Photo Technology to Aid in Search for Abducted Children
A database program called AmberView, developed by the West Virginia High Tech Consortium, will soon be launched across West Virginia. The database will contain school photos and physical descriptions of more than 300,000 students in grades kindergarten to 12.
The photos allow the creation of three-dimensional pictures intended to boost people’s ability to recognize a child, and the database will be revised yearly. The information in AmberView is to be released right after the issuance of an AmberAlert.
Bob Chico, the developer of AmberView, says the new system complements the AmberAlert system and will be especially useful for on-duty police officers. AmberView could also be used for monitoring sexual predators and aiding doctors to rebuild the faces of wounded children, he says.
The program’s creators anticipate that sales of AmberView to other states will help the program pay for itself. AmberView was developed using $1.4 million in funds from the National Institute of Justice.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) from the Associated Press (11/09/06); Mohajer, Shaya Tayefe.
