A Quick Look at Police Scanner Codes

If you watch police and crime shows on TV you will undoubtedly have heard a cop saying over their radio 10-4 or other numbers. If you’re wondering what those are they are police scanner codes. 10-4 means “ok” while other numbers mean other things. 10-34 for example, means there is a riot in progress. While the codes can vary from area to area, a lot of them like 10-4 have universal meanings.

Common Police Codes and Their Meanings

Among the Most common codes are the following:

10-0 Caution

10-3 Stop transmitting

10-7 Out of service

10-9 Repeat

10-10 Fight in progress

Other commonly used codes are 10-12 stand by, 10-14 prowler report, 10-16 domestic problem, 10-18 urgent, 10-19 go to station and 10-22 disregard. A lot of police officers in the US also use 10-98 escaped prisoner, 10-96 detain subject, 10-95 subject in custody and 10-90 bank alarm. For a bomb threat it is 10-89 and for E.T.A. it is 10-84.

Origin

These codes were actually made by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and were intended to be used as shorthand so that communications over radio would be easier to facilitate. These codes have long been associated with police officers but other emergency services like firemen and ambulances also have their own codes.

While difference types of police codes exist, they are almost always made up of numbers that are combined together. But they all start with 10 or 11 followed by other numbers. The codes refer to situations and circumstances or specific types of crimes.

Although numbers are often used, some codes do use letters.

The purpose of these codes it to make it easier for policemen to interact over radio. Rather than say “there is a riot going on here” the cop can just say “10-34” and HQ would know exactly what’s going on. Again the definition can vary from country to country but the information gives you an idea of how they are used.

Apart from TV shows and movies, you can also listen to real cops on police scanners. These scanners are widely available and followed by a lot of people. For some it is just a hobby while for others they do it so they can follow crimes as they happen. Others just like to listen to these devices for fun.

More about Police Scanners

These are devices are the ones used for listening to the frequencies used by law enforcement officers and also by emergency personnel. Although different types of scanners are available they all allow you to listen to several frequencies at the same time and they also receive the transmissions in real time. These are also called radio scanners and have many other features.

For example, some models can decode signals that are encoded. A lot of these scanners can now be bought online. Some people think that it is a new technology but in fact it has been around since the 1970s, as cops started using radio for their communications.

If you are interested in listening to police scanner codes then you should get one on the Internet. They can be bought in many places and often at discounted prices. But you need to make sure that it has the features you need. Also make it a point to compare the features of each product before buying one.

Author Bio: Lee is a free lancer writer of http://www.policescannercodes.net

and he loves to write articles on Police scanner codes.