Code Adam Program Expanded In Western New York

Attorney General Spitzer today announced an expanded training program for retailers and law enforcement officials from Western New York to improve their ability to combat child abduction.

Local business and law enforcement officials taking part in the Code Adam training learned skills necessary to act swiftly and effectively to safely recover a child after they are alerted by a parent or guardian that a child is missing in a store.

"A missing child is every parent's worst nightmare," Spitzer said. "By working together in the Code Adam program, law enforcement officials and retailers can protect children and help make our communities safer. I salute the commitment of all those here today taking part in this "Code Adam" training program and I encourage others to step forward and participate."

Edward Suk, Executive Director of the New York Branch of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said: "We are very excited about the partnership and cooperation between the Attorney General's Office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in emphasizing the importance of the Code Adam program for retailers across the state. We applaud Attorney General Spitzer for his continuing efforts to make New York State safer for children."

Managers from local Tops Markets, Quality Markets, Breen's Markets, Dash Markets, WalMart, Target, Home Depot, Gap, Bon-Ton, Lowe's, Walgreen's, J.C. Penney and Radio Shack stores participated in today's training session along with local law enforcement officials. The program was jointly sponsored by the Attorney General's Office and the New York branch of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Officers and staff from the Buffalo, Tonawanda, Caledonia, Rochester, Cheektowaga, Lockport, Gowanda and Amherst police departments took part in the training as well as representatives from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the New York State Police and the Monroe County District Attorney's Office.

Code Adam is a national child-safety program launched in 1994 and named after Adam Walsh, a six-year old child who was killed in 1981 after he was abducted from a Florida shopping mall. Since 2003, the Attorney General's Office has conducted Code Adam training sessions across New York.

Code Adam operates under the principle that the actions taken by store staff in the first minutes after being alerted that a child is missing play a critical role in determining whether the child is safely reunited with his or her parents. Under the program, when a customer reports a missing child to a store employee, a Code Adam alert is broadcast over the public address system. Specially trained employees immediately search for the child in their assigned areas of the store, monitor all exits to prevent the child from being taken out of the premises and search the parking lot. If the child is not found within minutes, a trained store employee contacts the local police department to request assistance.

Speed is essential for the safe recovery of a missing child. Federal Department of Justice research shows that nearly 40 percent of children abducted by a stranger are murdered and, of those, 74 percent are murdered within three hours of their abduction.

In 2004, the New York State Missing Children Register received over 21,000 reports of children missing. In upstate New York, there were 11,305 reported cases of missing children in 2004, including 1,194 in Erie County and 1,243 in Monroe County. (The vast majority of children reported missing were safely returned and were found to be in the custody of a relative, friend, care-giver or other person known by the child.) However, of all the missing children reported in New York in 2004, five were killed.

Every county in New York recorded at least one missing child incident in 2004 and 28 counties reported an increase in missing children cases between 2003 and 2004.

Childcare advocates applauded the Code Adam program and Spitzer's effort to encourage more retailers to take part.

Judy Lamb, Program Specialist from CASA Advocates for Children of New York, said: "As an advocate concerned about child safety and the well-being of children, I am aware of the crucial importance of responding effectively in the first moments after a child is reported missing. We owe it to all of the children in New York State to work with Attorney General Spitzer and the National Center for the widespread implementation of the Code Adam protocol."

The Code Adam coordinator in the Attorney General's Office is Mindy Bockstein, Crime Victim Advocate. She can be reached at 212-416-8050.

A broad coalition of retailers and grocers involved in Code Adam commented on the program and the Attorney General's Office role in promoting it statewide.

James Sherin, President and CEO of the New York State Retail Council said: "We're pleased to be here with Attorney General Spitzer and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to call attention to Code Adam and to all programs that help reunite parents with missing children. With shopping on everyone's summer agenda, the retail industry knows that its first priority is to ensure the safety of every person who visits our stores. That's why we're committed to working with our member stores and in partnership with Attorney General Spitzer to maximize industry participation in these important programs, and we commend him and the Center for their continued focus on this effort."

Jim Rogers, President and CEO of the Food Industry Alliance of New York State said: "Every day grocers welcome families into their stores. To reinforce the security of these shopping experiences, the Food Industry Alliance will be encouraging its members statewide to stand shoulder to shoulder with Attorney General Spitzer by incorporating Code Adam into their company's store operating procedures."

Chris Nelson, Director of Stores Assets Protection at Target Stores said: "Target strives to be the best for our guests and for our communities. This commitment means that we provide a safe and enjoyable shopping experience for our guests but also that we help keep our communities safe through partnerships with law enforcement. We believe it makes good business sense to empower our communities and that includes protecting their most vital asset - - children. Providing a safe shopping environment is Target's first priority, especially when it comes to children. We have invested time and resources to develop an effective procedure to handle reports of missing children in our stores. Although our procedure is not called Code Adam, it does contain similar components as well as elements that are specific to Target."

Bud Bergren, President and CEO of The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. said: "We have a Code Adam program in all of our 141 stores, but we believe that with more information from the Attorney General's Office we can improve upon the existing program. Bon-Ton feels strongly about being positive participants in our communities and by implementing this program we can further demonstrate our interest in the well-being and safety of the young children in our markets."

Max Henderson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Tops Markets said: "Code Adam is a powerful tool in helping in the prevention of child abductions. We at Tops have participated with an internal policy that supports Code Adam since 1997 and we applaud Attorney General Spitzer for continuously bringing this all-important program to the attention of the public and retailers across New York State."

Joe Poliseno, District Manager for Quality Markets said: "Thankfully we have not had to use Code Adam often. But when we have, the training positioned our employees to quickly recover the missing child. Code Adam is an excellent program that allows for a quick response and is a true service to our customers and the communities where we operate. Attorney General Spitzer's focus on Code Adam is a major factor in its success."

Joe Dash, owner of Dash Markets, said: "We at Dash Markets welcome the opportunity to work with Attorney General Spitzer's office to introduce Code Adam into our three area supermarkets. All of us have a role to play in safeguarding the children in our communities and Code Adam is a major step in that direction."

Dave Breen, Vice President of Breen's Markets said: "After learning of the Code Adam program from Attorney General Spitzer, I am keenly interested in having the employees at my three Wayne County supermarkets trained so that ocksBreen's Markets can offer this valuable protection to our customers with children."