 (one-thousand) calls in 60 seconds and there is a 98 percent listen rate by residents and businesses answering phones. ACIM technicians accept calls anytime and place calls between 7:00 am and 10:30 pm, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, unless extenuating circumstances dictate otherwise. Unlisted numbers and cell phone numbers are not part of the database, however can be added.

To enter your cell phone, unlisted, broadband/voice-over IP or TDD/TTY device number visit www.achildismissing.org and click on "add your name" to enter your name, number and address. This information will be used only for emergency alerts.

The ACIM Alert Program is a non-profit organization and is thus free of charge to taxpayers. The program provides yet another opportunity for law enforcement in Lee County to notify residents when a sexual predator or offender moves into their neighborhood.

Media inquiries are directed to Public Information Officer Tony Schall at (239) 477-1341.
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