Allegheny County's Child Abduction Response Team earns certification

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Allegheny County's Child Abduction Response Team is now certified by the U.S. Department of Justice.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced the certification on Tuesday, applauding the Allegheny County Police Department's leadership in convening a team and pursuing certification. 

The Child Abduction Response Team pulls together resources from government and non-government organizations like law enforcement, victim advocates, child protection team members and search and rescue groups. It includes county police, the district attorney's office, the medical examiner's Mobile Crime Unit, FBI Pittsburgh and several local police departments. 

The county says the team's purpose is "to quickly and effectively recover a child that has been abducted or is missing under suspicious circumstances by utilizing resources and a team of individuals with prior training and experience related to child abductions."

Being certified means the team meets standards of excellence and can effectively respond to any missing and endangered or abducted child incident.  

The Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention launched the team in 2005 as part of its AMBER Alert training and technical assistance initiative.