Pictured from left are Jim Breed, Sheriff Allen Riley, Frederick Bragan, Undersheriff John Ball and Jonathan Knight.
(Wampsville, NY – Jan. 6, 2013) Representatives from two local organizations presented Madison County Sheriff Allen Riley with donations totaling $1,995 on Friday, Jan. 3. The donations were requested in late 2013 from Wal-Mart and the Canastota Rotary Club to assist the Sheriff’s Office in upgrades to the Operation Safe Child ID card system, in the form of hardware and software.
The current platform was put into service in 2005 by then Governor George Pataki to raise awareness about child safety.
“We have been fortunate to keep this program in the forefront of our community service mission, enrolling hundreds of children locally each year,” said Riley. “The Sheriff’s Office also provides support each year during the New York State Fair, in cooperation with the NYS Sheriff’s Association, to issue ID cards to children statewide – averaging about 5,000 cards being issued during the Fair.”
On hand for Friday’s donation was Jim Breed, Manager of the Oneida Wal-Mart, with a donation of $1,000 from the Walmart Foundation’s Local Facility Giving Program; Frederick Bragan, President and Jonathan Knight, Treasurer of the Canastota Rotary Club, with a donation of $995.
The Sheriff noted that “without the generosity of WalMart and Rotary, we would have had immense difficulty in offering the service once the current system failed. Both of these community partners worked closely with us throughout the process, and saw the immense need to sustain this vital child safety program locally.Their willingness to contribute to this much needed upgrade is so greatly appreciated.”
The Safe Child ID card contains the child’s name, biographical information (including date of birth, gender, height, weight, hair color, eye color, and other identifying data), and a fingerprint image of both index fingers. The card can be made in just a few minutes and can be easily carried in a wallet or pocketbook. The goal of the program is to record and securely store the fingerprints, basic biographical information and photographs of children who are not missing – information critical to expediting the return of a missing child.
The storage of information is secure, entirely voluntary, and requires the written consent of a parent or legal guardian. The information gathered is digitally recorded and stored at a separate database at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). In the event DCJS receives a missing child report, the fingerprints of that child will be included in a special search file and compared against all incoming fingerprints submitted to DCJS. Once included in the database, parents or lawful guardians can request that information be purged at any time and, after a child turns 18, the fingerprints will be purged from the database.
Riley noted that in addition to being able to quickly provide important details to police agencies investigating child disappearances, the SAFE CHILD card will serve as an important tool when used in conjunction with the NYS AMBER Alert and Missing Child Alert programs. These identification cards will allow essential missing child information to be electronically disseminated, statewide if necessary; within minutes and dramatically increase the possibility of bringing a missing child home.
The Sheriff also reminds parents and loved ones who already have had their child put into the SAFE CHILD system that the information and photo should be updated each year, as the child’s appearance changes as they grow older.
The Operation SAFE CHILD Card program continues to be a free public service offered by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, and administered by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, Inc. with the technological support of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.
For more information about Operation SAFE CHILD, or if your group or organization would like to sponsor an event to issue these cards, contact Jackie Anderson, Community Services Aide for the Office of the Madison County Sheriff at 315-366-2482.