[EAS] Blue Alerts

[Ed Czarnecki]

The Blue Alert Act (2015) states the purpose as:

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans throughout the United States in order to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, is missing in connection with the officer's official duties, or an imminent and credible threat that an individual intends to cause the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer is received, and for other purposes.

It does not state that EAS should be a part of those plans, nor does it dissuade states from putting EAS into their respective Blue Alert plan.  And remember it conveniently concludes the catch-all phrase "for other purposes."

Now let's look back at the part 11 rules at § 11.1 "Purpose".  

"The EAS provides the President with the capability to provide immediate communications and information to the general public at the National,State and Local Area levels during periods of national emergency. ... The EAS may be used to provide the heads of State and local government, or their designated representatives, with a means of emergency communication with the public in their State or Local Area."

Note that Part 11 does not explicitly reference an "imminent danger to the public".  

Individual state EAS plans may well carve out such a clarification for their respective state - but that doesn't explicitly appear in Federal Regulation.  Individual State EAS and Blue Alert plans may or may not incorporate EAS for that function.  Even if the FCC enables a separate event code for blue or large, wouldn't it be up to these respective State plans to actually decide whether to use it operationally?

Edward Czarnecki, Ph.D.
Senior Director - Strategic and Government Affairs
Monroe Electronics Inc. / Digital Alert Systems

ed.czarnecki at monroe-electronics.com
585-765-2254 | fax 585-765-9330
Reston VA | Lyndonville NY 

-------- Original Message --------
From: Phil Johnson <p_johnson58 at msn.com>

The stated purpose of Blue Alerts is to "help [provide] Law Enforcement the means to speed the apprehension of violent criminals who kill or seriously injure local, state, or federal law enforcement officers."

Blue Alerts do not warn of imminent danger to the public.  Therefore, they have no place in the Emergency Alert System.  They do not merit an EAS Alert event code - LEW or anything else.  And I say this is as the father of a 15-year Seattle Police Officer.

Washington State publicizes Blue Alerts through the news media and other means, but without using EAS (anybody out there believe the media won't immediately be all over an attack on a cop?).  And that's the way it should be.  EAS is a warning system, not a public information vehicle.