Greater Victoria, BC Area
Police, Fire, Ambulance, and other
10-codes and general radio procedures
or, An incomplete guide to understanding what you hear on your scanner.

Version 1.1 (92/09/23) (C) 1992 The Fixer
Revision 1.2 (94/01/03) (C) 1994 The Fixer

Frequencies to monitor:
155.550 MHz - VCP, Oak Bay main channel.
155.490 MHz - VCP, Oak Bay secondary channel.
155.130 MHz - Esquimalt, main dispatch and hockey news channel.
155.760 MHz - Saanich and Central Saanich main channel.
141.090 MHz - Colwood RCMP


Code 1 - Not immediately critical; proceed to call when free to do so.
         Finish your donuts first.
Code 2 - Proceed immediately to call, without using lights or siren, and
         complying with the Motor Vehicle Act.  Forget the donuts.
Code 3 - Proceed immediately to call, use lights and siren, ignore the
         Motor Vehicle Act.  Mow down pedestrians on the sidewalk
         if necessary and don't even take the time to pay your tab at the
         donut shop.
Code 4 - A critical or emergency situation exists, this frequency is reserved
         for communication pertinent to the situation until further notice.
         The over-the-air chess game will have to wait...
Code 5 - (Used by Ambulance teams) Police, or police presence.
         The Smell of Bacon.


Apple Tree - The apple tree beside the Johnson Street Bridge where derelicts
             go to drink chinese cooking wine...
Audible    - audible alarm.
Cage       - A Van, paddywagon or other VCP "Charlie" unit for prisoner
             or property transport.
Channel 3  - Vic/Esq/OakBay Car-car simplex, 155.490 MHz
City       - Victoria City proper, usually referring to its police dep't.
Cushman    - A mini-car driven by a commissionaire for writing parking
             tickets and chasing partiers out of the Ross Bay Cemetery.
Dine & Dash- Theft of restaurant meals
Domestic   - A domestic dispute or assault
En Route   - On the way.
Hook       - A tow-truck, a wrecker.
Humber Green - The intersection of Douglas St., Government St., Hillside
               Avenue and Gorge Rd.  Probably the knottiest intersection in
               Victoria, many years ago it had a circle drive, the center
               of which was a small park-like area called Humber Green.  To
               my knowledge, only VCP still refers to this intersection by
               that name.
Junction   - The intersection of Fort St. and Oak Bay Avenue.
Landline   - Telephone Call
Local      - A person who is well-known to Police, esp. a street person
Lookout    - The lookout in Beacon Hill Park
Main       - Main VCP dispatch repeater frequency, 155.550 MHz
Reference  - The person who is contacted when an alarm goes off
Routine    - Proceed as Code 1.
Section 24 - Mental Case, likely candidate for transport to EMI
23 and a half - Subject is not a certifiable section 24, but definitely
                doesn't have both oars in the water.  A few donuts shy
                of a dozen.
Set Up     - A speed trap or road block
Sipper     - A SIP, Severely(?) Intoxicated Person
Streetlink - The Street Link emergency shelter on Wharf street
Switch Over- Change frequency (usu. indicates in depth info to follow
             which would monopolize the main channel and interrupt the
             chess game...)
Wagon      - Same as a "Cage"
Walkthrough- A (usually random) spot check of a bar or other licenced
             premise - Looking for drugs, minors, hookers, and a quick
             peek at the strip act.
West Door  - Jail entrance to VCP HQ, off Government.
Wrecker    - A tow-truck, a hook.

