Phoenix Uber drivers to help solve Amber Alert cases
Oct 14, 2015, 2:04 PM
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
PHOENIX — Uber drivers in Phoenix will soon help law enforcement watch out for Amber Alert suspects or vehicles.
“Amber Alerts will be distributed on two Uber partners in real time so that while they’re on the road, they can keep an eye out — it’s geographically-targeted of course — to try and help recover a missing child,” Taylor Patterson with Uber said.
The new alert system, which will warn drivers of an Amber Alert via text message, is being rolled out in 180 cities, including Phoenix. When it’s fully operational, it will cover about 75 percent of the nation’s population.
“Uber’s presence in communities all across the country will be an incredible asset and we are proud to team up with Uber to increase the reach of the AMBER Alert program and help bring more missing children home safely,” Robert Hoever with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said in a release.
After the program was successfully tested in Colorado, the decision was made to roll it out nationwide.
KTAR’s Lauren Grifo contributed to this report.
