Police code
Encyclopedia
A police code is a number abbreviation for a crime, incident or instructions for police officers.
The following codes are used in California; most are from the California Penal Code
(except as noted below):
Please note: "500" codes are only radio codes that substitute for other code sections. Example: a "503" is not Penal Code section 503 (which is Embezzlement). All of the "500" codes, generally, involve vehicles and are thus grouped together (except 594, which is a legitimate Penal Code). Additionally, "390" (and variants) are also radio codes only (CPC 647(f) is the legally enforced section "public intoxication").
In California, some radio codes in the 400-599 range that refer to vehicle violations are left over from the California Vehicle Code (CVC) which was revised in 1971. Some agencies, such as the California Highway Patrol (CHP)
use the current vehicle code numbers while municipal and county police agencies, especially the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) still use the 500-series.
Note: California uses a distinct phonetic alphabet from other states such as Florida, which uses the standard military phonetic alphabet. Some California police agencies use a slightly different one, as listed here. Others, such as all police departments, the sheriff's department, harbor patrol, lifeguards, marshals, etc. in Orange County use the military phonetic alphabet.
Below is the "standard" police phonetic which usually only varies with the letter "Y" being either "Young" (LAPD-style) or "Yellow" (CHP-style). Federal law enforcement often uses a mix of the two (FBI-style) alphabets:
film Up in Smoke
, Sgt. Stedenko, played by Stacy Keach Jr., calls in the message, "We’re changing from a code 3, direct pursuit, to a code 347…completely lost due to incompetence". (In reality, penal code 347 for California, where the film is set, concerns the mingling of poisons or harmful substances with food, drink, medicine, or water supplies).
The Hundred Code
The Hundred Code is a 3 digit police code system. This code is usually pronounced digit-by-digit, using a radio alphabet for any letters, as 505 "five zero five" or 207A "two zero seven Adam".The following codes are used in California; most are from the California Penal Code
California Penal Code
The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of criminal law in the American state of California. It was originally enacted in 1872 as one of the original four California Codes, and has been substantially amended and revised since then....
(except as noted below):
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 187 | Homicide Homicide Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English... |
| 207 | Kidnapping Kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority... |
| 207A | Kidnapping attempt |
| 211 | Robbery Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear.... |
| 211A | Robbery alarm |
| 211S | Robbery alarm, silent |
| 213 | Use of illegal explosives |
| 217 | Assault Assault In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more... with intent to murder |
| 240 | Assault |
| 242 | Battery Battery (crime) Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact... |
| 000 | Assault with a deadly weapon |
| 246 | Shooting at inhabited dwelling |
| 261 | Rape Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The... |
| 261A | Attempted rape |
| 273A | Child neglect |
| 273D | Domestic violence Domestic violence Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation... - Felony Felony A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors... |
| 288 | Lewd conduct Lascivious "Lascivious" is a word synonymous with lustful or lewd or unruly .- Legal usage :In American legal jargon, lascivious is a semi-technical term indicating immoral sexual thoughts or actions. It is often used in the legal description of criminal acts in which some sort of sexual activity is... |
| 311 | Indecent exposure Indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different... |
| 314 | Indecent exposure |
| 374B | Illegal dumping |
| 390 | Drunk |
| 390D | Drunk, unconscious |
| 415 | Disturbance |
| 417 | Person with a gun |
| 417K | Person with a knife |
| 419 | Dead human body |
| 428 | Child Molest |
| 444 | Officer Involved Shooting |
| 459 | Burglary Burglary Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary... |
| 459A | Burglar alarm Burglar alarm Burglar , alarms are systems designed to detect unauthorized entry into a building or area. They consist of an array of sensors, a control panel and alerting system, and interconnections... |
| 459S | Burglar alarm, silent |
| 470 | Forgery Forgery Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or... |
| 480 | Hit and run Hit and run (vehicular) Hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic accident , and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards... - Felony (great bodily injury or death) |
| 481 | Hit and run - Misdemeanor |
| 484 | Theft Theft In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud... (definition) |
