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Ten-codes, properly known as ten signals, are code words used to represent common phrases in voice communication, particularly in radio transmissions. The codes, developed in 1937 and expanded in 1974 by the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO), allow for brevity and standardization of message traffic. They have historically been widely used by law enforcement officers in North America, although the trend is away from their use in recent years with more departments discouraging the use of ten-codes and encouraging "clear" or plain language communications.
While "ten codes" were intended to be a terse, concise, and standardized system, the proliferation of different meanings has rendered it useless for situations where people from different agencies and jurisdictions need to communicate. For this reason its use is expressly forbidden in the Incident Command System.
Some organizations and municipalities also use other codes in addition to the ten-codes. An example is the California Highway Patrol's use of eleven-codes.
[edit] Historic overview
Ten-codes were developed in the 1940s at a time when police radio channels were limited, to reduce use of speech on the radio. Credit to the originator goes to Charles Hopper. He was the Communications Director at the Illinois State Police, Distrct 10, located in Urbana, Illinois. Charles "Charlie" was involved in radio for many years and saw a need for a short cut for radio transmission on the State Police airways. [1] Ten-codes were later adapted for use by CB radio enthusiasts before its pop culture explosion in the late 1970s; thus, many of the phrases, such as 10-4 and "what's your twenty", have entered everyday use in the English language. Popular fictional accounts of ten-codes in use among CB-communicating truckers may be heard in the 1975 Convoy song by C.W. McCall, and the 1978 movie Convoy.
In the fall of 2005, responding to inter-organisational communication problems during the rescue operations after Hurricane Katrina, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) discouraged the use of ten-codes and other codes due to their high variability in meaning (see the November 2005 articles in External links, below). The Department of Homeland Security reportedly has plans to do away with 10-code use as well, in favor of "Plain English".[1]
[edit] List of ten-codes
The following list, given in ascending order and grouped by decade, illustrates the current usage of various ten-codes. Only a handful of them are standardized. Some are fairly consistent, while others (such as 10-40) can have completely different meanings, many of which are not listed here.
Presentation:
- Multiple meanings for the same code are in a bulleted list
- The first bold definition is the current APCO specification.
- Popular alternate meanings follow in bold.
- Less common meanings are in regular typeface
- Meanings specific to CB radio are set in italics.
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-1 |
|
10-2 |
|
10-3 |
|
10-4 |
- message received, affirmative, ok, understood
|
10-5 |
|
10-6 |
|
10-7 |
- out of service
- Ending tour of Duty
|
10-8 |
- Back In Service
- On Duty
- Available for next Call
|
10-9 |
- please repeat your message
|
[edit] 10-10s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-10 |
- out of service, off duty
- Permission to go on common channel (car to car transmission, rather than through dispatch)
- negative
- transmission completed
- Fight In Progress
- welfare check
- Other non-Criminal Event
|
10-11 |
- animal problem
- road-side check
- talking too fast
- alarm call
- en route
|
10-12 |
- standby
- visitors present
- disregard
- call in reports
- at scene
- check revocation
|
10-13 |
- advise weather/road conditions, civilians present and listening
- call-in resume
- Officer in need of assistance
|
10-14 |
- suspicious person or prowler
- convoy or escort
|
10-15 |
- civil disturbance
- prisoner/suspect in custody
- Check if Vehicle Stolen - People in or out rolling/stationary vehicle.
|
10-16 |
- domestic disturbance
- make pickup at ___
- Vehicle Stolen
|
10-17 |
- meet complainant
- pick up papers at ___
- urgent business
- Vehicle Not Stolen
- En Route
|
10-18 |
- urgent
- complete assignment ASAP
- anything for us?
