Davis, Simon Call for State Alert System on Abductions

Decrying the kidnapping and murder of a 5-year-old Stanton girl, Gov. Gray Davis and his Republican challenger, Bill Simon Jr., both said Thursday that they support a statewide alert system that would broadcast information about abductions immediately after they occur.

Other states currently use the Amber alert system, named after a 9-year-old Texas girl who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996, to send out emergency alerts over the broadcast media about kidnapping suspects. An emergency system now operated by California’s Office of Emergency Services provides information statewide through e-mail and pagers for events such as power failures.

Law enforcement agencies in 12 counties--including Orange County, where Samantha Runnion lived--have volunteered to use the system to send information about crimes to the media.

During a news conference in Burlingame, Davis said he had spoken to Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster) about amending legislation he has written to require all 58 counties to provide the alert to broadcasters. Davis said he hoped to sign a bill on the matter before Sept. 1.

“We do have a voluntary program up to date,” the governor said. “We want to make this as mandatory as we can, consistent with the 1st Amendment, to have this information available.

“Information needs to get out in the first five to seven hours,” he added. “That is the best chance to save a little girl or little boy who may be kidnapped.”

Later in the afternoon, Simon called on the governor to issue an executive order that would direct the Office of Emergency Services to work with the U.S. Department of Justice and state agencies to develop a system that would tie together local law enforcement agencies and news outlets.

“We should not have to wait for the legislative process to give us the Amber alert system in California,” Simon said during a news conference in Palo Alto. “A system like this will allow for local entities to jump to immediate action, based upon the report of an abducted child, and give the citizens in those communities the opportunity to mobilize, therefore increasing the chances of finding an abducted child alive.”

Russ Lopez, a spokesman for Davis, said that the state could not order the participation of local agencies.

Both candidates spent the day in the Bay Area, touting their endorsements. The governor appeared with 50 members of the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Assns., an organization that represents 80,000 sworn officers. Wayne Quint, president of the group, said Davis had earned its backing with his law enforcement policies.

Simon held a joint news conference with U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who praised his proposals to renew the state’s neediest communities. The GOP candidate is scheduled to campaign with several members of the Bush administration before the Nov. 5 election.