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A4344
ASSEMBLY, No. 4344
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Assemblywoman� SHAMA A. HAIDER
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes �Purple Alert System� to assist in
finding missing persons.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a �Purple Alert System� and supplementing
Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.� a.� The Attorney General
shall establish a �Purple Alert System� which shall provide a Statewide system
for the rapid dissemination of information regarding a missing person.� The
program shall be a voluntary, cooperative effort between State and local law
enforcement agencies and the media, including but not limited to print, radio,
and television media outlets.
���� b.� The Attorney General shall
notify the media serving the State of New Jersey of the establishment of the
Purple Alert System and invite their voluntary participation.
���� c.� The Missing Persons
Investigative Best Practices Protocol Unidentified Deceased Persons
Investigative Guidelines promulgated by the Missing Persons Unit in the
Division of State Police shall be revised to incorporate procedures for issuing
an alert regarding missing persons.� The guidelines and procedures shall ensure
that specific health information about the missing person is not made public
through the alert or otherwise.
���� 2.� A Purple Alert authorized
under this section may be activated in accordance with the following
requirements, which shall be incorporated into the guidelines required by
subsection c. of section 1 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).
���� a.� The law enforcement agency
receiving the missing persons report shall be the lead law enforcement agency.
���� b.� The Missing Persons Unit
in the Division of State Police, upon request, shall assist the lead law
enforcement agency in the investigation of a Purple Alert.
���� c.� Each of the following
criteria shall be met before a Purple Alert may be issued:
���� (1) a missing person�s report
has been submitted to the local law enforcement agency where the person went
missing;
���� (2) the person believed to be
missing may be in danger of death or serious bodily injury;
���� (3) there is sufficient
information available to indicate that a Purple Alert would assist in locating
the missing person; and
���� (4) sufficient information is
available to disseminate to the public that could assist in locating the
person.
���� 3.� a.� The Missing Persons
Unit in the Division of State Police, in consultation with the Department of
Transportation, shall develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanent
changeable message signs to provide information on a missing person meeting the
criteria set forth in section 2 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill) when information is available that would enable
motorists to assist in the recovery of the missing person.
���� b.��� The Missing Persons Unit
and the Department of Transportation shall develop guidelines for the content,
length, and frequency of any message to be placed on the overhead permanent
changeable message sign.
���� c.� The procedure and
guidelines required in subsections a. and b. of this section shall provide at a
minimum that:
���� (1) overhead permanent
changeable message signs may be activated only if accurate motor vehicle
information is available and it is confirmed that the person was in the motor
vehicle at the time of the disappearance;
���� (2) the lead law enforcement
agency, upon determining that a Purple Alert is warranted, shall contact the
Watch and Warning Bureau in the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations
Intelligence Center, which shall contact the Department of Transportation for
the activation of highway signs.
���� d.� The participating media
may voluntarily agree, upon notice of the issuance of a Purple Alert, to inform
the public of a person believed to be missing within their service regions.�
The notice shall be provided through the lead law enforcement agency.
���� e.� The alerts shall terminate
upon notice from the lead law enforcement agency.
���� f.� The alerts shall include a
description of the missing person and other information as the lead law
enforcement agency may deem pertinent and appropriate.� The lead law
enforcement agency shall, in a timely manner, update the media with new
information regarding the missing person when appropriate.
���� g.� The alerts also shall
provide information concerning how those members of the public who have
information relating to the missing person may contact the lead law enforcement
agency or the Missing Persons Unit in the Division of State Police.
���� 4.��� The Attorney General,
with the assistance of the participating media, shall develop and undertake a
public education campaign to inform the public about the Purple Alert System.
���� 5.��� The Attorney General may
adopt guidelines to effectuate the purposes of this act.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes an
emergency �Purple Alert System� to notify the public of a missing person.�
���� Under the bill, the emergency
alert plan would be a voluntary, cooperative effort between State and local law
enforcement agencies and the broadcast media.� Upon notice by the lead law
enforcement agency, the participating broadcast media would transmit an
emergency alert to inform the public of the disappearance of a person.
���� The Missing Persons Unit in
the Division of State Police, in consultation with the Department of
Transportation, will develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanent
changeable message signs to provide information on the missing person.� This
legislation is modeled on the Silver and Amber Alerts in current law.�
���� According to the National
Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), which is funded by the United
States Department of Justice, more than 600,000 people go missing annually. �Approximately
4,400 unidentified bodies are recovered each year. �Further, according to
NamUs, in this State there are 358 open missing persons cases and 426 open
unidentified persons cases in 2022.�
���� According to the sponsor, this
bill will help reduce the number of missing persons within the State.� In
addition, the bill will encourage the public to assist in locating a missing
person and report any information that is known to law enforcement.