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Radio
Etiquette
Etiquette
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When I began my police career in 1971, the police radio was just
beginning to attain some sophistication. Only a few years before,
Baltimore foot patrol officers walked their posts (beats) without the aid
of two-way radio communication. When an officer made an arrest, he
had to walk that person to the nearest call box to call for the wagon.
(The call box was a cast iron locked box attached to a utility pole with a
telephone inside.)
While I had the benefit of having a walkie-talkie when I did foot patrol,
I still could not communicate with the radio cars which were on a
different radio band. On a really busy night, it could get pretty difficult
to get the attention of the dispatcher who was busy dispatching for three
districts, where the radio cars all shared one channel, plus any foot
patrolmen assigned to him on the walkie-talkie channels.
Things have improved dramatically over the years; however, operating a
police communications system can still be a daunting task. Obviously,
the bigger a police department is, the more difficult it is to maintain an
efficient communications system. Following any incident of catastrophic
proportions, such as the attacks of 9-11, you’ll hear the politicians and
media decry the lack of communication among emergency response
personnel, i.e. police, fire, paramedics, and just about anyone else who
shows up. While the media can be forgiven their lack of expertise about
anything, the pandering politicians are the people ultimately responsible
for the level of sophistication of any communications system(s) for
emergency responses.
Technologically…just about anything is doable. However, when it comes
to police radio communication, your radio etiquette is the key factor in
maximizing safety and efficiency considerations…no matter how
sophisticated your communications system may be. Whether you have
a radio with only one channel or twenty, only one person can talk at one
time on any channel.
Keep it short and to the point. While some police officers love to adhere
to the keep it short philosophy when it comes to writing reports, they
don’t apply that same standard when it comes to talking on the radio.
No matter how much training you receive regarding radio etiquette,
they’ll be some police officers who’ll never come to understand that
nobody’s interested in their redundant verbal narratives via the radio.
Every police department has a 10 Code for the purpose of identifying
particular circumstances and activities. For example, let’s say that 10-
32 means sufficient units are on the scene. You’re on patrol when an
officer in your sector calls for help. The officer’s transmission is
stressed, and it’s obvious that the officer is involved in some kind of
physical struggle. There’s going to be response by nearby officers and
by officers who are not nearby. There’s going to be a lot of radio traffic
with the dispatcher identifying response units.
You’re the second officer to arrive at the scene where you observe the
original officer, who called for help, and the first back-up officer affixing
handcuffs to a suspect. Your first responsibility is to assess the
situation for the need of any further assistance. You never
know…there might be some circumstance that would require additional
officers to respond. In this instance, everything is over, and the suspect
is in custody.
Unless there’s another emergency in progress, the dispatcher is going to
keep the air clear; until, this emergency is resolved. The simplest way
for you to end the emergency response of other units is to key your
microphone and state your call number, the 10 code and location,
e.g. “…ten thirty-two Harford and Broadway.” The dispatcher will
acknowledge and repeat the 10-32 to make certain all responding units
are aware that the emergency is resolved.
I chose the 10-32, because any emergency response by police officers is
serious. While officers will continue to respond, particularly when
another officer calls for help, their response won’t continue at a break-
neck pace.
It’s extremely important for you to always monitor your radio no matter
what you’re doing. Trust me; there will be times when the dispatcher
will smack you down for getting on the air at the wrong time.
Let’s say you’re inside a hospital emergency room, or some other
location, where the structure affects your radio reception. You miss the
call in the example I described. You’ve finished your call, and you walk
outside where you notice that the radio is clear giving you the
opportunity to call back into service. Your transmission is met with the
dispatcher’s short and abrupt command to stay off the air until the
officer assist call is cleared. Now…even though you did nothing wrong
intentionally, you’re going to feel a little stupid, but that’s just the way
it goes. Here’s the real kicker. In a similar situation, you’re going to
see…er, hear…an officer who will feel the need to go back on the radio
to provide an explanation why he or she interrupted the imposed silence
in the first place.
While communications technology has been advancing for a long time,
you’re beginning your career at a time when the speed of that
advancement is mind boggling. Some of the advancements are great for
law enforcement while others are just a waste of time and taxpayers’
money. When it comes to waste, I like the one about everybody talking
to everybody. During my career, I never had the need to talk over the
radio with a firefighter or a paramedic. Think about it this way. If
everybody could talk to everybody, more confusion would be created
than prevented. While there absolutely should be a system and
procedure in place for communication among different emergency
response agencies and units, that procedure must be more refined than
an everybody to everybody free for all.
It all comes back to radio etiquette and a solid and efficient
communications structure and systems. It’s a lot of new technology
with the same old story…too many people at the top think that the
more complicated and expensive the technology, fewer people will be
needed to operate and maintain that technology. When this philosophy
takes hold in a police department, it breeds a lot of confusion.
In my view, the biggest contributor to good police radio etiquette is the
cell phone. The cell phone technology only gets better and cheaper with
time. You may well join a police department where you’ll be issued a
cell phone as part of your basic equipment. Sure…there will be police
officers who abuse the privilege of cell phones with unauthorized usage,
but such abuse can be tracked and controlled. The real benefit will be in
keeping a lot of superfluous communication off the radio.
Always remember that your radio is, first and foremost, a life line.
