New Purple Alert System Will Help Police Locate Missing People with Disabilities

A new law designed to help police locate missing individuals with cognitive disabilities goes into effect on July 1, 2021. The law adds this new alert to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s (FDLE) existing alert system and establishes the new Purple Alert to notify the public of a missing person with a disability. When a person with a mental health or cognitive disability or a brain injury goes missing, local law enforcement will issue a Purple Alert, which will be broadcast to local media, subscribers, and even lottery terminals in supermarkets, convenience stores, and gas stations.

The hope is that this new Purple Alert system will make the public aware of individuals with cognitive disabilities as soon as they go missing so that these individuals can be found and safely reunited with their loved ones as quickly as possible.