all-points bulletin

noun

: a general bulletin broadcast to alert law-enforcement officers over a wide area that someone (such as a suspect) or something (such as a vehicle) is being actively sought in connection with a crime

The all-points bulletin for the suspects issued Thursday describes them as "armed and dangerous" …

—Les Ledbetter

… police investigators have pored over video footage, interviewed witnesses, combed through social media chatter and shared surveillance images of the suspects with other police agencies in an all-points bulletin.

—Michael Cabanatuan and Kurtis Alexander

called also APB

Examples of all-points bulletin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cars were then radioless, so the two officers hiked to the nearest phone, put out an all-points bulletin on the car that had got away, and then called for a wrecker. — Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026

An all-points bulletin was relayed to all area police departments, Windsor Locks police said. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2024

Set off an all-points bulletin, given the seriousness of these matters. — Ron Lieber, New York Times, 30 Dec. 2023

Through the department’s license-plate readers and other footage captured by neighbors’ cameras, officers were able to identify the man — Garrett Blaize — and issued an all-points bulletin for his vehicle, Martinez said. — Michelle L. Quinn, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above