A Blue Alert is a public notification system designed to provide immediate information to the public when a violent attack on a law enforcement officer has occurred, and a search for the suspect is active. The alert pushes real-time information to the public, such as the location of the incident and any identifying information, such as suspect or vehicle description, to help locate possible suspects. The Blue Alert is similar to the Amber Alert system for missing children and is transmitted to television and radio stations with the Emergency Alert System (EAS), as well as to cellphones and wireless devices with Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) .
The National Blue Alert Network supports the use and integration of Blue Alert plans throughout the United States to rapidly disseminate information to law enforcement agencies, the media, and the public to aid in the apprehension of violent criminals who have killed or seriously injured an officer in the line of duty. Blue Alerts can also be issued when a suspect poses an imminent and credible threat to law enforcement, or when an officer is missing in the line of duty.
In order for a Blue Alert to be activated, the following criteria must be met: a law enforcement officer has been killed, suffers serious bodily injury, or is assaulted with a deadly weapon, and the suspect has fled the scene of the offense, and a law enforcement agency investigating the offense has determined that the suspect poses an imminent threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel.
Blue Alerts can be transmitted to television and radio stations, cellphones and wireless devices, overhead highway message signs, and other secondary alerting mechanisms in the same way that AMBER Alerts are commonly issued. FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) includes an event code called Law Enforcement Blue Alert, or "Blue Alert," which is available for selection with the IPAWS Emergency Alert System (EAS) and the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) .
