[Scan-DC] Article on Police jargon

[Alan Henney]

The San Diego Union Tribune 

LOCAL; B; Pg. 2 

Public Safety Notebook 

July 13, 2017 Thursday 
  Final Edition 

"I gunned him down!" 

In a detective novel - and around most local police agencies - the phrase suggests that a call to the coroner is next. 

Among Oceanside police, for decades the expression has had a far-less dramatic meaning: The officer merely has ordered a suspect to the ground at gunpoint. 

Police jargon, heard over scanners that pick up police radio frequencies, can be confusing or amusing. Like most professions and trades, law enforcement has its own language. Some agencies also create their own dialects. 

The phrase "gunned him down" is an example. Oceanside appears unique in the county with its interpretation. 

"It's almost extinct, but you still hear it once in a while," said Oceanside police Lt. Dan Sullivan. "Or, you hear, 'I gunned him out of the car.' " 

To San Diego police Officer Mark Herring, "that means 'shot him.' We would say, 'I have one at gunpoint.' " 

Now that police frequency scanners are available as smartphone apps, it seems that more civilians are listening, authorities said. La Mesa police Lt. Vince Brown said when he was a detective sergeant, he knew of robbers who listened to police transmissions to figure out where the officers were. 

Thanks to TV shows dating back to "Dragnet" and "Adam 12," most civilians understand that "Code 4" means everything is under control, and "Code 3" means get there fast with lights and sirens on. 

California penal code sections also are used, such as homicide - a 187, robbery - a 211 and burglary - a 459. 

"It was designed to reduce radio traffic," said Brown of the long-standing tradition for using "10-codes" for real phrases, like "10-8" for being in service, available for assignment. There are also "11 codes," such as "11-41" for ambulance and "11-10" for take a report. 

Even here is some confusion. Brown said the county law enforcement protocol dictates that "10-88" means an officer would like backup soon, but not urgently. Some officers, though, will race Code 3 if they hear a "10-88" request for cover. Or they may specify that they want "cover now, Code 3." 

"That's not correct," Brown said, adding that "cover now" always means "now!" 

California Highway Patrol Officer Jake Sanchez noted an oddity he couldn't explain: While his colleagues refer to a prisoner as a "10-15," other police say "10-16." 

Another CHP favorite is to announce that a suspect who ran from his car "took footbail." And if a CHP officer is "behind a possible," that means a possible drunken driver. 

"Sometimes we're trying to say things that not everybody else understands," Sanchez said. "I'm sure more people are listening (to scanners). If they knew what they were listening to, that might make a difference." 

If you read the story carefully, that headline should make sense now. 

pauline.repard at sduniontribune.com