Justice Department Honors AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Year, Charles Fleeger

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Marilyn Roberts, Deputy Administrator for the Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), presented Charles Fleeger with the AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Year Award during the National AMBER Alert Symposium in Phoenix, AZ.

Lieutenant Fleeger, of the College Station Texas Police Department and AMBER Alert Coordinator for Texas Region 3, has dedicated countless hours to developing a Child Abduction Response Team (CART) for a seven-county region in Texas.  Fleeger coordinates the law enforcement agencies and governmental agencies over the vast area, which includes many jurisdictions.  Since the team's inception, Lieutenant Fleeger has been responsible for scheduling team member meetings and trainings that benefit not only the CART team members, but other law enforcement personnel.  Lieutenant Fleeger is dedicated to bringing all children home safely and to the AMBER Alert Program. His commitment is evident by his hard work and long hours to ensure the success of the regional Brazos Valley CART.

"Keeping the AMBER Alert system vital and powerful relies on the work of many partners and supporters," said Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for OJP and National AMBER Alert Coordinator.  "Our ongoing commitment is to improve and strengthen the AMBER Alert network to protect all children and rescue them if they are abducted or missing."  

This year, during the National AMBER Alert Symposium, OJP recognized individual or collective efforts to protect children from abduction and to recover missing or abducted children. Award categories are:

• AMBER Alert Coordinator of the Year
• AMBER Alert Broadcaster/Media Person of the Year
• AMBER Alert Law Enforcement Leadership Award
• AMBER Alert Citizen Award

The AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system began in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children. The system was created in memory of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman of Arlington, Texas, who was abducted while riding her bicycle and later found murdered. AMBER Alerts are emergency messages broadcast when a law enforcement agency determines that a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. For more information about the AMBER Alert program, please visit http://www.amberalert.gov .

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), headed by Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice, and assist victims. OJP has seven bureaus and offices: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime; the Community Capacity Development Office, and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART). More information about OJP and its components can be found at http://www.ojp.gov .

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SOURCE Office of Justice Programs