Haha thanks! I took this picture a couple of days ago in Avila Beach... it was 73º or so
Anyway - how about some more CHP unit designators? I was actually wanting to start this thread a few nights ago when I heard one I didnt know.
I also have a question on unit number. For example local SLO station is Station 28 - heavily focused around the highway 101. An often used unit designator is 28-101. Coincidence with the highway? Maybe, but then there is a 28-404.
Templeton, Station 9 - has a 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-4. Sometimes they have a 9-4B, Boy indicator meaning doubled up I believe with another officer. Sometimes when there is a 9-4, there is a 9-14 - but not any in the middle there, does making the 4 a 14 (or a 3 a 13, etc) have any meaning? Also sometimes there wil be for example a 9-4X - whats the Xray indicator? Not a female officer.
I have more, Ill save them for later
Lets see if I can tackle a couple of these...my experience is based upon Inland and Valley Divisions specifically, but also with monitoring other divisions while traveling.
The first 1,2, or 3 numbers will be the area office (Auburn - 45; Barstow - 73, Morongo Basin - 106, SLO - 28). The second set of numbers will be the beat or area(usually), or the officer designator (less often).
CHP uses two beat systems: Line Beats, and Area Beats. Line beats generally are specific to a highway, usually freeways. Area Beats are "surface street" areas, and are exactly that, areas rather than "lines" (highway-specific).
Example: Barstow: Line beats for I-15 start at Wild Wash with '70', and run to '75' at the top of the Baker Grade. 76, 77, and 78 are officer-specfic numbers for the resident officers at Mountain Pass, but those numbers reflect the line beats in their area. Line Beats for I-40 start at '41' at the 15/40 split, and run out to '47' where they meet with Needles' beat. The most commonly staffed beats are 70, 73, 74, 75, 43, and 47. The beat officers may physically be responsible for more than just their single beat, but the numbers don't reflect that. I don't remember what their surface beats are called (haven't worked there in 13 years). Their graveyard cars (back then) were just a line beat number with an "G" at the end (73-75G, 73-43G).
Morongo Basin used to use '1' through '5' and '11' through '51'. One was an area beat system and the other was a line beat system for SR62 (not a freeway), but I don't remember which was which.
For Valley Division, specifically Auburn Office: I-80 line beats start with 281 at Sac County line, and run to 283 just south of Colfax where Gold Run takes over. SR65 line beats are 265 and 267. SR 49 line beat is 249. Their area beats are all two digit, specfically 20, which is the south Placer County car, covering Granite Bay, Loomis, and the west side of Folsom Lane. Not sure the other area beat numbers (they usually aren't staffed). The graveyard units are line beats with an "X" at the end, usually 45-281X.
In Golden Gate Division, Solano office uses I-80 line beat numbers starting at '80' or 81' at the west end of their boundary, and ending at '88' in Davis where they meet Valley Division. I don't know their other beats (I travel to Napa regularly, so I only listen to Solano).
The beat numbers are not consistent across the state, and I don't know whether they are selected at the Office level, Division level, or State level. Some offices (like Auburn) reflect the highway numbers in the line beat designators, but some offices do not.
CHP Statewide policy requires graveyard cars to be two-person cars (I think after 2200, but that may vary by office). Most offices outside the major metro areas will only field one or two graveyard cars to cover everything; back in the days when I was actively working with CHP, the only offices who were authorized an on-duty graveyard unit were offices with a freeway in the area. That may have changed since then; I'm not sure. I know Grass Valley fields a graveyard unit (usually 42-X), but they also have a couple sections of Hwy 49 that is 'freeway', so I don't know if that is still a criteria or not.
King units are K-9's. They are a Division resource, so they will carry the Division name and an officer-specific number (Valley King 3, usually just spoken as King 3 unless outside his primary division). Other Division numbers can be anything at the Division-level, such as Auto Theft, PAO's, some Divisions have commercial officers using Division callsigns, etc.
A 'B' after a beat number will indicate a second unit in that beat...usually in congested areas. (45-281 and 45-281B...both units assigned to the 281 beat). An 'M' after the beat indicates a motor unit. A 'D' used to indicate an Office special detail officer, such as a PAO (public affairs officer), a VIN officer, or other "office" assignments at the Office-level. Don't know if that is still accurate.
I hope this helps, and I apologize in advance if any of my information is either outdated or inaccurate...it's been quite a few years since I actively used the CHP radio system. I still monitor them, but I don't have the personal contacts anymore. If anyone can correct my mistakes or expound on my post, it will be greatly appreciated.