Police Slang Heard on the Police Scanner

Police Scanners are great devices. They can also be helpful too in dangerous, life threatening situations. Police use their radios to communicate with dispatch with what is going on. Police scanners simply pick up that frequency and you can listen to the cops! Cool, huh?

Well, police generally use many codes and signals. If you do not know what they mean, it is just like talking gibberish. I have had my scanner for almost a year and have heard a lot of codes and signals. I want to help people understand their police scanners better, so that’s why I created this hub. All of these that follow I heard on my scanner (and they aren’t just off some dumb website!)

Codes

There are many codes. In fact the ten-code system is the system with all the codes like ’10-4’ and codes like that. There are MANY ten codes, so I will just list the ones you will hear on your scanner most frequently.

10-4: Affirmative, OK, Received

10-1: Radio is static or basically, ‘we can’t hear you on your radio’

10-2: Radio = good reception

10-6: Busy

10-7: Out of service, ending duty

10-8: Back in service, beginning duty

10-9: Repeat last message, Repeat message last unit

10-12: Standby

10-15: Arrested, taken into custody

10-20: Location, Usually you will hear, “Hey 869, whats your 20?”

10-27 and 10-29: Check up on a name for outstanding warrants or regions, DL check

10-28: Check a LC (license plate)

10-33: I have the channel, no other officer talks but the one who called 10-33 traffic. Usually used when officers are entering a home invasion or burglary. The reason they say 10-33 is so that if when they enter and they find bad guys, they will be able to call for immediate back up without another officer talking over them.

10-38: Criminal Record

10-51: Wrecker needed

10-52: Ambulance needed (accident)

10-97: On scene, in the area

Signals

Signals are just like codes except signals are more like events rather than actions. Here, you will see what I mean:

Signal 10 – Backup, backup another unit and/or another police dept.

Signal 53/63 – Check up on a residential/commercial building

Signal 40 – Stopped by for a sec

Additional

'Copy' - be ready to respond to the following call

'Standby' - hold on

'Standby for additional' - spoken to officer (s) who have just copied a call, means hold on for more information

'Standby for back' - spoken to officer (s), means that dispatch is finding you a back up to take the call

'En route' - on the way

'Running code' - driving with lights and siren

'Code 1' - be en route, take your time

'Code 2' - be en route, emergency is urgent

'Code 3' - be en route immediately, officers run code when call is toned out

'Toned out' - Emergency tone meaning emergency has just occurred and units are being dispatched

'Are you 10-12?' - Are you on standby?

'Call holding' - usually said when officers are extremely busy and cannot take a call, when a call comes in and units are working an emergency

'Be advised' - important information follows

'Did you copy?' - Did you get that transmission? Did you hear other police agency's traffic?

'Timed out' - average time a call can hold has run out, an officer must be en route immediately whether emergency or not

'In progress' - happening now

'DWI' - driving while intoxicated (drunk)

'DUI' - driving under influence (alcohol or drugs)

'Walking on each other' - multiple officers talking at once, did not recieve ether transmission.

These are most of the codes and signals you will hear on your scanner. No need in posting all the others because you will rarely hear them. I hope I helped you in understanding your police scanner better!

Below are my other hubs on police scanners. Thanks,

JohnB0127

My website: www.NorthTexasLuxury.com
Twitter: @JIBurg4