Malta has officially joined the Amber Alert, a missing children warning system which helps bring together law enforcement from different countries to tackle the issue of children reported missing.

Speaking during the launch held today, the Minister for Home Affairs Carmelo Abela encouraged all EU member states who have not yet adopted the Amber Alert system to do so immediately to ensure that as many missing children are brought back to safety.  

The Minister said that so far, child abduction was not a major concern for Malta, but still, he insisted that this was not a question of numbers. Some 250,000 childre are reported missing in European each year. In some cases, the children are murdered within three hours of their abduction.

So far, five EU member states and 11 countries from around the world take part in this system.

Amber Alert works also through public campaigns across airports, ferries and the media.  

Those wishing to form part of this system can apply online on amberalert.com.