tuttleje
Member
This article appeared in today's Daily Press:
State police to speak same police language
With a few exceptions, the use of 10-codes by police agencies is gradually fading away.
BY SHAWN DAY
247-4816
November 7, 2006
NEWPORT NEWS -- The Virginia State Police has joined the ranks of law enforcement agencies across the state and country to drop the use of the 10-code communication system in favor of "plain talk" or everyday English.
Wednesday marked the first day for the department's new practice, in which dispatchers and troopers use common language to communicate about crimes in progress, calls for help and other matters. In other words, phrases such as 10-8, the code for clear, or 10-46, the code for disabled vehicle, are no longer used.
The ever-popular - and universal - "10-4," the code used to indicate acknowledgement, is still used, however.
Virginia State Police Maj. Robert Kemmler said the deployment last year of troopers to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina illustrated the advantage of using plain talk over emergency communication lines.
"Their 10-codes didn't match ours," Kemmler said, referring to the local agencies in Mississippi and Louisiana where Virginia troopers helped maintain order.
"We kind of had to come up with, or use, common language on their radio system because they didn't understand what we were talking about."
Across the country, law enforcement and fire agencies are shifting toward plain talk instead of communications code.
The multi-agency response to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, underscored the importance of having a common form of communication among first-responders. Many of the agencies represented at those scenes didn't share a common emergency-response language.
In 2004, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge approved the National Incident Management System. The system calls for streamlining communications and command - and focusing on being prepared, managing resources and coordinating the response involving multiple agencies - during major events.
Those efforts are designed to avoid communication glitches that otherwise could occur when officers speak in codes defined differently by different agencies.
Locally, the state police join police in James City County and Williamsburg and the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office in dropping the use of 10-codes.
The Isle of Wight Sheriff's Office still uses 10-codes but also uses plain talk.
Newport News and Hampton police administrators are weighing whether to drop the codes. Officers in the two departments, however, do use plain talk on a shared radio channel used during incidents that cross city boundaries, Hampton Police Cpl. Paula Hooks said.
The two departments share few common 10-codes.
Newport News officers responding to a 10-90, for example, are responding to a robbery alarm. In Hampton, officers handling a 10-90 are on a bathroom break.
Almost two years after they switched to plain talk, York-Poquoson Sheriff's Capt. Jim Richardson said it's rare for a deputy in his department to use a 10-code.
"It took them some time to get used to," Richardson said, referring to some deputies. "But now that they're doing it, it's second nature.
"For new officers, it's one less thing for them to learn when they're going through field training, learning to file reports, learning the area. They don't have to learn the 10-codes, too."
The use of plain talk on an everyday basis also will reduce the risk of an officer or other first-responder being injured, said Chris Essid.
As the Commonwealth Interoperability Coordinator, Essid focuses on improving communications across jurisdictions statewide.
He described a situation in which a Maryland state trooper radioed a report of a car crash to a local agency's dispatcher. But the 10-code the trooper used, Essid said, didn't hold the same meaning for the local dispatcher who took the call. In her jurisdiction, the code used by the trooper represented an officer in need of help.
She asked the trooper to repeat the call, but he didn't respond.
The dispatcher sent several local officers to the trooper's location and found him working the crash, Essid said.
Using different codes "could really create a serious situation where someone could get hurt," he said.
No timeline has been established for all departments across the state to abandon speaking in code, Essid said.
"It'll take a little while, but I don't foresee it taking too long. It's going to make us better prepared," he said. He added that most agencies will retain a handful of universal codes to communicate about sensitive topics, such as identifying a fugitive.
"Different codes won't hamper communications anymore," he said. "We'll have taken that off the table."
State police to speak same police language
With a few exceptions, the use of 10-codes by police agencies is gradually fading away.
BY SHAWN DAY
247-4816
November 7, 2006
NEWPORT NEWS -- The Virginia State Police has joined the ranks of law enforcement agencies across the state and country to drop the use of the 10-code communication system in favor of "plain talk" or everyday English.
Wednesday marked the first day for the department's new practice, in which dispatchers and troopers use common language to communicate about crimes in progress, calls for help and other matters. In other words, phrases such as 10-8, the code for clear, or 10-46, the code for disabled vehicle, are no longer used.
The ever-popular - and universal - "10-4," the code used to indicate acknowledgement, is still used, however.
Virginia State Police Maj. Robert Kemmler said the deployment last year of troopers to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina illustrated the advantage of using plain talk over emergency communication lines.
"Their 10-codes didn't match ours," Kemmler said, referring to the local agencies in Mississippi and Louisiana where Virginia troopers helped maintain order.
"We kind of had to come up with, or use, common language on their radio system because they didn't understand what we were talking about."
Across the country, law enforcement and fire agencies are shifting toward plain talk instead of communications code.
The multi-agency response to New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, underscored the importance of having a common form of communication among first-responders. Many of the agencies represented at those scenes didn't share a common emergency-response language.
In 2004, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge approved the National Incident Management System. The system calls for streamlining communications and command - and focusing on being prepared, managing resources and coordinating the response involving multiple agencies - during major events.
Those efforts are designed to avoid communication glitches that otherwise could occur when officers speak in codes defined differently by different agencies.
Locally, the state police join police in James City County and Williamsburg and the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office in dropping the use of 10-codes.
The Isle of Wight Sheriff's Office still uses 10-codes but also uses plain talk.
Newport News and Hampton police administrators are weighing whether to drop the codes. Officers in the two departments, however, do use plain talk on a shared radio channel used during incidents that cross city boundaries, Hampton Police Cpl. Paula Hooks said.
The two departments share few common 10-codes.
Newport News officers responding to a 10-90, for example, are responding to a robbery alarm. In Hampton, officers handling a 10-90 are on a bathroom break.
Almost two years after they switched to plain talk, York-Poquoson Sheriff's Capt. Jim Richardson said it's rare for a deputy in his department to use a 10-code.
"It took them some time to get used to," Richardson said, referring to some deputies. "But now that they're doing it, it's second nature.
"For new officers, it's one less thing for them to learn when they're going through field training, learning to file reports, learning the area. They don't have to learn the 10-codes, too."
The use of plain talk on an everyday basis also will reduce the risk of an officer or other first-responder being injured, said Chris Essid.
As the Commonwealth Interoperability Coordinator, Essid focuses on improving communications across jurisdictions statewide.
He described a situation in which a Maryland state trooper radioed a report of a car crash to a local agency's dispatcher. But the 10-code the trooper used, Essid said, didn't hold the same meaning for the local dispatcher who took the call. In her jurisdiction, the code used by the trooper represented an officer in need of help.
She asked the trooper to repeat the call, but he didn't respond.
The dispatcher sent several local officers to the trooper's location and found him working the crash, Essid said.
Using different codes "could really create a serious situation where someone could get hurt," he said.
No timeline has been established for all departments across the state to abandon speaking in code, Essid said.
"It'll take a little while, but I don't foresee it taking too long. It's going to make us better prepared," he said. He added that most agencies will retain a handful of universal codes to communicate about sensitive topics, such as identifying a fugitive.
"Different codes won't hamper communications anymore," he said. "We'll have taken that off the table."
