{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/52-34.8.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/52-34.8.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/52-34.8.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/52-34.8.html"}],"law_id":64913,"edition_id":1,"section_id":64913,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.8","catch_line":"Establishment of the Virginia Blue Alert Program","history":"2011, c. 669.","full_text":"The Department of State Police shall establish a Blue Alert Program in the Commonwealth and develop policies for its implementation. The Blue Alert Program may be activated when a suspect for a crime involving the death or serious injury of a law-enforcement officer has not been apprehended and may be a serious threat to the public or when a law-enforcement officer is missing while in the line of duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law-enforcement officer’s safety. The Department of State Police shall (i) establish procedures and standards by which a local law-enforcement agency may assess whether the conditions for a Blue Alert have been met and report such information to the Department of State Police, (ii) inform local law-enforcement officials of the policies and procedures for the Blue Alert Program set by the Department, and (iii) assist in determining the geographic scope of a particular Blue Alert.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":236194,"text":"The Department of State Police shall establish a Blue Alert Program in the Commonwealth and develop policies for its implementation. The Blue Alert Program may be activated when a suspect for a crime involving the death or serious injury of a law-enforcement officer has not been apprehended and may be a serious threat to the public or when a law-enforcement officer is missing while in the line of duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law-enforcement officer’s safety. The Department of State Police shall (i) establish procedures and standards by which a local law-enforcement agency may assess whether the conditions for a Blue Alert have been met and report such information to the Department of State Police, (ii) inform local law-enforcement officials of the policies and procedures for the Blue Alert Program set by the Department, and (iii) assist in determining the geographic scope of a particular Blue Alert.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":16209,"edition_id":1,"name":"Virginia Blue Alert Program","identifier":"7.3","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12841,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 04:09:18","date_modified":"2026-06-26 04:09:18","permalink":{"id":237499,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":16209,"identifier":"7.3","token":"52\/7.3","url":"\/52\/7.3\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12841,"edition_id":1,"name":"Police (State)","identifier":"52","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:56","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:56","permalink":{"id":237127,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12841,"identifier":"52","token":"52","url":"\/52\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":86761,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.7","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/52-34.7\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.7","metadata":false},{"id":64913,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.8","catch_line":"Establishment of the Virginia Blue Alert Program","url":"\/52-34.8\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.8","metadata":false},{"id":77468,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.9","catch_line":"Activation of Blue Alert Program","url":"\/52-34.9\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.9","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":86761,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.7","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/52-34.7\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.7","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":77468,"structure_id":16209,"section_number":"52-34.9","catch_line":"Activation of Blue Alert Program","url":"\/52-34.9\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.9","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/52-34.8\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2011. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 669<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":237505,"object_type":"law","relational_id":64913,"identifier":"52-34.8","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.8","url":"\/52-34.8\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/52-34.8\/","token":"52\/7.3\/52-34.8","dublin_core":{"Title":"Establishment of the Virginia Blue Alert Program","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 52-34.8","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Department of State Police shall establish a Blue Alert Program in the Commonwealth and develop policies for its implementation. The Blue Alert Program may be activated when a suspect for a crime<\/span> involving the death or serious injury of a law<\/span>-enforcement officer<\/span> has not been apprehended and may be a serious threat to the public or when a law<\/span>-enforcement officer<\/span> is missing while in the line of duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law<\/span>-enforcement officer<\/span>’s safety. The Department of State Police shall (i) establish procedures and standards by which a local law<\/span>-enforcement agency<\/span> may assess whether the conditions for a Blue Alert have been met and report such information to the Department of State Police, (ii) inform local law<\/span>-enforcement officials of the policies and procedures for the Blue Alert Program set by the Department, and (iii) assist in determining the geographic scope of a particular Blue Alert.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nESTABLISHMENT OF THE VIRGINIA BLUE ALERT PROGRAM (\u00a7 52-34.8)\n\nThe Department of State Police shall establish a Blue Alert Program in the\nCommonwealth and develop policies for its implementation. The Blue Alert Program\nmay be activated when a suspect for a crime involving the death or serious\ninjury of a law-enforcement officer has not been apprehended and may be a\nserious threat to the public or when a law-enforcement officer is missing while\nin the line of duty under circumstances warranting concern for the\nlaw-enforcement officer’s safety. The Department of State Police shall (i)\nestablish procedures and standards by which a local law-enforcement agency may\nassess whether the conditions for a Blue Alert have been met and report such\ninformation to the Department of State Police, (ii) inform local law-enforcement\nofficials of the policies and procedures for the Blue Alert Program set by the\nDepartment, and (iii) assist in determining the geographic scope of a particular\nBlue Alert.\n\nHISTORY: 2011, c. 669.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}