Protest Activity WEA - an effective public safety warning?

Just after 6:00 PM on Sunday, June 8, the Los Angeles Police Department used the IPAWS system to issue a Wireless Emergency Alert to a small, geographically bound area, in downtown Los Angeles. The same message was sent for a 360-character WEA and a 90-character WEA, and included an abbreviation for the sender (LAPD), information about the event/hazard (protest activity), the location (abbreviated as DTLA, and more specifically the 101 Freeway at Alameda). This was followed by a statement that the protest activity was declared an "unlawful assembly" and a recommendation to "use caution."

June 8 WEA issued to LA for protest activity

Unfortunately, the language in the original WEA doesn't provide a great deal of actionable information to instruct the public. Is the statement "use caution" directed towards motorists who may be traveling on the 101? Is it intended as a precursor to police action that will occur as a result of the "unlawful assembly"? And what exactly is the police activity that will take place? Is the statement "unlawful assembly" supposed to be interpreted by the public as an order to disperse?

If you were the writer on X, you might have interpreted the WEA not as a message about public safety, but as an alert calling law enforcement to the scene (reinforced by the tactical alert that was issued within the LAPD to increase staffing levels).

Two years ago, my research team conducted messaging experiments about civil disturbance WEAs in order to assess message understanding and efficacy. In this case, we tested a 360-character message and included the impacts that were expected by the disturbance and the recommended actions (STAY indoors) for a specified period of time. Even with the inclusion of these details, we found that people wanted more information, but they generally understood the event and the actions that were recommended.

We don't know if, in this case, a complete message would change the outcomes in LA, but it could certainly improve message understanding. A few suggestions: In place of the technical/legal language about declaring an "unlawful assembly" the message could provide information about the impacts on those who are assembled. In place of the statement "use caution" the message could tell people to leave the area. Both of these adjustments would clarify the message for receivers.

For more recommended contents, be sure to download The Warning Lexicon - it's free and offers step-by-step instructions on how to write a better warning message.

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