- drunk
|
10-19 |
- return to station
- Returning from Scene
|
[edit] 10-20s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-20 |
- specify location/my location is ___
|
10-21 |
|
10-22 |
- disregard
- report to ___
- send blood technician
|
10-23 |
- arrived at location/on scene
- stand by on this frequency
- status check
- en route to call
- sex offense
|
10-24 |
- assignment completed
- trouble at station
- unit not available
- direct traffic
|
10-25 |
- report to ___
- please contact ___
- do you have contact with person
- come in for traffic
- officer needs help
|
10-26 |
- detaining suspect (implying "please expedite")
- check auto registration
- ETA ___
- disregard last info
- phone residence
|
10-27 |
- drivers license request
- vehicle registration request
- I am moving to channel ___
- any answer
|
10-28 |
- vehicle registration request
- driver's license request
- identify your station
- missing person
|
10-29 |
- arrests/warrants request
- time is up for contact
|
[edit] 10-30s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-30 |
- unauthorized use of radio
- danger/caution
- special check at ___
- juvenile
|
10-31 |
- crime in progress
- domestic disturbance
- check for local warrants
- suspicious person
|
10-32 |
- person with gun
- fight in progress
- radio check
- check NCIC
- DWI test
|
10-33 |
- emergency, all units stand by
- officer needs help
- disturbance at ___
- fire
|
10-34 |
- riot
- frequency open (cancels 10-33)
- help needed
- trouble at jail
- correct time
- meet officer
|
10-35 |
- major crime alert
- confidential information
- suspicious person
|
10-36 |
- correct time of day?
- Confidential information
|
10-37 |
|
10-38 |
- stopping suspicious vehicle
- ambulance needed
- station report satisfactory
- phone communications
- vandalism
|
10-39 |
- run with lights & siren
- your message was delivered
- false alarm, premises were occupied
- contact officer
- disturbance
|
[edit] 10-40s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-40 |
- run silent (no lights & siren)
- false alarm, no activity, premises appears secure
- please tune to channel ___
- expedite
- advise if available
- suspicious person
- dead animal
- mental patient
- lunch
- fight
|
10-41 |
- begin duty
- radio test
- intoxicated person
- debris in street
- neighbor trouble
|
10-42 |
- end duty
- traffic accident at ___
- malicious mischief
- request dispatch times
|
10-43 |
- information
- traffic jam at ___
- request criminal history
- pick up passenger
- armed robbery
- rescue call
|
10-44 |
- permission to leave patrol
- I have a message for you
- transmission received
- rape
- traffic accident (no injury)
|
10-45 |
- animal carcass
- pick up officer
- fatality
- fueling vehicle
- all units in range please report
- coffee break
- traffic accident (injury)
- non-injury accident (Kentucky)
|
10-46 |
- motorist assist
- lunch break
- fuel break
- wrecker
- injury accident (Kentucky)
|
10-47 |
- emergency road repair
- call home
- missing person
- drunk driver
- blood run
- license plate check (Kentucky)
|
10-48 |
- traffic control
- request criminal history
- runaway juvenile
- use caution
|
10-49 |
- traffic light out
- en route to assignment
- bathroom break
- any traffic
- serving warrant
|
[edit] 10-50s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-50 |
- accident Often referred to as a 10-50 PD (Property Damage), a 10-50 PI (Personal Injury), or (rarely) 10-50 F (Fire or Fatality)
- no messages
- break channel
- auto accident with property damage
|
10-51 |
- wrecker needed
- auto accident with injuries
- phone message
|
10-52 |
- ambulance needed
- fatal auto accident
- message for assignment
- alarm
|
10-53 |
- road blocked
- silent alarm
|
10-54 |
- animals on highway
- silent pursuit
- car stop
|
10-55 |
|
10-56 |
- intoxicated pedestrian
- warrant indicated
- arrived at scene
|
10-57 |
- hit & run accident
- narcotics
- officer at pistol range
|
10-58 |
|
10-59 |
- escort or convoy
- out of car checking violation
- ambulance
- bomb threat
|
[edit] 10-60s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-60 |
- squad in vicinity
- traffic stop
- subject negative
- what is next message number?
