But the other form of police communications, 10-codes, are a different beast altogether. Those minor differences don’t really impede communication between departments. There’s also Tom versus Thomas, and Young versus Yellow. LAPD will say “Lincoln ” NYPD will say “Larry.” LAPD will say “Edward ” NYPD will say “Eddie.” Of course, there are some differences between departments. Police codes are meant to be similar enough that officers who transfer positions across the country will be able to understand them.
Is the police alphabet the same everywhere? Police departments use a mixture of plain English, 10 codes and the phonetic alphabet in order to keep radio communication as brief as possible. However, since only person is able to speak at a time, it’s important that the channel is kept clear in case something urgent happens.Įven though spelling things out using the police alphabet may take slightly longer than using regular letters, it’s still more likely to reduce radio chatter by eliminating the need to repeat messages. Some areas share scanner traffic between agencies, which means that multiple units are listening in at any given time. Using the police alphabet makes what you’re trying to say more obvious, and minimizes error by clarifying the letters. Similar letters like D’s and B’s may sound the same over fuzzy radio traffic. Today, departments as far away as Houston and New York have adopted a form of the APCO alphabet, albeit with a few minor variations between them. In fact, the police alphabet may be even shorter and punchier than its military counterpart.įor example, officers save some extra syllables when they say:
#Police lingo goa license
The police alphabet comes from an April 1940 newsletter released by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International, or APCO.Įven after the NATO alphabet came into use, local and state police departments continued to use the APCO police alphabet to transmit information such as license plate numbers over the radio.
The police alphabet that used by officers is similar to the 1956 ICAO phonetic alphabet used by NATO-affiliated military organizations. plain language: The history and ongoing debate
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