[EAS] Should various "color" alerts use the Amber code

Sean Donelan sean at donelan.com
Fri Feb 22 12:07:19 CST 2019


In addition to Amber, there are now Blue (police), Silver (elderly), Green 
(veterns), Golden (handicapped), Yellow (hit and run), and various other 
types of Missing Persons.

When legislators pass new color alerts, they almost always say "like" 
amber alerts.  But in practice, they don't use the amber codes.  Instead 
the other color alerts use the "Imminent Threat" code on cell phones, 
which means the public needs to disable all types of Imminent Threats if 
they don't want the various colors of Missing Person alerts.

Should all the Missing Person and Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert colors 
(amber, blue, silver, green, golden, yellow, etc) use the same WEA 
code?

Change the WEA mobile phone alert user interface to

1. National/Presidential
2. Imminent Threat (Extreme/Severe)
3. Be On the Lookout Out/Missing Persons instead of Amber alert

This might slow down local officials from misusing Law Enforcement 
Warning, Civil Danger Warning and other Imminent Threat alert codes for 
Missing Person and Be On the Lookout messages.  It seems like nothing is 
going to slow down local officials from creating more color codes, so 
might as well make them less annoying.

They keep saying "like" amber alerts anyway.



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