All-points bulletin Definition & Meaning

Officers also used the APB if they were required to notify individuals about the death of family members. The earliest known record of the all-points bulletin is when used by United States police, which dates the term to 1947. Although, used in the field of policing at the time, the APB has had usage in fields such as politics, technology and science research. William Davis Jr. admitted he had been drinking and driving, but he said he shouldn’t have been caught. Even though police had issued a BOLO or “be on the lookout” for his car and an officer testified Davis made several traffic violations, he said there wasn’t enough probable cause for the initial traffic stop that turned into a DUI.

These types of notifications can also contain information regarding the make and model of a car if one was involved in the crime or it is the car believed to be driven by the suspect. All-points bulletins have been used by US counties to aid in environmental management. apb police acronym The Winnemucca office of the Bureau of Land Management frequently uses all-points bulletins to communicate messages about their local desert ranges. In January 2003, the bureau had put out an all-points bulletin regarding missing cheatgrass and the fields.

What is the abbreviation for All Points Bulletin?

The bulletin cautioned, “Do not stop, but advise FBI.” Soon after the bulletin was released, the vehicles were located, and the fugitives were arrested. The functionality of all-points bulletins was based on the latest advances in computer networking at the time, developed in the 1940s and continuing evolution through to the 1970s. Different from e-mail or teleconferencing, which are designed for limited list of recipients, all-points bulletins were digital message “broadcast systems”. It is described that “each message placed on is intended for a wide audience”, and they were some of the first technologies which could do so in an efficient and effective manner.

• APB can be used interchangeably with the acronyms BOL and BOLO, which mean be on the lookout, and ATL, which means attempt to locate.
• It was regarded as “quite worrisome” that the cheatgrass had suddenly been disappearing, since it is a dominant plant in Nevada, and protects the soil from erosion.
• This allows the same automated information to be gathered by other police officers who are receiving the bulletin.
• In 1970, Farmville Police department in North Carolina, United States, reported about their implementation of the all-points bulletin system beginning in 1968.
• Finally, you will see some words or phrases that can be used in place of the phrase that this acronym represents that will not change its meaning.
• The principle of policing by consent relies on the trust and confidence that the public has in the police service and the wider law enforcement community.

The classic USA police alert, as featured at least fifty times in every single episode of Hawaii Five-O, Cagney and Lacey, Kojak, Starsky and Hutch…. DisclaimerAll content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Clinton was such an apb for getting with Monica Lewinsky while in office. An APB may actually be a BOLO or may simply be an informational message or alert for all points. BOLO is specific in that Law Enforcement is looking for a suspect or vehicle. Another acronym used by police that is similar to APB, BOL, and BOLO is ATL, which stands for attempt to locate, according to Acronym Finder.

CJIS Advisory Policy Board: Role

Users access these all-points bulletins “through terminals or microcomputers by dialling in over dedicated or general-purpose telecommunication lines”. The APB then show messages that will be readable for the users of the system, and in some systems, users are able to https://personal-accounting.org/ attach their own messages similar to a virtual bulletin board. Consequently, messages would not only be able to be seen by the sender, but also by subsequent users of the digital bulletin system, who could also add their own information and messages to this bulletin.

Conversation examples will be provided to you here as well so you can learn how the term is used properly in an everyday context and help you gain a better knowledge of its meaning. Finally, you will see some words or phrases that can be used in place of the phrase that this acronym represents that will not change its meaning. From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person who’s on TikTok, even if you aren’t. Love them or hate them, it’s probably safe to say that there will never be a shortage of police dramas on TV.

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An all-points bulletin can also be known as aBOLOorBOL, which stands for “be on look-out”. This acronym is most often used to represent the phrase “all point bulletin.” It is a way of saying “be on the lookout” for whatever information is contained in the notification or the broadcast. The acronym “APB” has been used for many years, especially in one particular field.