214    - 24 hour roadside suspension (for DWI)
B&E    - Breaking & Entering, or burglary.
BAT    - Blood/Breath Alcohol Test.  The BATmobile drunk driver catcher.
BCL    - BC Licence Plate number
CNI    - Criminal Names Index
CPIC   - Canadian Police Information Computer
DL     - Driver's Licence
DOA    - Dead on Arrival
DOB    - Date of Birth
DWI    - Driving While Impaired
EHS    - Emergency Health Services (The emergency medical evac ambulance
         service of the BC Ministry of Health, Same as PAS)
EMI    - Eric Martin Institute, formerly the official name of the Eric
         Martin Pavilion of RJH.  Victoria's Mental Health centre, or the
         loony-bin, on Trent off Fort.
ERT    - Emergency Response Team (The SWAT team)
ETA    - Estimated Time of Arrival
GOA    - Gone on Arrival
HQ     - Headquarters.  Esq.: 500 Park Place, Vic.: 624 Fisgard,
                       Saan.: 760 Vernon,  Oak Bay: 1703 Monterey
MC     - Motorcycle
MHR    - Ministry of Human Resources, former name of the Ministry of
         Social Services (obsolete acronyms die hard...)
MVA    - Motor Vehicle Accident
MVI    - Motor Vehicle Incident (same as MVA)
PAS    - Provincial Ambulance Service (Same as EHS)
PC     - Police Car
PO     - Peace Officer or Police Officer, usu. part of a charge against
         a suspect (e.g. "assault PO")
RJH    - Royal Jubilee Hospital, Fort Street at Richmond Road.
RO     - Registered Owner (of a vehicle)
RSD    - Roadside Screening Device - a handheld breath alcohol tester.
RTO    - Returning to Office
SIP    - Severely(?)(could be "seemingly") Intoxicated Person - a drunk.
TOP    - Temporary Operating Permit
VCP    - Victoria City Police, as referred to by other departments
VGH    - Victoria General Hospital, on Helmcken Road.
WT     - Walkie Talkie (sometimes pronounced "Whiskey Tango")
YDC    - Youth Detention Centre, on Pembroke.

10-4  - Acknowledged. (The most common 10-code used in radio)
10-6  - Busy
10-7  - Off the air, out of service
10-8  - On the air, in service
10-9  - Repeat your last transmission
10-10 - Negative (usually of a record search) (Note: among CBers 10-10
        means monitoring, standing by.  CBers actually say "negative")
10-12 - Stand by (usually the R-T operator is swamped when s/he uses this)
10-20 - Location
10-21 - Telephone
10-23 - On scene, just arriving now.
10-24 - Arriving at Office
10-27 - Driver's Licence Information
10-28 - Vehicle Registration information
10-29 - Record check on person or vehicle
10-61 - Coffee break, usu. taken at Robin's Donuts or Tim Hortons
10-62 - Lunch Break, see 10-61 for locations.
10-63 - Returning to Office
10-65 - Escorting a prisoner
10-68 - Impaired Driver
10-69 - Have a vehicle pulled over or person stopped for check
10-72 - Security, Panic (robbery) or Fire alarm activated
10-75 - Switch frequency to Car-Car simplex (155.490 MHz)
10-80 - Violence on record
10-81 - Robbery on record
10-82 - Offensive Weapons offenses on record
10-83 - Breaking & Entering on record
10-84 - Theft on record
10-85 - Drug offenses on record
10-86 - Fraud on record
10-87 - Sex offenses on record
10-88 - Other Criminal Code offenses on record
10-89 - Arson on record


The Phonetic Alphabet
---------------------

A - Alpha        B - Bravo     C - Charlie    D - Delta     E - Echo
F - Foxtrot      G - Golf      H - Hotel      I - India     J - Juliet
K - Kilo         L - Lima      M - Mike       N - November  O - Oscar
P - Papa         Q - Quebec    R - Romeo      S - Sierra    T - Tango
U - Uniform      V - Victor    W - Whiskey    X - X-ray     Y - Yankee
Z - Zulu

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   Tango Hotel India Sierra  Hotel Alpha Sierra  Bravo Echo Echo November
   Alpha  Delta Uniform November Kilo India November
   Delta Oscar November Uniform Tango Sierra
   Papa Romeo Oscar Delta Uniform Charlie Tango India Oscar November