Justice Department Honors Illinois Broadcaster With AMBER Alert Broadcaster/Media Person of the Year Award

Justice Department Honors Illinois Broadcaster With AMBER Alert Broadcaster/Media Person of the Year Award

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 Dennis Lyle with the AMBER Alert Broadcaster/Media Person of the Year Award during the National AMBER Alert Symposium in Phoenix, AZ.

Dennis Lyle is the CEO/President of the Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA) and has been a partner with the Illinois AMBER Alert program since its development in 2001. He is an active member of the Illinois AMBER Alert Task Force. In June 2010 Mr. Lyle hosted the Task Force meeting during the Illinois Broadcasters Annual Conference, which provided Task Force members direct access and networking opportunities with more than 500 Illinois broadcasters. In addition, Mr. Lyle was responsible for coordinating and bringing to Illinois the Newsplex training which uses state-of-the-art interactive technology to improve strategic communications. Held in 2010, the training to was attended by almost 50 broadcasters, law enforcement officers, and legislators from across the state.

Mr. Lyle continues to address with the many budgetary challenges faced by the Illinois AMBER Alert program by getting information out to the public through the Public Education Partnership (PEP) program. Through PEP, Illinois and National AMBER Alert public service announcements (PSAs) are broadcast by radio stations at no cost. In addition, Mr. Lyle recognizes the efforts of the Illinois AMBER Alert program in editions of the Transmitter, the IBA's official newsletter.

"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 Alter 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.

OJP11020

SOURCE Office of Justice Programs

Office of Justice Programs

CONTACT: Joan LaRocca, Office of Justice Programs, +1-202-307-0703

Web Site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov

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