AMBER ALERT SISTEM U SRBIJI – IZAZOVI U PRAKSI

Abstract

In her work, the author investigates the problems that arise in the implementation of the "Amber alert" mechanism for urgent public notification of the disappearance of a minor. In this regard, it primarily presents the criteria used by the police in operational work, which, if they appear in practice, lead to the activation of the mechanism for urgent public notification of the disappearance of a minor. Next, the author emphasizes the extremely important influence of the media on public opinion and law enforcement authorities, criticizing the kind of pressure that the media creates on this occasion and which most often has negative results (violation of the rights of victims of criminal acts, violation of the rights of suspects), even though the purpose of involving the media is exactly the opposite - providing assistance in finding a minor. Further considerations explore the conflict that may arise when activating the mechanism in question between two interests: the "public interest" which is reflected in the finding of a minor regardless of a cost, and the interest of "conducting criminal proceedings" which implies respect for the principles of "secrecy" of the investigation, the presumption of innocence and the protection of injured persons which must be respected if the measures taken and the actions of the police show that the disappearance of a minor is a consequence of the commission of a criminal act. The first two challenges are viewed in relation to the valid public order and legislation of our country, while further on in the paper, the problems in the implementation of Amber Alert are given in a general nature and can be encountered by the law enforcement authorities of any country. In addition to the above, challenges of a psychological nature that can occur on the part of the recipient of a notification about the disappearance of a minor, in the form of memory problems, causing panic and fear among them, etc., have been identified. The activation of the Amber alert mechanism is accompanied by certain problems such as: possible oversaturation of the system, technical problems in implementation, reexamination of the degree of spread of notifications, i.e. the need to issue notifications at the national level, the expansion of the circle of persons in connection with whose disappearance the mechanism will be activated- the so-called Silver Alert. When processing each of the challenges, the author gives her opinion on how to overcome them while being aware of the complexity of the problem and the fact that the mechanism has only recently come to life in our country and that more time and more empirical data are needed for a more complete analysis.