[Scan-DC] Gov't pushes to end cop code

[Alan Henney]

Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Illinois)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

December 9, 2009 Wednesday

Gov't pushes to end cop code

BYLINE: Greg Olson, Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Ill.

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 715 words

Dec. 9--A renewed push is being made for abandoning the long-standing "10 codes" familiar to police scanner enthusiasts in favor of language everyone can understand.

The change wouldn't come as a surprise to Jacksonville Police captain Brian Coultas.

"I believe in the near future, '10 codes' will be obsolete across the country and police agencies will go to plainspeak," Coultas said. "I think in the long run it will be a good thing for all departments and agencies during critical incidents." 

Police have long used "10 codes" to communicate with one another and dispatchers. The codes were developed in the 1930s, when radio channels were scarce and allowed police to succinctly relay information through a four-digit number rather than clog the airwaves with descriptions.

But problems developed, especially the lack of a universal code. Jacksonville Police, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department and many other agencies use "10 codes" approved by the Association of Public Communications Officers. But the codes can vary from location to location.

For example, a code 10-10 would mean "fight in progress" to a police officer in Jacksonville, but would mean "off duty" to a California Highway Patrol officer and "bad check complaint" in Hilliard, Ohio. Some agencies use "11 codes" and others use "8 codes."

Federal Emergency Management Administration last called for a change in 2005 and now the Department of Homeland Security is making a push.

Coultas acknowledged the problem with "10 codes" might arise when police communications overlap with other jurisdictions.

"When I came on [the Jacksonville Police force] in 1988, if you wanted to use the emergency radio network, which is operated by the state police and covers a wider jurisdiction, you had to use plain speak," Coultas said.

"You couldn't use 10 codes because they weren't universal."

However, Coultas emphasized there is not a problem with radio communications between the Jacksonville police and Morgan County sheriff's departments.

"Officer safety and community safety codes, such as '10-10,' which is a fight, and '10-70,' which is a fire, represent the same thing for the city and the county," Coultas said.

He added that police officers typically only use about 20 of the 100 "10 codes" on a regular basis.

The problem with 10 codes became especially evident during major disasters, such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, just outside Washington, D.C., and in rural Pennsylvania, and police and fire agencies from across the nation rushed to help.

"When they got there, many of them were unable to communicate with each other effectively," said Chris Essid, director of the Office of Emergency Communications for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Many agencies faced the same problem four years later when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Essid said.

Federal officials now require that officers use "plain language" when responding to a crisis involving multiple agencies.

Federal officials are also urging departments to replace their jumble of codes with "plain language" in their day-to-day operations.

Morgan County Sheriff Randy Duvendack said he believes the "10 codes" are useful.

"There are 10 codes that everyone understands," he said. "Some things seem to come out quicker using the codes rather than plain English. And the codes are a way to say something without inflaming certain situations."

In many cases, "being able to communicate quickly and effectively can mean the difference between life and death," Essid said.

Technology also has come a long way since the 1930s, Essid said, noting police and others now have many more ways to communicate, such as computers in patrol cars.

But getting agencies to change a communication system that's been in place nearly 80 years in many places is another matter. "Culture change is never easy," he said.

To see more of Jacksonville Journal-Courier or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.myjournalcourier.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Ill. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints at permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.



LOAD-DATE: December 9, 2009



LANGUAGE: ENGLISH



ACC-NO: 20091209-JJ-Gov-t-pushes-to-end-cop-code-1209



PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper



JOURNAL-CODE: JJ