Code Adam
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Code Adam is a nationally-recognized "missing child" safety program in the United States, originally created and promoted by Wal-Mart retail stores in 1994. It is named in memory of Adam Walsh, the 6-year-old son of John Walsh, who was abducted from a Sears department store in Florida and was later found murdered in 1981. Today, many department stores, retail shops, shopping malls, supermarkets, amusement parks, and museums volunteer in the Code Adam program. Also, legislation enacted by Congress in 2003 mandated that all federal office buildings employ the program.
When a parent or guardian becomes separated from a child, the parent locates and notifies the nearest employee and gives him or her a description of the child, including sex, race, age, eye color, hair color, height, weight, the clothes the child is wearing (including shoes, if possible), and any distinguishing characteristics. The employee goes to the nearest in-store telephone and immediately makes a "Code Adam" announcement over the paging system, along with the description given by the guardian.
For example, an employee could announce over the paging system, "Attention all employees, Code Adam. Again, this is a Code Adam alert. The child is an 8-year-old female; has blue eyes and blonde hair; is 3 feet, 9 inches [1.14 m] tall; weighs 60 pounds [27 kg]; and is wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and pink sneakers. If found, please bring her to Customer Service immediately." Businesses usually inform their employees not to announce the first or last name of the missing child, even if the guardian may provide it before the announcement is made, as doing so may give a potential abductor more information than previously had.
After the announcement is made, designated employees will closely monitor or lock all store entrances and exits, and customers depending on the store or situation may evacuate. For example, at Wal-Mart stores, the "People Greeter" will monitor the front entrances, the employees of the Garden Center and the Tire & Lube Express will monitor their appropriate exits, and the store and department managers will guard any emergency exits. All other employees will immediately put their normal work on hold, excusing themselves from their customers if need be, and quickly search their surroundings for a child matching the description announced. Cashiers, unable to leave their tills, will check for children at their registers who match the missing child's description. The bathrooms, toys department, and parking lots are areas to be searched especially diligently.
If the child is found, he or she is immediately taken to Customer Service, or another designated area, to be reunited with his or her guardian. The Code Adam alert is cancelled via another announcement, such as "Attention all employees, cancel Code Adam. Again, Code Adam is cancelled. Thank you for your assistance."
Other stores may have slightly different procedures. For example, at Target stores, after a parent has notified a Target employee that their child is lost, the team member will immediately announce over his or her walkie-talkie "Code Yellow" followed by the location in which the child was last seen and is repeated three times (for example, "Code Yellow, toys"). The store operator or a guest service team member will then use the public address system to announce the same message, while the team member with the parent will provide the description of the child. The Assets Protection (security) team monitors the entrances and exits, while team members on the sales floor will search for the child. If the child is found, the parent and child are brought together at a suitable location, such as the guest service desk, Food Avenue or Starbucks, or the fitting rooms. At this point, the Code Yellow is cancelled by an overhead announcement of "Cancel Code Yellow" three times. A similar method has been employed at places like Meijer, Marshall Fields and Kohl's.
If the child is found to be in the company of someone other than a guardian, the local authorities are contacted. If possible, the stranger is detained by store employees and kept from leaving the store, or if not possible, employees will provide as much detail as possible about the assailant to the authorities. Local authorities are also contacted if the child is not found within 10 minutes of the initial announcement, as their services will be promptly required. In those States and Canadian provinces that participate, an AMBER Alert may follow, at the discretion of the law enforcement agency involved.
Since the Code Adam program began, it has been a powerful preventive tool against child abductions and lost children in more than 40,000 stores and offices across the United States. Through training workshops, Wal-Mart, with the help of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the assistance of many State Attorney General departments, has offered other companies the opportunity to implement this important program in their places of business.
