34 U.S.C. § 50503 — Blue Alert Coordinator; guidelines

(a) Coordination within Department of Justice. The Attorney General must assign an existing Department of Justice officer to serve as the national coordinator of the Blue Alert communications network. (b) Duties of the Coordinator. The Coordinator must: (1) help states and local governments that use Blue Alert plans; (2) create voluntary guidelines for states and local governments to use when building Blue Alert plans, aimed at making plans compatible and coordinated across the country. These guidelines must cover: (A) a list of resources needed to set up a Blue Alert plan; (B) how to judge whether a situation calls for a Blue Alert; (C) how to protect the privacy, dignity, independence, and autonomy of any officer who might be the subject of a Blue Alert, and that officer's family; (D) rules for when a Blue Alert about an officer should be issued — only if: (i) the law enforcement agency either (I) confirms the officer's death or serious injury, or confirms an attack with signs of death or serious injury, or (II) concludes the officer is missing while on duty; (ii) there are signs the officer was seriously hurt or killed; (iii) the suspect hasn't been caught; and (iv) there's enough descriptive information about the suspect and any relevant vehicle and license plate; (E) rules for when a Blue Alert about a threat should be issued — only if: (i) a law enforcement agency confirms the threat is imminent and credible; (ii) at the time of the threat, the suspect is already wanted by a law enforcement agency; (iii) the suspect hasn't been caught; and (iv) there's enough descriptive information about the suspect and any relevant vehicle and license plate; (F) rules that: (i) information about an officer seriously hurt or killed on duty, or about an imminent credible threat to an officer, should go to the FBI's National Crime Information Center database and any relevant state crime database; (ii) a Blue Alert should, as much as practical (as the Coordinator decides after talking with state and local law enforcement), stay within the geographic area most likely to help catch the suspect or that the suspect could reasonably reach — not limited by state lines; (iii) state and local law enforcement should develop plans to share information with neighboring states, so Blue Alerts communicate seamlessly across state lines; and (iv) a Blue Alert should be called off once the suspect is caught, or once the law enforcement agency decides the Alert is no longer useful; and (G) guidelines for: (i) issuing Blue Alerts through the network; and (ii) how widely alerts issued through the network should be shared; (3) develop protocols for efforts to catch suspects, covering the period from the first notice that a suspect hasn't been caught until the suspect is caught or the alert is called off as no longer useful. These protocols must regulate: (A) use of public safety communications; (B) command center operations; and (C) reviewing, evaluating, debriefing, and handling public information after an incident; (4) work with states to make sure the network is properly coordinated by region; (5) set up an advisory group to help states, local governments, law enforcement agencies, and others start, run, and promote Blue Alert plans. This group must include, as much as practical, representation from different U.S. regions, and members who are: (i) representatives of a rank-and-file law enforcement organization; (ii) representatives of other law enforcement agencies and public safety communications; (iii) broadcasters, first responders, dispatchers, and radio station staff; and (iv) representatives of any other people or groups the Coordinator thinks the network needs; (6) act as the single nationwide point of contact for: (A) developing the network; and (B) coordinating Blue Alerts across regions; and (7) figure out: (A) what current procedures and practices exist for notifying law enforcement and the public when (i) an officer is killed or seriously hurt on duty, (ii) an officer goes missing while on duty, and (iii) there's an imminent credible threat to kill or seriously hurt an officer; and (B) which of those procedures and practices work well without needing more resources to use. (c) Limitations. (1) Voluntary participation. The guidelines under (b)(2), the protocols under (b)(3), and other programs set up under (b) are not mandatory. (2) Dissemination of information. The guidelines under (b)(2) must, as much as practical (as the Coordinator decides after consulting state and local law enforcement), make sure that relevant Blue Alert information reaches the right officials at law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, and other agencies. (3) Privacy and civil liberties protections. The guidelines under (b) must: (A) include ways to make sure Blue Alerts follow all applicable federal, state, and local privacy laws; and (B) include standards specifically protecting the civil liberties — including privacy — of officers who are seriously hurt or killed on duty, go missing on duty, or are threatened with death or serious injury, along with their families. (d) Cooperation with other agencies. The Coordinator must work with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the FCC, and the right Department of Justice offices to carry out this chapter's work. (e) Restrictions on Coordinator. The Coordinator may not: (1) take any official trip solely to carry out Coordinator duties; (2) lobby any state officer about funding or running a Blue Alert plan; or (3) host a conference focused only on the Blue Alert program that spends federal money. (f) Reports. Within 1 year of May 19, 2015, and every year after that, the Coordinator must send Congress a report on the Coordinator's activities and on how effective and active the Blue Alert plans are.