Codes and Lingo
Introduction
Due to the nature of emergency services and 2-way radio communications, most agencies have adopted specific codes to identify calling parties, statuses, incidents, and various situations. It's not always easy to pick up on the style of communications and radio lingo - it takes time and experience to piece things together quickly.
We've included some basic radio procedure for the local agencies on this page. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the radio communication protocols, if you hear a term that you are unfamiliar with, you may wish to check the glossary to see if it is defined there.
If you notice that any of this information is out of date or incorrect, please let us know by sending us a note on our contact page. Thanks!
Phonetics
Due to static and less-than-perfect transmission conditions, most spellings done over radio are done phonetically - in other words, a standardized word is said in place of each letter. For example, if a unit were calling in a person with the last name of "Smith", it would usually be transmitted as "Sam Mary Ida Tom Henry". Law enforcement phonetics are generally different from military and amateur radio phonetics.
Standard Law Enforcement Phonetic Alphabet:
| A | Adam | N | Nora | |
| B | Boy or Baker | O | Ocean | |
| C | Charlie | P | Paul | |
| D | David | Q | Queen | |
| E | Edward | R | Robert | |
| F | Frank | S | Sam | |
| G | George | T | Tom | |
| H | Henry | U | Union | |
| I | Ida | V | Victor | |
| J | John | W | William | |
| K | King | X | X-ray | |
| L | Lincoln | Y | Young or Yellow | |
| M | Mary | Z | Zebra |
Unit Designators
Unit designators are generally used to determine the type of police unit calling into dispatch (and can determine officer rank, vehicle type, special assignment, or other special notations. The designator precedes the unit's ID number. If the designator itself is preceded by a number (such as 1-Adam-85), that number indicates the patrol area (beat) for the officer.
Please note that several of these are incredibly out of date and haven't been used since 2012-2013 for many agencies.
| Designator ID | Unit Type | |
| A-Adam | Standard patrol unit | |
| B-Baker | Bicycle unit | |
| C-Charlie | Corporal unit | |
| D-David | Detective unit | |
| K-King | K9 unit | |
| M-Mary | Motorcycle traffic patrol unit | |
| O-Ocean | Off-duty officer | |
| P-Paul | Patrol Support/Community Service Officer unit | |
| S-Sam | Sergeant unit | |
| T-Tom | Traffic patrol unit | |
| Z-Zebra | Command staff |
| Designator ID | Unit Type | |
| A | Command staff | |
| BLM | BLM property enforcement unit | |
| C | Civil service unit | |
| L | Standard deputy patrol unit | |
| K9 | K9 unit | |
| X | Corporal/Sergeant unit |
Status, Disposition, and Informational Codes
Status, disposition, and other informational codes are often used to quickly convey information over the radio. Grants Pass Public Safety and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office both use mostly plain-text radio communications with the exception of a small number of status/info codes. OSP utilizes 12-code for most communications as well as numerous disposition codes when clearing calls.
Grants Pass Police and Josephine County Sheriff
| Code | Description |
| Code 1 | Proceed at your convenience, no lights/siren |
| Code 2 | Proceed immediately, lights/siren only when necessary through traffic |
| Code 3 | Proceed immediately, full lights/siren - often just referred to as "code" |
| Code 4 | Situation is "under control" - no further assistance is necessary |
| Code 5 | Subject is a potential hazard to law enforcement, has an outstanding warrant, or is a potential flight risk |
| Code 5M | Code 5 subject, with a misdemeanor warrant; "Code 5 Mary" or "Code 5 M-Mary" |
| Code 5F | Code 5 subject, with a felony warrant; "Code 5 Frank" or "Code 5 F-Frank" |
| Code 6 | Investigating situation/call, usually out of vehicle |
| Code 7 | Meal break |
| Code 7A | Meal break at home |
