A Blue Alert is used to help locate suspects when a local, state or federal officer is killed or seriously wounded in the line of duty. 

Criteria for activating a Blue Alert

To activate a Blue Alert, the following criteria must be met:

• A law enforcement officer must have been killed or seriously wounded by an offender(s) or is missing while in the line of duty under circumstances evidencing concern for the law enforcement officer’s safety.
• The investigating law enforcement agency must determine that the offender(s) poses a serious risk to the public or to other law enforcement officers and dissemination of available information to the public may help avert further harm or assist in the apprehension of the suspect.
• A description of the offender; their vehicle or other means of escape, including vehicle license plate or partial license plate, must be available to broadcast to the public.
• The request for issuance of a Blue Alert must come from the lead investigating law enforcement agency.

A Blue Alert may also be activated when there is a threat to cause death or serious injury to a law enforcement officer, and:

• The requesting agency confirms that the threat is imminent and credible, and
• At the time of the receipt of the threat there is a probable cause pick-up and arrest or active warrant, and
• Any suspect involved has not been apprehended, and
• There is sufficient descriptive information about the suspect, including any relevant vehicle and license tag information.

Activation process

To request a Blue Alert related to an incident in your jurisdiction, follow the steps below in order:

Each activation will be reviewed by a committee of state agency partners and law enforcement representatives to ensure that criteria and goals are met and that each activation took place in a timely fashion.