- coffee break
- assist motorist
- major emergency
- canceled
|
10-61 |
- personnel in vicinity
- subject has record - not wanted
- stand by for CW traffic
- clear of traffic stop
- weather conditions?
- lunch break
|
10-62 |
- reply to message
- subject possibly wanted
- unable to copy, use phone
- check for rising water
- logged on/off
|
10-63 |
- prepare to copy
- subject positive
- make written copy
- net directed to ___
- need barricades
|
10-64 |
- local message
- subject wanted
- message for delivery
- net clear, resume normal traffic
- field investigator
|
10-65 |
- net message assignment
- assist officer re: 10-64
- kidnapping
|
10-66 |
- net message cancellation
- subject in observation category
- bathroom break
|
10-67 |
- clear for next message
- subject is parolee
- prepare to copy
- person calling for help
- all units comply
|
10-68 |
- dispatch message
- subject in charged category
- repeat dispatch
- switch channels
|
10-69 |
- message received
- clear to copy transmission?
- any calls holding for me?
- sniper
|
[edit] 10-70s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-70 |
- fire alarm
- fire
- fire followup
- prowler
- net message
- chemical spill
|
10-71 |
- Proceed with transmission in sequence
|
10-74 |
|
10-76 |
- enroute to location
- fresh coffee
|
10-78 |
- need assistance
- major accident with injury
- request wrecker
|
10-79 |
|
[edit] 10-80s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-80 |
- pursuit in progress
- bomb has exploded
- tower lights out
- on assignment
- demonstration
|
10-81 |
- breathalyzer request
- stop for interrogation
- reserve hotel room
- officer ___ will be at your station
- at vehicle maintenance
- civil disturbance/riot
|
10-82 |
- reserve lodging
- stop for interrogation/arrest
- traffic signal out
- cover assistance
|
10-83 |
- work/school crossing detail
- call station
- units stop transmitting
- at radio shop
- officer in trouble
|
10-84 |
- advise ETA
- checking officer status
- my telephone number is ___
- follow-up
- broken utility main
|
10-85 |
- arrival delay due to ___
- prepare to copy info
- my address is ___
- loose livestock
|
10-86 |
|
10-87 |
|
10-88 |
- advise telephone
- station call
- special assignment
- true alarm
|
10-89 |
- bomb threat
- send radio repair
- officer at academy
|
[edit] 10-90s
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-90 |
- radio repair to be at station
- officer at headquarters
- false alarm
- officer in chief's office
|
10-91 |
- pick up prisoner/suspect
- talk closer to the mike
- prepare your inspection
- vehicle fuel
- bank holdup alarm
|
10-92 |
- parking violation
- your signal is weak
- officer at court
|
10-93 |
- blockage
- please check my frequency
|
10-94 |
|
10-95 |
- prisoner/suspect in custody
- transmit dead carrier for 5 seconds
|
10-96 |
- mental patient
- detain prisoner/suspect
|
10-97 |
- arrived at scene
- test signal
- possible wanted person in vehicle
- known offender
- officer at court
|
10-98 |
- assignment complete
- prison/jail break
- criminal history indicated
- officer at juvenile court
|
10-99 |
- warrants/stolen indicated
- officer needs assistance/held hostage
- mission complete
- bathroom break
|
[edit] 10-100s and up
Code |
Meaning(s) |
10-100 |
|
10-200 |
- police needed
- narcotics, drugs involved
|
10-600 |
|
[edit] Parodies
During the 1970s, some truck drivers and CB radio hobbyists responded to the increased use of ten-codes by the general public by inventing parodies of the ten-code with strictly humorous meanings. The best known were the 13-code [1] and the 18-code [2].
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- 10-4 no more? — By Megan Scott, asap (AP), 25 November 2005
- [3] — The APCO Bulletin, January 1940. The first official publication showing the 10-codes (on page 8).