Silver Alert still a dream for a Coquitlam man
Posted January 8, 2015 11:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – A year after a private members’ bill proposed a Silver Alert system for BC, the program remains just a dream for some of its advocates.
Meanwhile, Washington State might be the 36th state to adopt the alert, after a bill was tabled by a lawmaker Thursday.
The son of a missing Coquitlam man is still determined to get the alert up and running in BC.
It’s been a year and a half since Sam Noh’s dad Shin disappeared from his Coquitlam home.
A Silver Alert would act much like an Amber Alert to quickly disseminate information about a missing senior citizen.
Noh counters critics who say we might be overwhelmed by alerts if they are triggered every time someone goes missing.
“I think if it’s issued locally, in your neighbourhood, you’d pay attention to those alerts. There needs to be some sort of criteria or protocol developed to oversee who could be included in these alerts.”
While lobbying for the alert system, Noh also helped develop an online platform which relies on people signing up to get alerts.
While he doesn’t know if the site has actually helped locate someone, he is pleased with what it has accomplished.
“We do know there is immense engagement on Facebook and Twitter once we put out an alert on our platform.”
Selina Robinson, the NDP MLA who introduced the bill, says she will try to bring the issue back for debate.
