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Ten-codes, properly known as ten signals, are code words used to represent common phrases in voice communication, particularly in radio transmissions. The codes, developed in 1937 and expanded in 1974 by the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO), allow for brevity and standardization of message traffic. They have historically been widely used by law enforcement officers in North America, although the trend is away from their use in recent years with more departments discouraging the use of ten-codes and encouraging "clear" or plain language communications. While "ten codes" were intended to be a terse, concise, and standardized system, the proliferation of different meanings has rendered it useless for situations where people from different agencies and jurisdictions need to communicate. For this reason its use is expressly forbidden in the Incident Command System. Some organizations and municipalities also use other codes in addition to the ten-codes. An example is the California Highway Patrol's use of eleven-codes.
Historic overview Ten-codes were developed in the 1940s at a time when police radio channels were limited, to reduce use of speech on the radio.• Celebration October 4th of each year is celebrated as "10-4 Good Buddiness Day". Originating in Richmond, VA in 1996, it was decided that October 4th would be celebrated using the phrase "10-4 good buddy" as much as possible. List of ten-codes The following list, given in ascending order and grouped by decade, illustrates the current usage of various ten-codes. Only a handful of them are standardized. Some are fairly consistent, while others (such as 10-40) can have completely different meanings, many of which are not listed here. Presentation: 10-0s 10-10s 10-20s 10-30s 10-40s 10-50s 10-60s 10-70s 10-80s 10-90s 10-100s and up Parodies During the 1970s, some truck drivers and CB radio hobbyists responded to the increased use of ten-codes by the general public by inventing parodies of the ten-code with strictly humorous meanings. The best known were the 13-code * and the 18-code *. See also | ||||||||
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