The Florida Senate

937.021  Missing child reports.--

(1)  Upon the filing of a police report that a child is missing by the parent or guardian, the law enforcement agency receiving the report shall immediately inform all on-duty law enforcement officers of the existence of the missing child report, communicate the report to every other law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the county, and transmit the report for inclusion within the Florida Crime Information Center computer.

(2)  A police report that a child is missing may be filed with the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the county or municipality in which the child was last seen prior to the filing of the report, without regard to whether the child resides in or has any significant contacts with that county or municipality. The filing of such a report shall impose the duties specified in subsection (1) upon that law enforcement agency.

(3)(a)  Upon receiving a request to record, report, transmit, display, or release Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information from the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the missing or endangered child, the Department of Law Enforcement as the state Amber Alert coordinator; any state or local law enforcement agency and the personnel of these agencies; any radio or television network, broadcaster, or other media representative; any dealer of communications services as defined in s. 202.11; or any agency, employee, individual, or entity is immune from civil liability for damages for complying in good faith with the request and is presumed to have acted in good faith in recording, reporting, transmitting, displaying, or releasing Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information pertaining to such child.

(b)  The presumption of good faith is not overcome if a technical or clerical error is made by any such agency, employee, individual, or entity acting at the request of the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction or if the Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information is incomplete or incorrect because the information received from the local law enforcement agency was incomplete or incorrect.

(c)  Neither this subsection nor any other provision of law creates a duty of the agency, employee, individual, or entity to record, report, transmit, display, or release the Amber Alert or Missing Child Alert information received from the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction. The decision to record, report, transmit, display, or release information is discretionary with the agency, employee, individual, or entity receiving that information from the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction.

History.--s. 1, ch. 83-32; s. 11, ch. 2003-146; s. 3, ch. 2006-176.