Ontario Amber Alerts now broadcast at Mac's Convenience stores

OPP NEWS RELEASE

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Orillia - Amber Alerts will now appear on the LCD screens in Mac's Convenience Stores across Ontario.

Mac's Convenience Stores have partnered with the Ontario Amber Alert program in an effort to engage the public as quickly as possible in the event of a child abduction.

The Ontario Amber Alert program quickly distributes details of a child abduction in the early stages of an investigation to assist in the safe return of the child.

Amber Alert is a partnership between the Ontario Association of Broadcasters, Ontario Child Find, law enforcement agencies, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and others.

The program is facilitated by the Ontario Provincial Police and is available to all police services in Ontario.

In May of 2010 the Ontario Amber Alert program entered into an agreement with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association for the distribution of wireless Amber Alerts across Canada.

To launch this new partnership between Amber Alert and Mac's, the Ontario stores will be running a public service announcement prepared by the CWTA in support of the free wireless text messaging option.

"Mac's strives to be a leader in crime prevention," said Sean Sportun, manager of loss prevention and security for Mac's in Central Canada. "Keeping children safe should be a priority; we are very excited about our new partnership with the Ontario Amber Alert Program in achieving this goal."

For more information on Ontario Amber Alert visit www.opp.ca.

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