Code Adam

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 Florida department store and 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, 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 blond 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. 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."

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 and 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.

External links

• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (http://www.missingkids.com)
• The Wal-Mart and Sam's Club Foundation (http://www.walmartfoundation.com)