JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Funding for the state’s new Purple Alert system has begun after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 184 into law.
What exactly does it do? The Purple Alert will operate like an Amber or Silver Alert. It requires the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to work with agencies to broadcast information to the public about a missing adult. The bill will be effective July 1 of next year.
According to the new law, a Purple Alert will be issued when:
- An adult, 26 or older, with a mental, cognitive, intellectual or developmental disability other than Dementia or Alzheimer’s disappears
- The adult’s disappearance is a credible threat of immediate danger or seriously bodily harm to themself
Notably, the Purple Alert is designed to be issued when the missing person doesn’t fit the criteria of a Silver Alert, which is activated across highway systems and phones with a senior citizen with dementia, Alzheimer’s or another mental disability disappears.
Much like a Silver or AMBER Alert, FDLE will work with the state Department of Transportation, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Department of the Lottery to broadcast information about the missing person for a Purple Alert. That means you could see an alert on a highway sign, lottery terminal, or receive one on your cellphone.
“Now we can get more eyes and more ears out and about helping law enforcement find these individuals,” said News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson.
The alerts can also be targeted geographically to focus on spots where the missing adult might be.
Amanda Conner says she’s thankful for the new alert system. She’s an advocate in Northeast Florida for people with special needs. Her daughter has autism.
“My first thought is that this is well overdue,” Conner said. ”I feel comfortable knowing that this is in place.”