I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 365 
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. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 20, 2011 
Mr. GRIMM (for himself and Mr. PIERLUISI) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Blue Alert 
Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
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(1) the term ‘‘Coordinator’’ means the Blue 
Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice des-
ignated under section 4(a); 
(2) the term ‘‘Blue Alert’’ means information 
relating to the serious injury or death of a law en-
forcement officer in the line of duty sent through the 
network; 
(3) the term ‘‘Blue Alert plan’’ means the plan 
of a State, unit of local government, or Federal 
agency participating in the network for the dissemi-
nation of information received as a Blue Alert; 
(4) the term ‘‘network’’ means the Blue Alert 
communications network established by the Attorney 
General under section 3; and 
(5) term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 
Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 3. BLUE ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 
The Attorney General shall establish a national Blue 
Alert communications network within the Department of 
Justice to issue Blue Alerts through the initiation, facilita-
tion, and promotion of Blue Alert plans, in coordination 
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with States, units of local government, law enforcement 
agencies, and other appropriate entities. 
SEC. 4. BLUE ALERT COORDINATOR; GUIDELINES. 
(a) COORDINATION WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF JUS-
TICE.—The Attorney General shall assign an officer of the 
Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator 
of the Blue Alert communications network. 
(b) DUTIES OF THE COORDINATOR.—The Coordi-
nator shall— 
(1) encourage States and units of local govern-
ment to develop additional Blue Alert plans; 
(2) establish voluntary guidelines for States and 
units of local government to use in developing Blue 
Alert plans that will promote compatible and inte-
grated Blue Alert plans throughout the United 
States, including— 
(A) a list of the resources necessary to es-
tablish a Blue Alert plan; 
(B) criteria for evaluating whether a situa-
tion warrants issuing a Blue Alert; 
(C) guidelines to protect the privacy, dig-
nity, independence, and autonomy of any law 
enforcement officer who may be the subject of 
a Blue Alert and the family of the law enforce-
ment officer; 
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(D) guidelines that a Blue Alert should 
only be issued with respect to a law enforce-
ment officer if— 
(i) the law enforcement agency in-
volved— 
(I) confirms— 
(aa) the death or serious in-
jury of the law enforcement offi-
cer; or 
(bb) the attack on the law 
enforcement 
officer 
and 
that 
there is an indication of the 
death or serious injury of the of-
ficer; or 
(II) concludes that the law en-
forcement officer is missing in the line 
of duty; 
(ii) there is an indication of serious 
injury to or death of the law enforcement 
officer; 
(iii) the suspect involved has not been 
apprehended; and 
(iv) there is sufficient descriptive in-
formation of the suspect involved and any 
relevant vehicle and tag numbers; 
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(E) guidelines— 
(i) that information relating to a law 
enforcement officer who is seriously in-
jured or killed in the line of duty should be 
provided to the National Crime Informa-
tion Center database operated by the Fed-
eral Bureau of Investigation under section 
534 of title 28, United States Code, and 
any relevant crime information repository 
of the State involved; 
(ii) that a Blue Alert should, to the 
maximum extent practicable (as deter-
mined by the Coordinator in consultation 
with law enforcement agencies of States 
and units of local governments), be limited 
to the geographic areas most likely to fa-
cilitate the apprehension of the suspect in-
volved or which the suspect could reason-
ably reach, which should not be limited to 
State lines; 
(iii) for law enforcement agencies of 
States or units of local government to de-
velop plans to communicate information to 
neighboring States to provide for seamless 
communication of a Blue Alert; and 
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(iv) providing that a Blue Alert 
should be suspended when the suspect in-
volved is apprehended or when the law en-
forcement agency involved determines that 
the Blue Alert is no longer effective; and 
(F) guidelines for— 
(i) the issuance of Blue Alerts 
through the network; and 
(ii) the extent of the dissemination of 
alerts issued through the network; 
(3) develop protocols for efforts to apprehend 
suspects that address activities during the period be-
ginning at the time of the initial notification of a 
law enforcement agency that a suspect has not been 
apprehended and ending at the time of apprehension 
of a suspect or when the law enforcement agency in-
volved determines that the Blue Alert is no longer 
effective, including protocols regulating— 
(A) the use of public safety communica-
tions; 
(B) command center operations; and 
(C) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, 
and public information procedures; 
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(4) work with States to ensure appropriate re-
gional coordination of various elements of the net-
work; 
(5) establish an advisory group to assist States, 
units of local government, law enforcement agencies, 
and other entities involved in the network with initi-
ating, facilitating, and promoting Blue Alert plans, 
which shall include— 
(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 
representation from the various geographic re-
gions of the United States; and 
(B) members who are— 
(i) representatives of law enforcement 
organizations, law enforcement agencies, 
and public safety communications; 
(ii) broadcasters, first responders, dis-
patchers, and radio station personnel; and 
(iii) representatives of any other indi-
viduals or organizations that the Coordi-
nator determines are necessary to the suc-
cess of the network; and 
(6) act as the nationwide point of contact for— 
(A) the development of the network; and 
(B) regional coordination of Blue Alerts 
through the network. 
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(c) LIMITATIONS.— 
(1) VOLUNTARY
PARTICIPATION.—The guide-
lines established under subsection (b)(2), protocols 
developed under subsection (b)(3), and other pro-
grams established under subsection (b), shall not be 
mandatory. 
(2) DISSEMINATION
OF
INFORMATION.—The 
guidelines established under subsection (b)(2) shall, 
to the maximum extent practicable (as determined 
by the Coordinator in consultation with law enforce-
ment agencies of States and units of local govern-
ment), provide that appropriate information relating 
to a Blue Alert is disseminated to the appropriate 
officials of law enforcement agencies, public health 
agencies, and other agencies. 
(3) PRIVACY
AND
CIVIL
LIBERTIES
PROTEC-
TIONS.—The guidelines established under subsection 
(b) shall— 
(A) provide mechanisms that ensure that 
Blue Alerts comply with all applicable Federal, 
State, and local privacy laws and regulations; 
and 
(B) include standards that specifically pro-
vide for the protection of the civil liberties, in-
cluding the privacy, of law enforcement officers 
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who are seriously injured or killed in the line of 
duty and the families of the officers. 
(d) COOPERATION WITH OTHER AGENCIES.—The 
Coordinator shall cooperate with the Secretary of Home-
land Security, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chair-
man of the Federal Communications Commission, and ap-
propriate offices of the Department of Justice in carrying 
out activities under this Act. 
(e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Co-
ordinator shall submit to Congress a report on the activi-
ties of the Coordinator and the effectiveness and status 
of the Blue Alert plans that are in effect or being devel-
oped. 
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF BLUE ALERT 
PLANS. 
Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) by redesignating paragraph (17) as para-
graph (18); and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (16) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(17) to assist a State in the development or 
enhancement of programs and activities in support 
of a Blue Alert plan and the network (as those 
terms are defined in section 2 of the National Blue 
Alert Act of 2011), including— 
‘‘(A) developing and implementing edu-
cation and training programs, and associated 
materials, relating to Blue Alert plans; 
‘‘(B) developing and implementing law en-
forcement programs, and associated equipment, 
relating to Blue Alert plans; and 
‘‘(C) developing and implementing new 
technologies to improve the communication of 
Blue Alerts; and’’. 
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 1001(a)(11) of the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(C)(i) Of amounts authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out part Q in any fiscal year, $10,000,000 is author-
ized to be appropriated for grants for the purposes de-
scribed in section 1701(b)(17). 
‘‘(ii) Amounts appropriated pursuant to clause (i) 
shall remain available until expended.’’. 
Æ 
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