This isn’t a particularly light hearted subject, but you may have seen this in a cop drama or in your own life and wondered what the term means. No this doesn’t have anything to do with hurricanes, it has everything to do with missing people.
The CLEAR alert, which is an initialism, is an alert for a missing person and is one of six different text responses the government can send out depending on the missing person.
What Is A CLEAR Alert?
A CLEAR alert is a new form of missing persons alert that notifies the public of a specific type of missing person so the law can both find the missing person as well as potential suspects.
The CLEAR alert specifically looks to bring both old and young together to find suspects and missing persons by notifying them of a specific type of missing person.
These missing person alert programs are an attempt to move past previous archaic forms of missing person notifications such as posters and word of mouth.
The idea is that with modern technology the law can notify and work alongside the public and gather information more succinctly,
CLEAR is an initialism that stands for Coordinated Law Enforcement Adult Rescue. The initials were also chosen based on the names of the missing persons who the state seeks to honor through the program: Cayley Mandadi, D’Lisa Kelley, Erin Castro, Ashanti Billie and the Rest.
What Does A CLEAR Alert Mean?
There is a specific criterion laid out by the Texas Police Departments that has to be met before they send out a CLEAR alert. If a CLEAR alert has been issued you can assume that these criteria have been met.
This is the criteria of a CLEAR alert:
- Is the missing person between the ages of 18 and 64?
- Has a preliminary investigation verified the missing person is in imminent danger of bodily injury or death, or the disappearance was non-voluntary such as kidnapping or abduction?
- Has the alert been sent within 72 hours of the missing person’s disappearance?
- Is there sufficient information that warrants dissemination among the public?
Essentially, a CLEAR alert means that there is an adult missing person who has been missing for around at least 24 hours and the law enforcement would like you to contact them with information, should you have any.
What Are Some Other Alerts In The State Of Texas?
There are many alert programs in the state of Texas that are related to different emergencies which the police wish to liaise with the public on.
This can include, but is not limited to, active shooters, missing persons, dangerous criminals, and many more. Here are some you may want to be aware of.
Amber Alert
This is particularly saved for younger missing people. Specifically, if the missing child is 17 or younger and their whereabouts are unknown, or a missing child of the age of 13 or younger who is abducted or kidnapped by a parent or older citizen.
This was made particularly in response to the death of amber Hagerman 1996 which prompted local authorities to start creating this alert program to work with the public.
Silver Alert
This is an alert saved for senior citizens who need to be located. If the senior citizen is over the age of 65 or has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease then the alert will be warranted.
Moreover, this alert is saved for senior citizens who have diagnosed and impaired mental health conditions that could pose a risk to their own or others physical health.
The alert is to specifically help those senior citizens who law enforcement have reason to believe are at risk of their mental health and aren’t missing based on their own decision.
Blue Alert
This is an alert that signals that law enforcement and federal agents are being targeted by a criminal.
The alert is only issued when a law enforcement officer has been killed or seriously injured by said offender. A detailed description, as much as law enforcement can muster, is distributed to the public.
Endangered Missing Person Alert
This alert specifically means that there is a missing person, of any age, who is particularly endangered because of their mental health issues or mental disabilities or any mental disorder. This alert means they are looking for the endangered person to keep them safe.
Camo Alert
This alert is designed to notify the public if a current or previous member of the United States Military is missing. This only is produced when said veteran or serving military member has a mental health illness that could cause them to be dangerous to themselves or others.
Active Shooter Alert
This one’s a little more self-explanatory. An Active Shooter Alert is only sent when an active shooter is in the agency’s jurisdiction.
Only when the authorities believe such an alert could assist those nearby the active shooter’s location and the preliminary investigation has led to the active shooter’s location being known, and to further reiterate, only when the shooter’s location is known.
The idea is that members of the public can avoid said location or they can find shelter somewhere safe.
Conclusion
The CLEAR alert program is one of Texas’ many alert programs that seek to bring both police and public efforts together and also make the public aware of any danger to themselves or other members of their community.
The alert seeks to use modern technology and the public’s knowledge to locate missing persons.
Specifically, the CLEAR alert is saved for missing adults between the age of 18 and 64 who have either been abducted/kidnapped or are potentially at danger. There are many other alerts that are saved for different criteria, some of which we listed above.
When these alerts are sent out it is only when the criteria is met, the authorities seek not to worry members of the public with these alerts when the situation isn’t severe, only when deemed so by the criteria of each alert.
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