POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

What is the significance of Communication in Police Management and Administration?

Effective communication is essential in all organizations in which people deal with one another. It is
very difficult to imagine any kind of activity that does not depend on communication in one form or another.
Todays police managers are aware that the efficiency of their personnel depends to a great extent on how
well the efforts of individual members can be coordinated. Because coordination does not simply happen,
managers must realize that communication is necessary if their subordinates are to obtain the understanding
and cooperation required to achieve organizational and individual goals. (Charles Swanson et. al. 1998)

What is Communication? Communication could mean:

a. The exchange of information between individuals, for example, by means of speaking, writing, or using a
common system of signs or behavior.
b. The act of giving or sending information.
c. A means of access or communication, for example, a connecting door.

Generally speaking, communication refers to the transfer of thought or idea from one person to
another. It simply means the process of sharing ideas, information, and messages with others in a particular
time and place. Technically, it refers to the means or equipment used to exchange a thought or idea.

What is the scope of Communication? Communication includes:

a. Talking and writing
b. nonverbal communication - such as: facial expressions; body language; and gestures
c. visual communication - use of images or pictures, such as: painting; photography; video; and film
d. electronic communication such as: telephone calls; electronic mail; cable television; and satellite
broadcasts.

EVOLUTION OF COMMUNICATION

Communication between two people is an outgrowth of methods developed over centuries of

expression. Gestures, the development of language, and the necessity to engage in joint action all played a
part.

Communication among animals

Humans are not the only creatures that communicate; many other animals exchange signals and
signs that help them find food, migrate, or reproduce. The 19th-century biologist Charles Darwin showed that
the ability of species to exchange information or signals about its environment is an important factor in its
biological survival.

Language

While other animals use limited range of sounds or signals to communicate, humans have developed
complex systems of language that are used to:
a. ensure survival;
b. express ideas and emotions;
c. tell stories and remember the past; and
d. negotiate with one another.

Oral (spoken) language is a feature of every human society or culture. Anthropologists studying
ancient cultures have several theories about how human language began and developed. The earliest
language systems probably combined vocal sounds with hand or b ody signals to express messages. Some
words may be imitative of natural sounds. Others may have come from expressions of emotion, such as
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laughter or crying. Language, some theorists believe, is an outgrowth of group activities, such as working
together or dancing.

Over 6000 languages and major dialects are spoken in the world today. As some languages grow,
others disappear. Languages that grow also evolve and change due to class, gender, profession, age group,
and other social forces. The Latin language is no longer spoken but survives in written form. Hebrew is an
ancient language that became extinct, but has now been brought back to life and is spoken today. Others
such as the ancient languages of native peoples in Central and South America, the Pacifi c Islands, and some
of the Native American peoples of North America, which had no written form, have been lost as the speakers
died.

Today anthropologists are trying to record and preserve ancient languages that are still spoken in
remote areas or by the last remaining people in a culture.

Symbols and Alphabets

Most languages also have a written form. The oldest records of written language are about 5000
years old. However, written communication began much earlier in the form of drawings or marks mad e to
indicate meaningful information about the natural world. The earliest artificially created visual images that
have been discovered to date are paintings of bears, mammoths, woolly rhinos, and other Ice Age animals on
cave walls near Avignon, France.

Perhaps the earliest forerunner of writing is a system of clay counting tokens used in the ancient
Middle East. The tokens date from 8000 to 3000 BC and are shaped like disks, cones, spheres and other
shapes. They were stored in clay containers marked with an early version of cuneiform writing, to indicate
what tokens were inside.

Cuneiform was one of the first forms of writing and was pictographic, with symbols representing
objects. It developed as a written language in Assyria (an ancient Asian count ry in present-day Iraq) from
3000 to 1000 BC. Cuneiform eventually acquired ideographic elementsthat is, the symbol came to represent
not only the object but also ideas and qualities associated with it.

The oldest known examples of script-style writing date from about 3000 BC. Papyrus sheets (a kind
of early paper made from reeds) from about 2700 to 2500 BC have been found in the Nile Delta in Egypt
bearing written hieroglyphs, another pictographic-ideographic form of writing.

Chinese began as a pictographic-ideographic written language perhaps as early as the 15th century
BC .
Today written Chinese includes some phonetic elements (symbols indicating pronunciation) as well. The
Chinese writing system is called logographic because the full symbols, or characters, each represent a word.
Cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyph eventually incorporated phonetic elements.

