| Modern flat screen TVs are now becoming just as | | | | success or failure of locating a missing child - which is |
| common a technology outside the home as they are | | | | where outdoor screens come in. |
| in. From retail stores to shopping malls, digital LCD | | | | As soon as a child is missing, outdoor digital signage |
| screens are a common sight, used for promotion, | | | | screens can be utilised to request information, and |
| advertising and brand awareness. | | | | more importantly display a picture of he missing child, |
| And outdoor locations are becoming increasingly | | | | which means in he case of abduction there is more |
| common too with outdoor digital signage now a | | | | likelihood of finding the child before they are taken out |
| common sight along high streets and roadsides. | | | | of the area. |
| But outdoor advertising and digital signage are not the | | | | Wanted criminals |
| only uses of digital screens, which have become an | | | | Another use for outdoor screens in locating people is |
| important tool for many authorities. | | | | their use in tracking down fugitives. The FBI was the |
| Missing persons | | | | first instigators of using digital outdoor signage to track |
| One use, adopted in the United States and now | | | | down wanted criminals and they found the technology |
| spreading across the globe is the use of outdoor digital | | | | so useful that it was soon rolled out across America. |
| signage screens to help locate missing persons. Each | | | | Now other police agencies have also adopted digital |
| year in the USA alone over 700,000 people are | | | | signage screens for the location of wanted fugitives |
| reported missing. Many of these missing persons | | | | providing a cost effective method of tracking people |
| fortunately turn up, however, there are still large | | | | down. The great advantage of digital signage, |
| numbers of people that are never found. | | | | compared to other media such as radio or newspaper |
| One worrying aspect of this is the number of children | | | | adverts is that a person doesn't have to purchase, |
| in the USA that are abducted each year. Missing | | | | read or tune in to see the fugitive on the outdoor |
| person agencies like the FBI and NCMEC (National | | | | screens, meaning more people will view the wanted |
| Center for Missing and Exploited Children) suggest that | | | | image - and therefore more possibility of the police |
| in such cases time is the most important factor in the | | | | being informed as to their location. |