Safety is, as it should be, the number one priority for having radio
communication in the first place. Every other use of the police radio is
simply mere convenience.
beginning to attain some sophistication. Only a few years before,
Baltimore foot patrol officers walked their posts (beats) without the aid
of two-way radio communication. When an officer made an arrest, he
had to walk that person to the nearest call box to call for the wagon.
(The call box was a cast iron locked box attached to a utility pole with a
telephone inside.)
While I had the benefit of having a walkie-talkie when I did foot patrol,
I still could not communicate with the radio cars which were on a
different radio band. On a really busy night, it could get pretty difficult
to get the attention of the dispatcher who was busy dispatching for three
districts, where the radio cars all shared one channel, plus any foot
patrolmen assigned to him on the walkie-talkie channels.
Things have improved dramatically over the years; however, operating a
police communications system can still be a daunting task. Obviously,
the bigger a police department is, the more difficult it is to maintain an
efficient communications system. Following any incident of catastrophic
proportions, such as the attacks of 9-11, you’ll hear the politicians and
media decry the lack of communication among emergency response
personnel, i.e. police, fire, paramedics, and just about anyone else who
shows up. While the media can be forgiven their lack of expertise about
anything, the pandering politicians are the people ultimately responsible
for the level of sophistication of any communications system(s) for
emergency responses.
Technologically…just about anything is doable. However, when it comes
to police radio communication, your radio etiquette is the key factor in
maximizing safety and efficiency considerations…no matter how
sophisticated your communications system may be. Whether you have
a radio with only one channel or twenty, only one person can talk at one
time on any channel.
Keep it short and to the point. While some police officers love to adhere
to the keep it short philosophy when it comes to writing reports, they
don’t apply that same standard when it comes to talking on the radio.
No matter how much training you receive regarding radio etiquette,
they’ll be some police officers who’ll never come to understand that
nobody’s interested in their redundant verbal narratives via the radio.
Every police department has a 10 Code for the purpose of identifying
particular circumstances and activities. For example, let’s say that 10-
32 means sufficient units are on the scene. You’re on patrol when an
officer in your sector calls for help. The officer’s transmission is
stressed, and it’s obvious that the officer is involved in some kind of
physical struggle. There’s going to be response by nearby officers and
by officers who are not nearby. There’s going to be a lot of radio traffic
with the dispatcher identifying response units.
You’re the second officer to arrive at the scene where you observe the
original officer, who called for help, and the first back-up officer affixing
handcuffs to a suspect. Your first responsibility is to assess the
situation for the need of any further assistance. You never
know…there might be some circumstance that would require additional
officers to respond. In this instance, everything is over, and the suspect
is in custody.
Unless there’s another emergency in progress, the dispatcher is going to
keep the air clear; until, this emergency is resolved. The simplest way
for you to end the emergency response of other units is to key your
microphone and state your call number, the 10 code and location,
e.g. “…ten thirty-two Harford and Broadway.” The dispatcher will
acknowledge and repeat the 10-32 to make certain all responding units
are aware that the emergency is resolved.
I chose the 10-32, because any emergency response by police officers is
serious. While officers will continue to respond, particularly when
another officer calls for help, their response won’t continue at a break-
neck pace.
It’s extremely important for you to always monitor your radio no matter
what you’re doing. Trust me; there will be times when the dispatcher
will smack you down for getting on the air at the wrong time.
Let’s say you’re inside a hospital emergency room, or some other
location, where the structure affects your radio reception. You miss the
call in the example I described. You’ve finished your call, and you walk
outside where you notice that the radio is clear giving you the
opportunity to call back into service. Your transmission is met with the
dispatcher’s short and abrupt command to stay off the air until the
officer assist call is cleared. Now…even though you did nothing wrong
intentionally, you’re going to feel a little stupid, but that’s just the way
it goes. Here’s the real kicker. In a similar situation, you’re going to
see…er, hear…an officer who will feel the need to go back on the radio
to provide an explanation why he or she interrupted the imposed silence
in the first place.
While communications technology has been advancing for a long time,
you’re beginning your career at a time when the speed of that
advancement is mind boggling. Some of the advancements are great for
law enforcement while others are just a waste of time and taxpayers’
money. When it comes to waste, I like the one about everybody talking
to everybody. During my career, I never had the need to talk over the
radio with a firefighter or a paramedic. Think about it this way. If
everybody could talk to everybody, more confusion would be created
than prevented. While there absolutely should be a system and
procedure in place for communication among different emergency
response agencies and units, that procedure must be more refined than
an everybody to everybody free for all.
It all comes back to radio etiquette and a solid and efficient
communications structure and systems. It’s a lot of new technology
with the same old story…too many people at the top think that the
more complicated and expensive the technology, fewer people will be
needed to operate and maintain that technology. When this philosophy
takes hold in a police department, it breeds a lot of confusion.
In my view, the biggest contributor to good police radio etiquette is the
cell phone. The cell phone technology only gets better and cheaper with
time. You may well join a police department where you’ll be issued a
cell phone as part of your basic equipment. Sure…there will be police
officers who abuse the privilege of cell phones with unauthorized usage,
but such abuse can be tracked and controlled. The real benefit will be in
keeping a lot of superfluous communication off the radio.
Always remember that your radio is, first and foremost, a life line.
Safety is, as it should be, the number one priority for having radio
communication in the first place. Every other use of the police radio is
simply mere convenience.
| …your radio etiquette is the key factor |
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