All-points bulletin

For other uses, see All-points bulletin (disambiguation).

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. 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.

Side note

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

See also

• Wanted poster
• National Crime Information Center