Police codes and terminology

I've found that codes vary from place to place. I had an editor tell me I had the code wrong in a short story (and he happened to be a cop in real life) but it was right for the city I had set the story in. His city (on the opposite coast of the US) used different codes.

Brindle Chase said:

So I was researching police terminology for a WIP and was specifically looking for what the police might dub "first on scene" or the first officer to arrive at a crime scene... but couldnt find it... but I did find this link which might be helpful to anyone doing police dialogue... thought I'd share =)


http://www.police-central.com/police-codes.htm

Click to expand...

Great resource - thanks!

These codes were discussed before in this thread:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8515

I would not rely on those codes. Each police department uses its own set of codes. The list of crime/incident codes at the bottom, look like they come from the California Criminal Code, and obviously wouldn't apply in other states.
The standard acknowledgment that you received a transmission and will carry out the instructions for 90% of police departments is 10-4, the old CB acknowledgment.

If you are using a real municipality in your story, I'd advise you to contact the police/sheriff's department and ask them for a copy of the codes they use. They may, or may not provide them, cops can be paranoid, ya know.