Adam, Baker, Zebra,...

[MichMar]

What do these mean/refer to? I know they're cars/units, but is "Adam" always the same car/officers, etc.? Our sheriff dept seems to use these a lot.

 

[bigbluemsp]

They are usualy beat assignments.

 

[BazookaJoe]

You're talking about Holland PD, right? I hear about Adam, Baker, Charlie, Tom, Union, and Zebra a lot. I've heard the occasional Victor, Robert (and maybe Frank if memory serves), but mostly in the more odd or severe emergencies. If I were to guess, I would say that Toms are the traffic units.

 

[Noah]

In this region, most use the standard police phonetic alphabet with some slight variations, but their meaning as unit designators varies by agency. For example, Ingham County Sheriff:
Adam = One man car
Boston = Two man car
Charlie = Command
David = Detective
Edward = Emergency Services

But, neighboring Eaton County Sheriff:
Adam = Delta Twp day shift (or out-county traffic)
Boston/David = Delta Twp split shifts
Charles = Delta Twp afternoon traffic
Edward = Delta Twp night shift

Also, Eaton County EMS uses the military alphabet instead:
Alpha = Advanced Life Support
Bravo = Basic Life Support
etc.

 

[swanked]

Right as to Tom being traffic unit for Holland PD:

Used to be, and I believe this is still accurate:

Adam, Baker, or Charlie designated area: west side, south side, east side patrols.
The following numbers indicated shift: 10s were first shift (day); 20s are 2d shift; 30s are 3d shift
Tom = traffic officers
Union = ev. tech
Zebra = sgt. who is shift supervisor
Frank = I think that was downtown foot patrol? if good weather?
Victors may be detective units...

 

[MichMar]

Thanks for the info!