Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse Advisory Board
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse (MEPICAB) was established in 1996. The purpose of the MEPICAB is to gain an outside perspective from local law enforcement, parents, educators, the business community, and other victim services providers on enhancing the approach to missing person issues.
The MEPICAB Board members are chosen by FDLE's Commissioner from around the state, to provide balanced representation of the state of Florida. The board members meet quarterly to discuss and implement plans and policies to combat and create an awareness of the large number of adult and children that go missing every year in Florida. Approximately 41,000 missing person incidents were reported to local law enforcement agencies in Florida during the year of 2009.
The Advisory Board consists of 3 sub-committees: the Recovery Committee, the Prevention Committee and the Florida Missing Children’s Day Committee. Each sub- committee works on various missing persons safety and prevention projects, such as the “Missing Children” billboards and the Florida Missing Children's Day ceremony listed below.
Florida Missing Children’s Day
As proclaimed by Resolution of the Florida Legislature, Florida Statute 683.23, the “first ever” Florida Missing Children’s Day was held on Monday, September 13, 1999. Each year parents, children, law enforcement officers and citizens gather to remember Florida's missing children who are still missing and those who will never come home again. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and FDLE’s Commissioner are invited as speakers. The objective of this day is to raise awareness of Florida’s currently missing children, to educate the public on child safety and abduction prevention, and to recognize those individuals and law enforcement officers who have made outstanding contributions in the missing children issue.
Florida AMBER Plan
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) in conjunction with the Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Association of Broadcasters, Inc. established the FLORIDA AMBER PLAN, Florida’s emergency missing child alert in 2000. The purpose of the Plan is to broadcast critical information of a missing/abducted child believed to be in danger, in a timely manner, to the general public via radio and television. In August 2002, the State began the expansion of the Florida Amber Plan to include partnerships with the Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Highway Patrol and with the Florida Department of Lottery, which will allow for the usage of road signs and lottery machines.
Outdoor Advertising Billboards
For more than 10 years, the FDLE MEPIC has partnered with the Florida Outdoor Advertising Association (FOAA) in producing and distributing billboards statewide featuring Florida’s missing children. In 2006, Florida became the first state to form a successful statewide partnership between the state’s law enforcement agency (FDLE) and the outdoor advertising industry (FOAA) by showcasing AMBER Alerts statewide on digital billboards. It expanded the reach of the Florida AMBER Plan. The partnership was a huge success and, in 2008, inspired a national partnership between the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to allow all outdoor advertising companies with digital billboards to post AMBER Alerts.
Florida Silver Alert Plan
The Florida Chiefs and Sheriffs, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Florida Department of Elder Affairs (DOEA), Department of Safety and Motor Vehicles Florida Highway Patrol (DHSMV/FHP), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and Florida legislators have worked in conjunction with concerned citizens and organizations to develop Florida’s Silver Alert Plan. The Florida Silver Alert is a plan to aid local law enforcement in the rescue or recovery of an elderly person who suffers from irreversible deterioration of intellectual faculties (i.e. dementia, Alzheimer’s) in a timely manner. The Silver Alert is designed to supplement the local law enforcement agency response by broadcasting vehicle information about the missing person to motorists and the general public.