| 487 | Grand theft Grand theft Grand theft or grand larceny is a category used to rank the severity of crime associated with theft.Generally, in the United States it is defined as intentional taking property of others in an amount exceeding the state statutory amount.... (value >= $400, or certain livestock) |
| 488 | Petty theft (value < $400) |
| 501 | Drunk Driving - Felony (great bodily injury or death) |
| 502 | Drunk Driving Driving under the influence Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit... |
| 503 | Auto theft Motor vehicle theft Motor vehicle theft is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle... |
| 504 | Tampering with a vehicle |
| 505A | Reckless driving Reckless driving Reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation. As a legal term, it is used within the United States. This offence has been abolished in the United Kingdom and replaced... |
| 507 | Public nuisance Public nuisance In English criminal law, public nuisance is a class of common law offence in which the injury, loss or damage is suffered by the local community as a whole rather than by individual victims.-Discussion:... |
| 510 | Speeding or racing vehicles |
| 586 | Illegal parking Parking violation A parking violation is the act of parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or for parking in an unauthorized manner. It is against the law virtually everywhere to park a vehicle in the middle of a highway or road; parking on one or both sides of a road, however, is commonly permitted.... |
| 594 | Malicious mischief Malicious mischief Malicious Mischief is the specific name for different criminal offences in a number of different criminal jurisdictions. While the wrongful acts will often involve what is popularly described as vandalism there can be a legal differentiation between the two.... |
| 604 | Throwing missiles |
| 647 | Lewd conduct (various subsections) |
| 653M | Threatening phone calls |
Please note: "500" codes are only radio codes that substitute for other code sections. Example: a "503" is not Penal Code section 503 (which is Embezzlement). All of the "500" codes, generally, involve vehicles and are thus grouped together (except 594, which is a legitimate Penal Code). Additionally, "390" (and variants) are also radio codes only (CPC 647(f) is the legally enforced section "public intoxication").
In California, some radio codes in the 400-599 range that refer to vehicle violations are left over from the California Vehicle Code (CVC) which was revised in 1971. Some agencies, such as the California Highway Patrol (CHP)
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....
use the current vehicle code numbers while municipal and county police agencies, especially the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) still use the 500-series.
| Old | New | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 480 | 20001 | Felony Hit and Run |
| 481 | 20002 | Misdemeanor Hit and Run |
| 501 | 23151 | Felony Drunk Driving |
| 502 | 23152 | Misdemeanor Drunk Driving |
| 503 | 10851 | Stolen Vehicle (also a penal code section, 487A, Grand Theft Auto) |
| 504 | 10854 | Tampering with a Motor Vehicle |
| 505 | 23103 | Reckless Driving |
| 510 | 23109 | Speed Contest / Racing |
| 586 | 22500 | Illegal Parking |
Note: California uses a distinct phonetic alphabet from other states such as Florida, which uses the standard military phonetic alphabet. Some California police agencies use a slightly different one, as listed here. Others, such as all police departments, the sheriff's department, harbor patrol, lifeguards, marshals, etc. in Orange County use the military phonetic alphabet.
Below is the "standard" police phonetic which usually only varies with the letter "Y" being either "Young" (LAPD-style) or "Yellow" (CHP-style). Federal law enforcement often uses a mix of the two (FBI-style) alphabets:
| Letter | Code |
|---|---|
| A | Adam/Alpha |
| B | Boy/Bravo |
| C | Charles/Charlie |
| D | David/Delta |
| E | Edward/Echo |
| F | Frank/Foxtrot |
| G | George/Golf |
| H | Henry/Hotel |
| I | Ida/India |
| J | John/Juliet |
| K | King/Kilo |
| L | Lincoln/Lima |
| M | Mary/Mike |
| N | Nora/November |
| O | Ocean/Oscar |
| P | Paul/Papa |
| Q | Queen/Quebec |
| R | Robert/Romeo |
| S | Sam/Sierra |
| T | Tom/Tango |
| U | Union/Uniform |
| V | Victor |
| W | William/Whisky |
| X | X-Ray |
| Y | Yankee/Yellow/Young |
| Z | Zebra/Zulu |
Cultural references
In the Cheech and ChongCheech and Chong
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong, who found a wide audience in the 1970s and 1980s for their films and stand-up routines, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially drug culture movements, most notably their love for...
film Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke, directed by Lou Adler, is Cheech and Chong's first feature-length film, released in 1978 by Paramount Pictures. It stars Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach....
, Sgt. Stedenko, played by Stacy Keach Jr., calls in the message, "We’re changing from a code 3, direct pursuit, to a code 347…completely lost due to incompetence". (In reality, penal code 347 for California, where the film is set, concerns the mingling of poisons or harmful substances with food, drink, medicine, or water supplies).