All points bulletin

All points bulletin

An All Points Bulletin (APB) is a broadcast issued from one law enforcement agency to another. It typically contains information about a wanted suspect who is to be arrested or a person of interest, whom law enforcement officers are to look for. They are usually dangerous or missing persons. As used by police, the term dates to at least 1960. [ [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=a&p=16 Online Etymology Dictionary ] ] An all-points bulletin can also be known as a BOLO, which stands for "be on the lookout". It is sometimes called a "lookout", ATL (Attempt To Locate), or "BOL" for short.

The United Kingdom uses a similar system known as the All Ports Warning, which circulates a suspect's description to airports, ports and international railway stations to detect an offender leaving the country. However, 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. [ [http://www.policespecials.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=47046&st=0&gopid=927104& All Points Bulletin/All Ports Warning - PoliceSpecials.com Forum ] ]

ide note

The term has been recently used in the editorial [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/opinion/02mon4.html In at the Birth of Death] of the New York Times to refer to the spreading of the coordinates by Princeton University astronomer Alicia Soderberg of the explosion of the supernova SN 2008D. Soderberg was in a position to detect the early x-Ray emissions of the supernova with special instruments: recipients of her notice could turn their visible-light telescopes to the specified direction and see an unusually impressive show.

Use in Media

The term All Points Bulletin is also often used in the television series NCIS, where it is most commonly referred to as a "BOLO". The term "BOLO" has also been used in the television series The West Wing.

ee also

*Wanted poster
*National Crime Information Center

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • All Points Bulletin — Pour les articles homonymes, voir APB: All Points Bulletin. All Points Bulletin Éditeur EA Games Développeur Realtime Worlds Concepteur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • All Points Bulletin — APB Reloaded Разработчик Realtime Worlds (оригинальная игра) K2 Network (APB: Reloaded) …   Википедия

  • all-points bulletin — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms all points bulletin : singular all points bulletin plural all points bulletins American an APB …   English dictionary

  • all-points bulletin — /awl poynts / a broadcast alert from one police station to all others in an area, state, etc., as with instructions to arrest a particular suspect or suspects. Abbr.: APB * * * ˌall points ˈbulletin 7 [all points bulletin] noun (abbr. APB) (US …   Useful english dictionary

  • all-points bulletin — all′ points bul′letin n. cvb a broadcast alert from one police station to all others in an area, state, etc., as with instructions to arrest a particular suspect or suspects Abbr.: APB …   From formal English to slang

  • All Points Bulletin (album) — Infobox Album | Name = All Points Bulletin Type = live Artist = Dispatch Released = 2004 Recorded = July 29 July 31, 2004 Genre = Rock Length = Label = Universal Producer = Dispatch Reviews = *Allmusic (3/5)… …   Wikipedia

  • All points bulletin (disambiguation) — An all points bulletin is a law enforcement information dissemination tool. All points bulletin may also refer to:* A.P.B. an Atari arcade game * APB , a video game scheduled for release in 2009 * All Points Bulletin , an album by Dispatch …   Wikipedia

  • all-points bulletin — /awl poynts / a broadcast alert from one police station to all others in an area, state, etc., as with instructions to arrest a particular suspect or suspects. Abbr.: APB * * * …   Universalium

  • all points bulletin — noun a message in a networked system that goes to all members of the network. Abbrev.: APB …  

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