AMBER, Silver, and Blue Alerts: what each one means
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Three colors, three very different emergencies. Here's what each alert means and what it's asking you to do.
Your phone can buzz with an alert named after a color, and each color means something specific. An AMBER Alert is for an abducted child believed to be in danger. A Silver Alert is for a missing person, usually an older adult with dementia. A Blue Alert is for a suspect who has killed or seriously injured a police officer.
All three ask the same thing of the public: watch for the person or vehicle described, and call 911 if you see them.
AMBER Alerts
AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. The U.S. Department of Justice recommends that police issue one only when all of these are true:
- Police reasonably believe an abduction has occurred.
- The child is believed to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death.
- There is enough description of the child and the abduction to help find them.
- The child is 17 or younger.
- The child has been entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center system and flagged as an abduction.
That high bar is deliberate. Many missing-child cases don't meet it, which is why police sometimes decline to issue an alert a family asks for. An alert that goes out too often stops getting attention.
AMBER Alerts are among the messages that can reach your phone through Wireless Emergency Alerts. Our guide to local emergency alerts explains those settings.
Silver Alerts
Silver Alerts cover missing people, especially older adults with Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other cognitive impairments. Unlike AMBER Alerts, there is no single federal standard. Individual states run their own programs and set their own criteria, so the requirements vary depending on where you live.
Blue Alerts
Blue Alerts go out to help catch violent suspects. According to the DOJ's National Blue Alert Network, a Blue Alert can be issued when an officer is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, when a suspect poses an imminent and credible threat to police, or when an officer goes missing on duty. Thirty-seven states have active Blue Alert plans.
If you see something
Call 911 with what you saw, where, and when, including the direction a vehicle was heading. Don't approach or follow. The alert exists so that thousands of people are watching, and one accurate call with a location is what it's built to produce.
Sources
Frequently asked
What is the difference between an AMBER Alert and a Silver Alert?
An AMBER Alert is issued for an abducted child 17 or younger believed to be in imminent danger. A Silver Alert is for a missing person, usually an older adult with dementia or another cognitive impairment, and is run by individual states.
What is a Blue Alert?
A Blue Alert helps catch a suspect who killed or seriously injured a police officer, poses an imminent threat to police, or is involved when an officer goes missing on duty. Thirty-seven states have active Blue Alert plans.
Why wasn't an AMBER Alert issued for a missing child?
The Department of Justice recommends issuing one only when police believe an abduction occurred, the child is in imminent danger, enough descriptive information exists, the child is 17 or younger, and the case is entered into NCIC.