The Ohio Blue Alert is a notification system that is intended to enlist public assistance in the event of a law enforcement officer's being critically injured or killed or missing and the suspect(s) are still at large. The following criteria, established in Ohio Revised Code Sec. 5502.53, must be met to initiate the Ohio Blue Alert:
(1) A local law enforcement agency confirms that a law enforcement officer has been seriously injured or killed, and a suspect has not been apprehended, or that a law enforcement officer is missing while on duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law enforcement officer's safety.
(2) There is sufficient descriptive information about the suspect or the circumstances surrounding a law enforcement officer's injury, death or disappearance to indicate that activation of the alert may help locate a suspect or a missing law enforcement officer.
When the Blue Alert program is activated a toll-free tip line will be activated. E-mails and faxes will also be sent to media agencies throughout the State and to anyone who has signed up to receive the alerts. A statewide message will also be sent to all law enforcement agencies as well as a law enforcement radio broadcast. Ohio Department of Transportation highway signs will be activated in the affected area. Facebook, Twitter and the Ohio Attorney General website will be utilized also to broadcast the Blue Alert information.
Sign up to receive Blue Alert messages below.