Police codes (2024)

FAQs

How many codes do cops have to remember? ›

In 1955, the use of the 10 Codes became standard for police officers. Truckers also began using radios to communicate with one another while on the road and faced the same issues with choppy or unclear transmissions.

10-7 Out of Service. 10-8 In Service. 10-9 Say Again.

10-9 Repeat; a request to say the message a second time.

Code 1 Do so at your convenience. Code 2 Urgent. Code 3 Emergency/lights and siren. Code 4 No further assistance is needed.

Each department uses different codes. For us “Code Zero” means we have a run and no one available to take it (or not enough units to respond safely).

411 is not a police code, it is the phone number for information. Some people are using this in conversation as a “short cut” for saying information.

Importance : Code 1 responses are calls where there is an incident in progress with a potential threat to life or bodily injury. ▪ Measurement: Response time as determined by the department's computer aided dispatch (CAD) system, includes time from dispatcher receiving the call to arrival time.

According to the procedure and codes 10–89 is referred to a bomb threat. But country to country it may differ. But in general it means serious threat only. Immediate action needed when it referred.

Most commonly, and according to the Association of Police Commanders (APCO), 10–33 is used to denote “emergency situation - need assistance now”.

“5-0” (pronounced five-oh) became a popular nickname after the television show Hawaii Five-O which aired from 1968 to 1980. “Five-o” referred to the Hawaiian police force in the show, based on Hawaii being the fiftieth state to join the union.

What is a code 40 in police code? ›

Code 40 Serious case (IV started) Code 50 Basic transport (not serious) Code N Newsworthy event.

Foxtrot is part of a phonetic alphabet used by the military and police. Foxtrot stands for the letter F. In policing, it's used to phonetically spell names or license plates. Example, to spell Fred it would be Foxtrot, Romeo, Echo, Delta.

Adam simply means “A” in some departments, just as pilots use alpha-bravo-charlie-delta for ABCD. It eliminates mistakes in transmitting letters when the reception is sometimes poor. In some departments, an Adam car in its call sign is a two-person car and a lincoln car call sign means it is a one- person car.

The triple-nine of the title is a cop code for “officer down”; it means every policeman and policewoman will come rushing to help.

One common explanation for why cops are called 12 is that it comes from police radio codes. In some jurisdictions, police officers use radio codes to communicate. The code "10-12" is often used to signify that a law enforcement officer is present and in need of assistance.

The Ten Codes (codes beginning with 10) are used by the Association of Public-safety Communications Officials international (APCO). They are a standardized form of radio codes. Many police departments also adopt other codes. As such, codes tend to differ between departments.

Code 1 - Immediate risk of death to a person. Proceed lights and sirens. Permission granted to disobey road rules. Code 2 - Immediate risk of serious injury to a person or damage to property.

“Code 4” means everything is under control or the scene is safe. It indicates the officers are now in charge of the situation they were called to. For us it means when Code 4 is working we make sure everyone is safe and we are in control.