Blue Alert

noun

variants or less commonly Blue alert

plural Blue Alerts also Blue alerts

US

: a widely publicized bulletin that alerts law enforcement agencies, the media, and the public to the ongoing search for a person suspected of killing, seriously wounding, or seeking to kill or seriously wound a law enforcement officer in connection with the officer's duties

A Blue Alert was issued … as officials searched for a man charged in connection with the death of a Houston-area police officer.

—Kaley Johnson

Blue Alerts can also be issued when a suspect poses an imminent and credible threat to law enforcement …

—U.S. Department of Justice

Blue alerts also are used when an officer goes missing while on duty and the circumstances around their disappearance cause concern for the officer's safety.

—Hannah Brock

compare amber alert, silver alert

Word History

Etymology

after amber alert, with blue alluding to the conventional color of police officers' uniforms

First Known Use

2005, in the meaning defined above