FCC wants Blue Alerts adopted

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai last week called for an alert option to be added to the US’s Emergency Alert System (EAS) to help protect law enforcement officers.

Called a ‘Blue Alert’, the option would be used by authorities to notify the public via television and radio of threats to law enforcement and to help apprehend dangerous suspects.

The chairman unveiled the proposal at an event hosted by the Department of Justice announcing the nationwide rollout of the National Blue Alert Network.

“As we have learned from the very successful AMBER Alert initiative for recovering missing children, an informed public can play a vital role in assisting law enforcement,” Pai said.

“By expanding the Emergency Alert System to better support Blue Alerts, we could build on that success — and help protect those in law enforcement who risk their lives each day to protect us.”

Blue Alerts can be used to warn the public when there is actionable information related to a law enforcement officer who is missing, seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, or when there is an imminent credible threat to an officer.

As a result, a Blue Alert could quickly warn if a violent suspect could be in the community, along with providing instructions on what to do if a member of the public spots the suspect and how to stay safe.

The proposal would amend the FCC’s EAS rules by creating a dedicated Blue Alert event code so that state and local authorities have the option to send these warnings to the public through broadcast, cable, satellite and wireline video providers.

Some states already have individual Blue Alert programs that use various methods to issue warnings. The FCC proposal would build on these efforts through the development of a nationwide framework that states can adopt.

This goal is consistent with the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, which is being implemented by the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), and which directs cooperation with the FCC.

The COPS Office has expressed the need for a dedicated EAS code for Blue Alerts.

The proposal will be put to a vote at an FCC meeting in June and, if adopted, would be opened up for public comment.

Image courtesy FCC.

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