How Alerta Sofía works, the new search system for missing children

A child under 18 is missing. There is a complaint and an ongoing investigation. The investigating authority requests it. A committee badesses the seriousness of the case before an alleged commission of a crime. If he deserves it, Federal Missing and Missing Persons Search System (SIFEBU) l & # 39; authorizes. In this case, the Sofia Alert, The new emergency system that has already started to work for Cases of extreme urgency and high imminent risk.

The program was presented yesterday by the Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, At a meeting attended by Facebook's director of trust and security, Emily Vacher; the head of legal affairs for South America's social network, Rick Cavalieros; and the Director of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), Caroline Humer.

The system emulates the model Amber Alert, established in 1996 in the United States, following the disappearance of Amber Hagerman, and this has been replicated internationally. It has already been implemented in Australia, Canada, the United States, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Ecuador.

In the local case, his name refers to Sofía Herrera, the girl who disappeared more than ten years ago in Tierra del Fuego when she was three years old and was last seen at a Rio Grande campground on September 28, 2008.

"I am very moved and grateful that it bears the name of my daughter because behind the sadness and pain of my search every time this is mentioned, it will be a way to keep looking for it"says Sofia's mother, María Elena Delgado, who was also present at the launch.

Unlike others, Alerta Sofía involves citizen participation in research. Its purpose is to ask the company to collaborate. When it is activated, immediately broadcasts a poster containing specific information about the child or teen lost through media, e-mails and Facebook social network. The name, age, a photo, the details of the last place where it was seen, the physical description of a person or the data of a vehicle involved, and anything that can guide the recipient. In the social network, users can share the alert or get more information by clicking on an attached link.

References reach mobile devices that reach a certain operating radius, a limited area. For a case in Buenos Aires, no cooperation will be requested in Mendoza, for example.

According to official statistics, 7,000 cases of missing children are registered each year (64% correspond to women and 36% to men). Of these, 60% appear. More than 90% of the positive results are expressed in the first 72 hours, a vital period for research. Of the total, less than 1% (an average of 34 cases) are crime-related losses.

Given the context, the implementation of the system will be minimal, in line with international experience, indicating that Alerts are issued 2 to 3 times a year.

"The idea is not to make this tool a permanent reminder of old cases that occur or lose children in all circumstances, but to give the alarm of a specific event. If it was activated more frequently, it would lose its power and its effectiveness"explain the developers.

Alerta Sofía is composed of a national committee composed of the Ministry of Security, the Attorney General of the Nation, the National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and Family (SENNAF) of the Ministry of Social Development, ENACOM, Federal Security Forces, National Ombudsman, Council of Lawyers, Prosecutors, Lawyers and Counselors of the Argentine Republic and the NGO Missing Children.