News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The very first Tennessee Blue Alert went out Wednesday after the fatal shooting of a Dickson County sheriff’s deputy.
The alert, a new way to inform the public to assist in catching violent criminals who kill or seriously injure law enforcement officers.
Tennessee Association of Broadcasters President Whit Adamson said the alert was successfully sent, but some changes will be discussed.
“We’re collecting information and feedback from stations to see what we could do better next time and make this an important part of these alerts as we would in a child abduction or severe weather,” Adamson said.
Residents receiving Wednesday’s alert may have noticed that it lacked specific information. It informed the public of the suspect’s name, but not the location where the incident occurred and how residents should react.
Adamson said those issues will be worked out once the TAB sits down with law enforcement and emergency management to see exactly what needs to be done or passed on to the public in the future.
“In the future, once this criteria is set, it will be much more detailed and different,” Adamson said. “A situation like this is much like an Amber alert in that the first two or three hours are the most critical.”
In December of 2017, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously adopted the Blue Alert to the Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) family.
Adamson said he sees the alert as being a very useful tool in situations similar to the one in Dickson County.
“For the immediate notices and follow up notices, we are convinced that TV and radio are the most important lines of information that the public can possibly have,” Adamson said.
