IC codes

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IC codes are shorthand terms used by the British police in radio communications to describe the apparent ethnicity of a suspect. The codes are based on a police officer's perceived view of an individual's ethnicity, as opposed to that individual's self-definition.

In most circumstances where an individual's ethnicity is recorded after spoken contact with police (such as a "Stop and Search" or arrest), police are required to use a different set of codes called SDE (Self Defined Ethnicity), or "16 + 1".

The IC codes are:

• IC1 – White European
• IC2 – Dark European
• IC3 – Afro-Caribbean
• IC4 – Asian (in the British sense - ie Indian or Pakistani)
• IC5 – Oriental
• IC6 – Arab/North African
• IC0 – Unknown ethnicity

Some forces use IC7 as unknown ethnicity.

"IC" itself stands for "Identity Code", so "IC code" is a tautology though still commonly used. The codes are also known as PNC / Phoenix Codes.

[edit] See also

• Self Defined Ethnicity

[edit] References

• Mackie, Lindsay: Race causes an initial confusion, The Guardian, 14 June 1978.
• Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate: Ethnic monitoring in police forces: A beginning
• Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate: Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System - 2004