Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Police code

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit

A police code is a numerical abbreviation for a crime, incident, or instructions for police officers.

Contents

Quebec

The following list is the police code system in the province of Quebec used by Sûreté du Québec, École nationale de police du Québec, and the municipal police.

California

The Hundred Code is a three digit police code system. This code is usually pronounced digit-by-digit, using a radio alphabet for any letters, as 505 "five zero five" or 207A "two zero seven Adam".

The following codes are used in California; most are from the California Penal Code (except as noted below):

Note that "500" codes are only radio codes that substitute for other code sections. Example: a "503" is not Penal Code section 503 (which is Embezzlement). All of the "500" codes, generally, involve vehicles and are thus grouped together (except 594, which is a legitimate Penal Code). Additionally, "390" (and variants) are also radio codes only (CPC 647(f) is the legally enforced section "public intoxication").

In California, some radio codes in the 400–599 range that refer to vehicle violations are left over from the California Vehicle Code (CVC) which was revised in 1971. Some agencies, such as the California Highway Patrol (CHP) use the current vehicle code numbers while municipal and county police agencies, especially the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) still use the 500 series.

Phonetic alphabet

California uses a phonetic alphabet distinct from some other states, such as Florida, that use the standard International Telecommunications Union (ITU) phonetic alphabet. Some California police agencies use a slightly different one, as listed here. Others, such as all police departments, the sheriff's department, harbor patrol, lifeguards, marshals, etc. in Orange County use the ITU phonetic alphabet.

Below is the "standard" police phonetic which usually only varies with the letter "Y" being either "young" (LAPD-style) or "yellow" (CHP-style). Federal law enforcement often uses a mix of the two (FBI-style) alphabets:

References

Police code Wikipedia