Multiple notifications about an Amber Alert in BC elicit complaints

After an Amber Alert was issued in BC, British Columbians flocked to social media to share information – but some also aired grievances.

Surrey RCMP issued an Amber Alert in the afternoon on Wednesday, July 19. But subsequent reissues of the same alert, especially one at 11 pm, had some Twitter users complaining – especially those with mental health conditions and small children.

Amber Alert complaints

bruh the bc amber alert scared tf out of me.. why did it ring so wildly and very late at night.. and it's the same one we received earlier

— Yuno 😺 Gepard's Hubby ❤️️ VTuber (@catboyuno) July 20, 2023

has anybody else in bc just had the amber alert for the third time? scared the crap out of me 🥲

— Lauren (@kxkwky) July 20, 2023

9 fucking amber alert notifications.

— BCBeastly (@BCBeastly1) July 20, 2023

Yes, my kids were awakened from this amber alert triggered by what looks to be a custody dispute between two divorcing parents. Child with one parent but failed to return to other on time. Not right for sure but question whether this should trigger alarms going off.

— Rob Crawford (@Robbievicman) July 20, 2023

But I didn’t clear it from my Lock Screen so for some reason this stopped my alarms to wake up for work! so because my alarm didn’t go off I did not get to work today. Why would the alert disengage the cell alarm set??? 🤬🤬 #AmberAlert #BC #canada @EmergencyInfoBC @SurreyRCMP

— Dtw🇨🇦 (@DerekWilliams82) July 20, 2023

I have no issue with Amber Alerts and I believe they are super important but the sound is horrendous and TERRIFYING! The second one last night woke my child up and gave her a full panic attack. I wish there was an alternate sound! #AmberAlert #BC @BC_RCMP

— Chevy Stevens (@ChevyStevens) July 20, 2023

That 5:30 am amber alert was awesome hey BC @rcmpgrcpolice ? What the hell?

— Richard Fraser (@SexualRichard) July 20, 2023

Daily Hive has reached out to the BC RCMP for more information about this week’s Amber Alert and will update this story.

Keeping in mind all of these complaints, it’s possible that British Columbians are still unfamiliar with how Amber Alerts work in the province. Here’s everything you need to know:

Amber Alerts in BC

In Canada, Amber Alerts are used to further police investigations and only law enforcement can issue them. Here are the criteria for issuing an Amber Alert in BC:

The victim is under the age of 18.
Police have reasonable grounds to believe that the victim has been abducted.
Police have reasonable grounds to believe the victim is in imminent danger.
Police have obtained enough descriptive information about the victim, abductor and/or the vehicle involved.
Police believe that the alert can be issued in a time frame that will provide a reasonable expectation that the child can be returned or the abductor apprehended.

Alert Ready

In BC, RCMP uses Alert Ready to blast out Amber Alerts. According to Alert Ready, devices set to silent will display emergency alerts, but you might not hear the emergency alert sound.

“The emergency alert sound will usually play at whatever the current volume setting is on the wireless device, so if your wireless device is set to silent, no sound will accompany the emergency alert message. However, this behaviour can differ depending on your wireless device and in some instances the alert sound may override your user settings,” says Alert Ready.

How do I check that I’ll receive an alert?

In BC, for emergency alerts to be received on cell phones, your device must be:

Configured for an LTE (or 4G) network for high-speed wireless communication
Wireless public alerting compatible
Connected to an LTE cellular network at the time the emergency alert is issued
Within the emergency alert area

You can check your phone’s compatibility online at Alert Ready. But other companies, such as the Alertable app, are also used in the province.

Alertable app users

Many folks use the Alertable app on their smartphones to receive public alerts. According to Alertable, phones have to be connected to wifi or cellular networks to receive alerts. One of the complaints following the most recent Amber Alert was the loud sounds that accompanied it, especially late at night. According to Alertable, advisory-level alerts can be turned off, but critical alerts cannot. Alertable respects devices’ volume and do-not-disturb settings for all alerts, even critical ones.

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With files from Daily Hive staff