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Yesterday, FEMA announced that if Law Enforcement, EMS, Public Health Department, and Fire services want federal funding, they are to be in compliance with NIMS mandates, which include a new one: Agencies will switch to plain english for all communications.
I've been trained on several LE and company 10/Signal codes, and found them to be invariably useful to keep the perception of a dangerous situation down among the public, gain a tactical advantage over a suspect, and to generally confound others who we don't need understanding our communications.
While some companies have a "real" reason for using plain english on air, most resistance I've heard to using 10 and signal code comes from the employees, who say either:
We're not police, you don't pay me enough to learn this.
Its too hard to figure that stuff out, talk English like normal people.
These people, usually, when placed in a dangerous situation, with blithely escalate it by saying into the microphone, in plain english: "I have a trespasser, I'm going to stop him now." or "I'm about to make an arrest, please send the police." Or my personal favorite: "PD advises two warrants out of Palm Beach County, 140,000 dollar bond, PD dispatched units."
You can imagine the problems that traffic would cause when the offender hears it. Fight or flight, someone's getting away, or someone's getting hurt.
Do you believe that private security should follow suit, and drop all coded communications, in all operations? Why? And, on a more general note, should we blindly do what FEMA tells the police to?
I've already heard backlash at private security getting to "keep" their 10 codes, on several police related forums.
I've been trained on several LE and company 10/Signal codes, and found them to be invariably useful to keep the perception of a dangerous situation down among the public, gain a tactical advantage over a suspect, and to generally confound others who we don't need understanding our communications.
While some companies have a "real" reason for using plain english on air, most resistance I've heard to using 10 and signal code comes from the employees, who say either:
We're not police, you don't pay me enough to learn this.
Its too hard to figure that stuff out, talk English like normal people.
These people, usually, when placed in a dangerous situation, with blithely escalate it by saying into the microphone, in plain english: "I have a trespasser, I'm going to stop him now." or "I'm about to make an arrest, please send the police." Or my personal favorite: "PD advises two warrants out of Palm Beach County, 140,000 dollar bond, PD dispatched units."
You can imagine the problems that traffic would cause when the offender hears it. Fight or flight, someone's getting away, or someone's getting hurt.
Do you believe that private security should follow suit, and drop all coded communications, in all operations? Why? And, on a more general note, should we blindly do what FEMA tells the police to?
I've already heard backlash at private security getting to "keep" their 10 codes, on several police related forums.
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