All points bulletin
Encyclopedia
An all-points bulletin is a broadcast
issued from one US law enforcement agency to another. It typically contains information about a wanted suspect
who is to be arrested or a person of interest
, for whom law enforcement officers are to look. They are usually dangerous or missing persons. As used by US police, the term dates to at least 1960. An all-points bulletin can also be known as a BOLO or BOL, which stands for "be on the look-out". Such an alert may also be called a lookout or ATL ("attempt to locate").
A similar, longer acronym used by Australian law enforcement is KALOF (for "keep a look-out for"). The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the all-ports warning or APW, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender leaving the country. Because of the great numbers of commuters at such places, UK police forces often prefer to contact specific airports, ports or stations and circulate descriptions individually.
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
issued from one US law enforcement agency to another. It typically contains information about a wanted suspect
Suspect
In the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime.Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the...
who is to be arrested or a person of interest
Person of interest
"Person of interest" is a phrase used by law enforcement when announcing the name of someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. The phrase was adopted by the media and widely disseminated, thus most law enforcement agencies have picked up...
, for whom law enforcement officers are to look. They are usually dangerous or missing persons. As used by US police, the term dates to at least 1960. An all-points bulletin can also be known as a BOLO or BOL, which stands for "be on the look-out". Such an alert may also be called a lookout or ATL ("attempt to locate").
A similar, longer acronym used by Australian law enforcement is KALOF (for "keep a look-out for"). The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the all-ports warning or APW, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender leaving the country. Because of the great numbers of commuters at such places, UK police forces often prefer to contact specific airports, ports or stations and circulate descriptions individually.