What Does BOLO Stand For?

What does BOLO stand for, word by word?

Behind the four letters sits a short spoken command:

The trick is that "lookout" is split into its two parts, look and out, so the single word supplies two letters. That second O makes the word easy to pronounce, and people treat the whole thing as a spoken acronym rather than spelling it out. Some departments write the phrase as "be on lookout" or use a longer cousin, BOLF, "be on the lookout for." Short forms spoken as words, like this one, get a plain walkthrough in our basics guide, what is an acronym.

How a BOLO alert works

A BOLO is a request, not a warrant. It tells officers what to watch for and what to do if they see it. A typical alert includes:

• Who or what: a person's height, build, hair and clothing, or a vehicle's color, make, model and plate number.
• Why: a missing person, a stolen car, a wanted suspect or a person who may be in danger.
• Where and when: the last place the subject was seen and the time.
• Action: stop and identify, report location only, or approach with caution.
• Contact: the agency and case number to call.

The BOLO acronym in news and public posts

Reporters often use the word when a police department shares an alert with the public. A headline might say a sheriff's office "issued a BOLO" for a missing older adult who wandered from home. In those cases, the request goes to residents as well as officers: look, but do not approach, and call the number given.

Many agencies now post these alerts on their own pages and social feeds with a photo. If you see one, the safest step is to note the time and place and call the listed number or the local nonemergency line. Call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.

BOLO vs APB and other alerts

Several police and public safety alerts overlap. Here is how they compare:

• APB (all points bulletin): an older term for a broadcast to every unit. Many people now use BOLO for the same idea.
• AMBER Alert: a public emergency alert for an abducted child, sent to phones, highway signs and broadcasters.
• Silver Alert: used in many states for missing older adults, often those with memory loss.
• Warrant: a court order to arrest someone. A BOLO does not need one.

Other public safety terms on this site include the FBI, which shares alerts across state lines, and SWAT teams, which may respond once a subject is found.

BOLO outside of police work

The word has moved into offices, schools and homes as casual slang for "keep an eye out." You might see:

• "BOLO for an email from the vendor; it may land in spam."
• "Teachers, BOLO for a lost blue backpack with a dinosaur patch."
• "Security team: BOLO for anyone without a visitor badge on floor 3."
• "Hospital staff got a BOLO about a patient who left before discharge."

The sense matches the police use, with lower stakes. Use it with people who know the term. In a formal memo, "please watch for" is clearer.

Spelling and saying it

Write it in capital letters, BOLO, with no periods. The plural is BOLOs, and it often works as a verb in speech ("dispatch BOLOed the plate"), though the noun form is more common in writing. Say it BOH-loh, two syllables. Because it begins with a consonant sound, you write "a BOLO," not "an BOLO."

A lowercase bolo is a different word. A bolo tie is a cord necktie with a decorative clasp, and a bolo is also a large knife used in the Philippines. Neither comes from the police acronym. Find more agency and public safety terms on the government acronyms hub.