Changes are expected to be announced to Ontario's Amber Alert system as a result of criticism into how police handled the Tori Stafford case in Woodstock.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Rektor made the announcement Thursday in London, Ont. He wouldn't provide details, but said the changes come under the direction of OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino and that they will be outlined in the fall.

Stafford disappeared April 8, minutes after leaving her elementary school in the company of a young woman.

Oxford Community Police were told at 6 p.m. that Tori was missing. However, they treated the case as a missing persons investigation and not a kidnapping, saying there was no evidence to suggest the girl had been taken against her will. They sent out a notice to surrounding police forces at midnight.

The first news release went out at 3 a.m. on April 9, with a follow-up at 6 a.m. They released security-camera video showing the victim with a woman in a puffy white coat later that day.

Arrests were made on May 20. Terri Lynn McClintic, 19, and Michael Rafferty, 28, have both been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. Stafford's remains were found in July near Mount Forest, about 95 kilometres north of Woodstock.

An Amber Alert was not posted immediately because police said her case failed to meet the criteria for issuing one.

• Police have confirmed an abduction of a victim under 18
• It's believed the victim is in danger of serious bodily injury or death.
• The general public can assist in the safe recovery of the victim - due to the availability of a description of the suspect, the suspect's vehicle, and licence plate number.

Critics have since leveled questions at authorities about the efficacy and purpose of the alert system.

In an interview with A-Channel London, Rektor said under Fantino's direction, the OPP are working on making the "wording and criteria" for issuing Amber Alerts easier to understand and implement.

He said the alert program was revisited in June, "to see if there's anything we can do to enhance it or modify it in any way, shape or form -- to bring it up to today's standards and needs, to serve police agencies across the province."

"After the Tori Stafford abduction had taken place, there were some questions brought forward," Rektor told A-Channel, "and our commissioner determined at that time that it was appropriate to review it and to make sure everything was working properly."

Meanwhile, in B.C., parents are asking why an Amber Alert was not issued when 12-year-old John Fulton went missing. The boy, who had autism spectrum disorder, was taken from his front porch and allegedly murdered by a neighbour.

The RCMP said in Fulton's case, there was no evidence to indicate at the time that an abduction had occurred. "Utilization of Amber Alert was examined," RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told CTV British Columbia, but it was "confirmed that it was not applicable -- because we didn't have the information to disseminate" to the public."