Something like the Amber Alert could be used for terrorism. In this case, one thing that would help it seems to me is a concise up to date list of facts about the case that are already in the public domain, ona website hosted by whatever appropriate government agencies.
People would then be free to view the facts for themselves and it would help them be on the lookout for suspicious individuals and activity. Right now the press conference way of getting info out seems too hit and miss (viz. description of the bullets, getaway vehicles, races of the victims, and potential firearm types). Even the people running the press conferences seem to get very flustered by the national attention and make simple terminology mistakes. The media tends to take the flashiest tidbits of information and amplify them (assault rifle, etc.), misrepresenting or blowing some facts out of proportion, while omitting other useful facts. This is not an effective and efficient way to get useful help from the public at large, imho.
Anyway just a thought.
The 'Amber Alert' was developed in Texas by Dee Anderson while he was with the Arlington, Texas Police Department. It's named after a little girl named Amber Haggerman.
It's been in use and *effective* here (in Texas) for a LOT more than just a year ...