The Justice Department rolled out the National Blue Alert Network on Friday to help give law enforcement the information need during a threat situation.
The new system will be backed by the Federal Communications Commission, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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 kill, seriously injure or pose an imminent threat to law enforcement.
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 27 states with Blue Alert plans. The DOJ's 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.
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.
