MGAs Urged To Help Catch Criminals

With the summer in full swing, many of us have turned our attention to vacationing and bonding with family once again. A summer home at the shore, trips the amusement park, maybe a week or two at a family theme park or cultural or historic site, outdoor cookouts at home–this is a time to relax and recuperate.

In late May, the American Association of Managing General Agents held its 84th annual meeting in Palm Desert, Calif., at a resort hotel that both invites executives to sit down and get some business done and can also serve as a relaxing spot for family and friends who might tag along.

Usually, these meetings feature speakers who are asked to share their political or entrepreneurial wisdom with attendees, often with humor.

This year's AAMGA meeting took a different twist in the selection of one speaker, as a father who suffered a severe tragedy stood and urged families to help protect their loved ones.

As was reported on May 26 on our NU Online News Service, in an article headlined “Speakers Advocate Action: Advice On Human Relationship” (http://bit.ly/dxXOUb), John Walsh, host of the Fox television show “America's Most Wanted,” told his story about the murder of his young son Adam by a sexual predator.

He spoke about how the loss of his son motivated him to become active in not only pursuing criminals but advocating for laws aimed at helping give police the tools to track down criminals who have eluded capture.

Mr. Walsh told the hundreds of MGAs, company executives, spouses and other attendees how as an independent businessman like many who attended the conference–in his case building hotels–he moved to the community of Hollywood, Fla., because he felt Miami “was too violent” to “protect my little family.”

In 1981, what he described as an idealized life came crashing to an end when his six-year-old son, Adam, went missing from a shopping outing with his mother at a mall.

At the time, police paid little attention to missing children, and the notion of sexual predators abducting children was rarely given thought, he noted.

With police doing little, he credited the private sector with first coming to his aid, as friends and business associates began a state-wide alarm and intensive search for his missing child.

The Walsh family's nightmare took a tragic turn 14 days later when police discovered the head of a young boy that turned out to be Adam Walsh.

It would be 27 years before police closed the case and Ottis Toole was officially named the murderer, though officials admit he was a suspect for many years. The Walsh family was finally able to claim their son's remains.

Leading an organized effort to find a missing child, the Walsh family found themselves dedicating their lives to speaking out for measures to help educate police, giving them the tools to find missing children and for victim's rights.

That advocacy led to the head of Fox Network pursuing Mr. Walsh and, with him as host, launching the crime fighting program, “America's Most Wanted.”

At this venue, the choice of Mr. Walsh was unique and did more than provide a new form of entertainment.

“John Walsh was chosen as a speaker because my wife and I thought he represented a worthy cause,” Curtis Anderson, president of national binding programs for Risk Placement Services Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz., and now past-president of the AAMGA, explained in an e-mail. “He lost his son to a pedophile in a very tragic way. He decided to do something that would help other children and families.

“His crusade isn't just limited to pedophiles or child kidnappings–he is fighting crime of all sorts,” Mr. Anderson continued. “He is sincere and passionate in his pursuit. We have three grown children and six grandchildren. We thought his message would be appreciated and welcomed by the AAMGA membership.”

Mr. Walsh made a request that day of those in attendance to make a difference by using their influence to get laws passed at the state and federal level aimed at helping law enforcement officials fight crime.

“The key to dealing with this is when the private sector saddles up,” said Mr. Walsh.

He charged those at the meeting with “a mission” to push government officials to produce a functioning data base that would provide information police need to track down sexual predators and other violent criminals.

He also gave attendees a job to advocate in their states for the collection of DNA swabs from those arrested for felonies that can be entered into a data base and used by police to track down criminals. He said 21 states do this, and argued that it needs to be extended nationally, suggesting that this would solve “thousands and thousands of cold cases.”

DETAILS REQUESTED

While there might be objections by some on the basis of civil liberties, and no doubt a thorough and extensive debate should take place, there was enough demand for more details from the AAMGA membership that the association decided to furnish information on where states stand on the issue, but played no advocacy role.

According to the AAMGA, 118 members had asked for more information following John Walsh's speech.

“We live in a world that has forgotten family values, and some days [it] is quite frightening,” Mr. Anderson said. “We thought our members would be enlightened by the accomplishments of John Walsh since the loss of his son. We had many, many people tell us they were unaware of his story and his accomplishments and they were moved and thrilled for him to be there. They thought it was a nice change from the norm.”