National Blue Alert Network

The National Blue Alert Network supports the use and integration of Blue Alert plans throughout the United States in order 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.

Congress passed the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015 in order to encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans.

The law is named in honor of New York City Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu who were killed in an ambush attack on December 20, 2014.

Blue Alerts can be transmitted to television and radio stations; to cellphones and wireless devices, to overhead highway message signs, and other secondary alerting mechanisms – in the same way that AMBER Alerts are commonly issued.

There are currently 37 states with Blue Alert plans. The COPS Office provides resources and technical assistance to states, territories, law enforcement agencies, and tribes seeking to establish or enhance Blue Alert plans; including, voluntary activation guidelines, examples of legislation, policies, and forms gathered from around the nation in a central Blue Alert data repository.

SECURE BLUE ALERT INFORMATION REPOSITORY - LAW ENFORCEMENT ONLY

Blue Alert Information Repository (Law Enforcement Only)

Secure data repository, for law enforcement only, containing many Blue Alert resources collected from around the nation, including examples of legislation, policies, forms, and a directory of state Blue Alert officials.

Officers Shot in the Line of Duty

Law Enforcement Officers Shot in the Line of Duty - 2023 Year-End Summary Report

This report contains data on law enforcement officers shot in the line of duty, both fatally and non-fatally, for the purpose of better understanding the nature and frequency of incidents that could give rise to the issuance of a Blue Alert. The report is compiled from publicly available information using media monitoring software and general research to monitor and track shootings of law enforcement officers in the United States and its territories.

OTHER GOVERNMENT RESOURCES

White House

White House statement of support for policing – “Standing up for our Law Enforcement Community”.

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)

IPAWS is a conduit to the national emergency alerting infrastructure including the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The FCC establishes technical requirements and rules for broadcasters, cable system operators, mobile commercial service providers, and other participants in voluntary mobile alerting programs.

FirstNet – First Responder Network Authority

The FirstNet mission is to deploy, operate, maintain, and improve the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety.