Texas Blue Alerts are designed to speed in the apprehension of violent criminals who kill or seriously wound local, state, or federal law enforcement officers.
During a Blue Alert, the public is provided information regarding the suspected assailant so that tips and leads about that person can be directed toward law enforcement.
If you spot or locate someone wanted in connection with a Blue Alert, call 911 and do not attempt to apprehend the person on your own.
The state's Blue Alert program was created Aug. 18, 2008, by Gov. Rick Perry (R) who created the program under Executive Order RP-68.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
For a Blue Alert to be put into effect, the following criteria must be met:
- A law enforcement officer must have been killed or seriously injured by an offender.
- The investigating law enforcement agency must determine that the offender poses a serious risk or threat to the public and other law enforcement personnel.
- A detailed description of the offender's vehicle, vehicle tag, or partial tag must be available for broadcast to the public.
- The investigating law enforcement agency of jurisdiction must recommend the activation of the Blue Alert to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
TEXAS STATEWIDE ALERT PROGRAMS
There are eight kinds of alerts that can be issued for missing or endangered people in Texas. They are listed below with links to a page with more information.
- Active Shooter Alert
- AMBER Alert
- Blue Alert
- Silver Alert
- CLEAR Alert
- Camo Alert (no longer operational)
- Endangered Missing Person Alert
- Power Outage Alert