A lot of people like listening to the scanner, and keeping an ear on the happenings in their area. Whether they listen to local police, sheriff, fire departments, ambulances, or other emergency services, often times it can be challenging to understand what is going on. Codes and abbreviations can obscure the meanings of various transmissions, making the action difficult to follow. I’ve compiled a short list of the most common codes used at my agency, and if you listen, you’ll definitely hear me use them. I usually put up a notice on Facebook which channel I’m working, so if you ‘friend’ me there, you’ll know when I’m on, and on which channel.
Here’s the lowdown on channels you can monitor from the Internet:
Channel 1 – Primary south county channel. This covers county areas around Lindsay, Strathmore, Porterville, Lake Success, the mountain areas including Springville, Camp Nelson, Ponderosa, Johnsondale, the Kern River area, California Hot Springs, Posey, and Kennedy Meadows. Back on the valley floor, Terra Bella, Ducor, Richgrove, Earlimart, Teviston, Pixley, Tipton, Alpaugh, Allensworth, and the southwest part of Tulare county near Corcoran and Delano.
Channel 2 – Primary north county channel. Coverage is Tulare, Visalia, Goshen, New London, Traver, Kingsburg, Dinuba, Delft Colony, Sultana, Yettem, Cutler-Orosi, Ivanhoe, Woodlake, Farmersville, Exeter, Lemon Cove, Lindcove, Kaweah Lake, Three Rivers, and mountain areas north of approximately Avenue 232.
You can monitor Channel one here.
Monitor channel two here.
You can also listen on your smart phones, on various scanner apps. I use 5-0 Radio, and Scanner 911 on my iPhone.
After the jump, you’ll find the codes we use the most frequently.
These are the most prominent codes you’ll hear while monitoring the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department. There are others that will pop up from time to time, but these will cover most circumstances:
10-1 Receiving poorly
10-2 Receiving well
10-4 Acknowledge
10-5 Message relayed by (do not contact)
10-6 Busy
10-7 Out of service
10-8 In service
10-9 Repeat last transmission
10-10 Fight in progress
10-12 Stand by
10-13 Weather report
10-17 Contact reporting party
10-19 Base, headquarters, or office
10-20 Location
10-21 Phone
10-22 Disregard
10-23 Arrived on scene
10-24 Completed assignment
10-25 Meet with
10-27 Driver license check
10-28 Vehicle registration check
10-29 Warrants or wants
10-33 Emergency
10-36 Time
10-37 Suspicious vehicle (parked)
10-38 Traffic stop on a vehicle
10-41 Begin tour of duty
10-42 End tour of duty
10-50 Traffic accident
10-59 Non-prisoner passenger (often just ’59’)
10-63 Prepare to copy
10-76 Enroute
10-89 Bomb threat
10-95 Prisoner (often just ’95’)
1144 Deceased person
1199 Officer needs help
Code 2 Expedite, but no lights or siren
Code 3 Lights and siren
Code 4 No further assistance needed
Code 5 Stake-out, or watching a location
Code 7 Meal break
Code 8 Radio channel restricted to emergency incident
Code 9 Radio channel returned to normal operation
Code 11 Community relations
Code 30 No warrants or wants
Code 32 Shows active warrants (Code 32F = Felony warrant)
415 Disturbance (noise, music, minor fights)
211 Armed robbery
242 Assault
245 Assault with deadly weapon
261 Rape
261.5 Statutory rape
288 Child molest
10851 Stolen vehicle
23152 Drunk driver
23153 Reckless driver
H&S Drug related (Health and Safety code)
11550 Under the influence of controlled substance
187 Homicide
664- Prefix for ‘attempted’, i.e. 664-187
BOL ‘Be on the lookout’
836 Authority to arrest before a warrant is issued
459 Burglary
594 Vandalism
488 Petty theft
487 Grand theft
460 Home invasion
417 Brandishing a firearm
317 Indecent exposure
273A Child abuse
273D Corporal punishment of a child
368 Elder abuse
374.3 Trash dumping
475 Fraud (bad checks)
290 Sex crime registrant
273.5 Domestic violence
243E1 Misdemeanor spousal abuse
If you hear us use other codes, drop me a note, and I’ll add them to the list.
And if you want to hear us live, over the radio, set your scanners in the Tulare County area to 453.475 for channel 1, and 453.650 for channel 2. Channel 3 is 453.850. (Channel 3 is where we run warrant and license checks. I don’t know of anyone who puts it up on the internet. If you know someone who is, please send me the link!)
VisaliaPatch
Sep 17, 2012 @ 00:21:52
273.5, 290, CHECK 60, just a few i hear alot on the radio.
LikeLike
Jim Reeves
Sep 17, 2012 @ 00:28:13
Don’t know how I forgot 273.5! Added it, 243E1 and 290. The “checks” are a Visalia PD thing, and I don’t have that information.
LikeLike
lu
Feb 10, 2014 @ 18:20:16
mathany tract ch 1 or ch 2
LikeLike
Jim Reeves
Feb 10, 2014 @ 18:21:47
Channel 2
LikeLike
lu
Feb 26, 2014 @ 14:26:49
i hear sheriff 1 calling in what
does it mean
LikeLike
Jim Reeves
Feb 26, 2014 @ 14:42:50
Sheriff 1 is the callsign used by the Sheriff’s Department airplane.
LikeLike
M
Jun 19, 2014 @ 16:26:07
I thought I heard the Exeter PD Say Code 30 Special, is this even a thing? I might have heard wrong though. Thanks
LikeLike
Jim Reeves
Jun 19, 2014 @ 19:46:59
Normally a dispatcher would say “Code 30”, as it means the person has no warrants showing in the computer. If one of the officers said “code 30 special”, I have no idea what he meant.
LikeLike
lu
Jul 06, 2014 @ 17:56:23
what is -40 charles
40 boy
10 adam
LikeLike
Jim Reeves
Jul 07, 2014 @ 15:38:33
Those are beat designations. 10 Adam, 10 Boy, 11 Adam, 12 Adam, 14 Adam, 20 Adam, 20 Boy, 20 Charles, 21 Adam, 21 Boy, 30 Adam, 30 Boy, 30 Charles, 40 Adam, 40 Boy, 40 Charles, 40 King. Each is assigned to a specific patrol area.
LikeLike