| Code 10 | Keep radio clear unless emergency - silence of radio is a necessity for the situation |
OSP Status/Information Codes (12-code)
| Code | Description | |
| 12-1 | Unit in service | |
| 12-2 | Unit out of service | |
| 12-3 | Return to office | |
| 12-4 | Call (office, other) by phone | |
| 12-5 | Readvise message | |
| 12-6 | Contact address or complainant information | |
| 12-7 | DMV registration check | |
| 12-8 | DMV registration and RO check | |
| 12-9 | PUC status check | |
| 12-10 | Operator's license check | |
| 12-10A | No valid operator's license | |
| 12-11 | Advise descriptors from operator's license | |
| 12-12 | Unable to copy; change location | |
| 12-13 | Stations and/or cars called, prepare to write | |
| 12-14 | Relay following to station | |
| 12-15 | Locate for emergency message | |
| 12-16 | Motor Vehicle Accident (general) | |
| 12-16A | MVA, fatal | |
| 12-16B | MVA, injury, no ambulance | |
| 12-17 | MVA, ambulance dispatched | |
| 12-18 | Dispatch ambulance | |
| 12-19 | Dispatch tow vehicle | |
| 12-20 | Check priors, record, wants, stolen | |
| 12-20A | Sensitive info - can subject hear radio? | |
| 12-21 | No records/priors and no wants | |
| 12-22 | No wants, prior misdemeanor record | |
| 12-23 | No wants, prior felony record | |
| 12-24A | Subject wanted - felony | |
| 12-24B | Subject wanted - misdemeanor | |
| 12-25 | Similar subject record, additional info required | |
| 12-26 | Base station going out of service | |
| 12-27 | Call by radio on arrival at office | |
| 12-28 | Suspicious person | |
| 12-29 | Disturbance | |
| 12-30 | Reckless driver | |
| 12-31 | Intoxicated driver | |
| 12-32 | Intoxicated person | |
| 12-33 | Emergency - all stations/cars remain silent | |
| 12-34 | Resume normal operations/radio traffic | |
| 12-35 | Abandoned motor vehicle | |
| 12-36 | Fish and Game violation | |
| 12-37 | Advise road and weather vicinity | |
| 12-38 | Change radio frequency | |
| 12-39 | Attention all stations | |
| 12-40 | Standby, busy | |
| 12-41 | Go ahead with radio transmission | |
| 12-42 | No traffic | |
| 12-43 | Disregard previous transmission | |
| 12-44 | Accident or spill - hazardous materials | |
| 12-45 | Burgular alarm | |
| 12-46 | Advise telephone number of station | |
| 12-47 | Computer files temporarily not available | |
| 12-48 | Computer files now available | |
| 12-49 | Death investigation | |
| 12-49A | Possible homocide | |
| 12-50 | Message not radio traffic, handle by phone | |
| 12-51 | Sex offender | |
| 12-52 | Radio technicians enroute to your station | |
| 12-53 | Utility power out - using emergency power | |
| 12-54 | Testing station, desire report of voice quality | |
| 12-55 | Transmit an equipment test, count 1 to 5 | |
| 12-56 | No help immediately available | |
| 12-57 | Disabled motorist | |
| 12-58 | Narcotic activity | |
| 12-59 | Late return - advise my residence | |
| 12-65 | Roll call for all units | |
| 12-88 | Off duty | |
| 12-94 | All clear - no assistance needed | |
| 12-96 | Vehicle stop - location and license | |
| 12-97 | Radio check | |
| 12-98 | Officer needs help - non-emergency | |
| 12-99 | Officer needs help - emergency |
OSP Disposition Codes
| Code | Description | |
| 1 | No action taken | |
| 2 | Traffic citation issued | |
| 3 | Traffic warning issued | |
| 4 | Lodged in jail | |
| 5 | Report taken | |
| 6 | No report taken | |
| 7 | Log in daily report | |
| 8 | Unable to locate/Gone on arrival | |
| 9 | Field identification report | |
| 10 | Unfounded | |
| 11 | Referred to outside agency | |
| 12 | Recontact - case continuing | |
| 13 | Civil matter - no action | |
| 14 | No patrol available | |
| 15 | Follow up | |
| 16 | Information obtained | |
| 17 | Truck inspection | |
| 18 | Cite and release | |
| 19 | Miscellaneous | |
| 20 | ODOT advised | |
| 2A | 55MPH citation | |
| 2B | 65MPH citation | |
| 2C | Seatbelt citation | |
| 2D | Child seatbelt citation | |
| 3A | Seatbelt warning | |
| 4A | DUII arrest - State highway | |
| 4B | DUII arrest - other highway |