LAPD phonetic alphabet
Encyclopedia
The LAPD phonetic alphabet is a spelling alphabet
, similar to the ICAO spelling alphabet, that is used by the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD) and other local and state law enforcement agencies
across the state of California
and elsewhere in the United States. It is the 'over the air' communication used for properly understanding a broadcast of letters in the form of easily understood words. It is not a phonetic alphabet in the sense of a system for transcribing speech sounds, for which see the phonetic alphabet disambiguation page
and phonetic notation.
developed its own phonetic alphabet
for relaying precise word spellings. For example, the license plate "8QXG518" might be read by a civilian as "eight cue ex jee five eighteen" but with accuracy being paramount, the police dispatcher would voice it as "eight queen x-ray george five one eight." Despite the development in 1941 of the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet
and its replacement, circa 1956, by the NATO phonetic alphabet (currently used by U.S. military, civil aviation, telecommunications, and some law enforcement agencies), the LAPD and other law enforcement and emergency service agencies throughout the United States
continue to use it.
The LAPD phonetic alphabet is also known as the APCO
phonetic alphabet, named after the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) http://www.apcointl.org, which was responsible for making the LAPD alphabet known and adopted by other law enforcement agencies in the US.
from the television
series with that same title is believed to have come from this alphabet. To the present, the LAPD calls its basic two-man patrol car an "A" unit - and the letter "A" is spoken as "Adam" in the phonetic alphabet. So 1-Adam-12 translates to the Adam unit assigned to Beat 12 in Division One [LAPD Central Division].
In the television show CHiPs
, motorcycle units were identified with the letter M, such as 7M4 (Seven Mary Four) for officer Frank Poncherello.
Also, since many police, fire department, and rescue squad TV programs and movies are set in Los Angeles
, the words of the LAPD phonetic alphabet have become familiar in the United States, Canada
and English-speaking countries around the world. - due to the wide reach of American entertainment media.
On early seasons of Wheel of Fortune, a close variant of the LAPD phonetic alphabet was used.
There are several local variations of this system in use. The California Highway Patrol
, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
, San Jose Police Department and the San Francisco Police Department
, along with other agencies across the West Coast
and Southwestern United States
, as well as the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department use versions that either map the letter "Y" to "Yellow" and other agencies' versions map the letter "B" to "Baker" or "Bravo" or use variations that include mapping the letter "N" to "Nancy" instead of "Nora" or mapping the letter "Y" to "Yesterday."
The use of the word "Ocean" seems to be advantageous in the radio communication of the letter "O" because it begins with the long, clear vowel "O". The phonetic words "Ida" and "Union" feature this same advantage.
However, phonetic alphabets seem to rarely use initial long vowels. With the exception of "Uniform", none of the initial vowels in the NATO alphabet are like this.
In an earlier U.S. military alphabet, "A" was indicated by "Able", which does start with a long "A", but has since been changed to Alpha.
Spelling alphabet
A spelling alphabet, radio alphabet, or telephone alphabet is a set of words which are used to stand for the letters of an alphabet. Each word in the spelling alphabet typically replaces the name of the letter with which it starts...
, similar to the ICAO spelling alphabet, that is used by the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(LAPD) and other local and state law enforcement agencies
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
across the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and elsewhere in the United States. It is the 'over the air' communication used for properly understanding a broadcast of letters in the form of easily understood words. It is not a phonetic alphabet in the sense of a system for transcribing speech sounds, for which see the phonetic alphabet disambiguation page
Phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet can mean:* phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing.** International Phonetic Alphabet : the most widespread such system...
and phonetic notation.
History
At some point in the early history of emergency service mobile radio systems, the LAPDLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
developed its own phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet can mean:* phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing.** International Phonetic Alphabet : the most widespread such system...
for relaying precise word spellings. For example, the license plate "8QXG518" might be read by a civilian as "eight cue ex jee five eighteen" but with accuracy being paramount, the police dispatcher would voice it as "eight queen x-ray george five one eight." Despite the development in 1941 of the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet
Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet
The Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet was a radio alphabet developed in 1941 and was used by all branches of the United States military until the promulgation of the ICAO spelling alphabet in 1956, which replaced it...
and its replacement, circa 1956, by the NATO phonetic alphabet (currently used by U.S. military, civil aviation, telecommunications, and some law enforcement agencies), the LAPD and other law enforcement and emergency service agencies throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
continue to use it.
The LAPD phonetic alphabet is also known as the APCO
Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International was founded in 1935 and is the world's largest organization dedicated to public safety telecommunications.APCO has developed several standards that bear its name...
phonetic alphabet, named after the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International (APCO) http://www.apcointl.org, which was responsible for making the LAPD alphabet known and adopted by other law enforcement agencies in the US.
Popular culture
The origin of the name Adam-12Adam-12
Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
from the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series with that same title is believed to have come from this alphabet. To the present, the LAPD calls its basic two-man patrol car an "A" unit - and the letter "A" is spoken as "Adam" in the phonetic alphabet. So 1-Adam-12 translates to the Adam unit assigned to Beat 12 in Division One [LAPD Central Division].
In the television show CHiPs
CHiPs
CHiPs is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. CHiPs followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol...
, motorcycle units were identified with the letter M, such as 7M4 (Seven Mary Four) for officer Frank Poncherello.
Also, since many police, fire department, and rescue squad TV programs and movies are set in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the words of the LAPD phonetic alphabet have become familiar in the United States, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and English-speaking countries around the world. - due to the wide reach of American entertainment media.
On early seasons of Wheel of Fortune, a close variant of the LAPD phonetic alphabet was used.
Table
The LAPD phonetic alphabet represents the letters of the English alphabet using words as follows:| Letter | Phonetic |
|---|---|
| A | Adam |
| B | Boy |
| C | Charles |
| D | David |
| E | Edward |
| F | Frank |
| G | George |
| H | Henry |
| I | Ida |
| J | John |
| K | King |
| L | Lincoln |
| M | Mary |
| N | Nora |
| O | Ocean |
| P | Paul |
| Q | Queen |
| R | Robert |
| S | Sam |
| T | Tom |
| U | Union |
| V | Victor |
| W | William |
| X | X-ray |
| Y | Young |
| Z | Zebra |
| 0 | Zero |
| 1 | One |
| 2 | Two |
| 3 | Three |
| 4 | Four |
| 5 | Five |
| 6 | Six |
| 7 | Seven |
| 8 | Eight |
| 9 | Nine |
There are several local variations of this system in use. The California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....
, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a joint city-county police force for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada. It is run by the Sheriff of Clark County, elected every four years. The current Sheriff of Clark County is Douglas C...
, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
, San Jose Police Department and the San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Police Department
The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD and San Francisco Department Of Police, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco, California...
, along with other agencies across the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
and Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, as well as the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department use versions that either map the letter "Y" to "Yellow" and other agencies' versions map the letter "B" to "Baker" or "Bravo" or use variations that include mapping the letter "N" to "Nancy" instead of "Nora" or mapping the letter "Y" to "Yesterday."
The use of the word "Ocean" seems to be advantageous in the radio communication of the letter "O" because it begins with the long, clear vowel "O". The phonetic words "Ida" and "Union" feature this same advantage.
However, phonetic alphabets seem to rarely use initial long vowels. With the exception of "Uniform", none of the initial vowels in the NATO alphabet are like this.
In an earlier U.S. military alphabet, "A" was indicated by "Able", which does start with a long "A", but has since been changed to Alpha.
See also
- ICAO/NATO phonetic alphabet - International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet, also used in the NATO