In syllabic systems, such as Japanese and Korean, written symbols stand for spoken syllable
sounds. The alphabet, invented in the Middle East, was carried by the Phoenicians (people from a territory on
the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, located largely in modern Lebanon) to Greece, where vowel sounds
were added to it. Alphabet characters stand for phonetic sounds and can be combined in an almost infinite
variety of words. Many modern languages, such as English, German, French, and Russian, are alphabetic
languages.

The DYAD

The most basic form of interpersonal communication is a dyad (an encounter or conversation
between two people). Some dyads exist over a long period of time, as in a marriage or partnership.
Communicating well in a dyad requires good conversational skills.

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Communicators must know how to:

1. start and end the conversation

2. make themselves understood
3. respond to the partner's statements
4. be sensitive to their partner's concerns
5. take turns, and how to listen

Group Communication

Communication may also occur in small groups, such as families, clubs, religious groups, fr iendship
groups, or work groups. Most small-group interaction involves fewer than ten people, and the communicators
need the same communication skills as in a dyadic conversation. However, additional factors called group
dynamics come into play in a small group. A group may try to work toward a consensus, a general sense of
understanding or agreement with others in the group. Groupthink may occur, in which a group reaches
consensus so quickly that its members mistakenly ignore other good ideas. Small -group members may
experience disagreement or even conflict. Some members may be more persuasive than others and form
sides, or cliques, within the group.

Public Speaking

Interpersonal communication occurs with larger groups as well, such as when a speaker gi ves a talk
to a large crowd (a political candidate giving a speech at a campaign rally, or a teacher lecturing to a large
class). However, the audience can respond in only limited ways (such as with applause, nodding, whistles,
boos, or silence). The speaker usually wants to be persuasive or informative, so the words chosen and the
style of delivery or performance are very important. A speaker who wants to reach an even larger audience
than the people who can physically hear the speech in one place must use communication technology or
media to get the message across distance and even time.

ANCIENT METHODS OF COMMUNICATION

From the earliest times, people have needed to communicate across distance or over time. Since the
beginnings of writing, communication media have allowed messages to travel over distance and time. A
communication medium is a means for recording and transporting a message or information. The word
medium comes from the Latin word medius, meaning middle or between. It is a channel or path for sending a
message between communicators. A single channelsuch as radio, or a book, or the telephone is called a
medium; media is plural, meaning more than one medium.

Semaphore systems (visual codes) of flags or flashing lights were employed to send messages over
relatively short but difficult-to-cross distances, such as from hilltop to hilltop, or between ships at sea. In the
early 1790s the French scientist and engineer Claude Chappe persuaded the French government to install a
system of towers that used semaphore signals to send visual telegraphs along approved routes throughout
the country. The system was copied in Great Britain and the United States.

Some ancient societies, such as the Roman or Byzantine empires, expanded their territorial control
far beyond their original boundaries, and traded with distant neighbors. To hold on to their far -flung territories,
they needed two technologies that have remained closely tied ever since:

transportation; and
the ability to record information.

Recorded messages had to be carried easily. Therefore, lightweight forms of recording (such as
papyrus or animal skins) were desirable.

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EVOLUTION OF MODERN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Paper and Printing

The first lightweight medium was papyrus, an early form of paper used by the Egyptians that was
made from grasses called reeds. Later, in the 2nd century AD, the Chinese wrote on silk fabric instead of
wood, and developed paper made from silk fibers. (Today paper made from cotton or linen fibers is still called
rag paper.)

From as early as the 2nd century BC, Europeans wrote on thin layers of tanned and scraped animal
skins called parchment or vellum, with quill pens made from bird feathers. Parchment is not as light as
papyrus but is very durable; many parchment manuscripts and books from the Middle Ages still exist. The
Arabs brought papermaking to Europe from China in the 11th century AD . Paper gave European merchants,
who traveled across the continent, a portable and inexpensive way to keep records.

Until the 1400s in Europe, all documents were handwritten. Copyists and editors called scribes
recorded commercial transactions, legal decisions and pronouncements, and manuscript copies of religious
booksmany scribes were monks working in monasteries. By the 15th century, however, the need arose for
an easier way to duplicate documents. In Asia, block printing had already been developed by Buddhist monks
in China in about the 8th century. A similar technique was later used in the 15th century by Europeans to
make illustrations for printed books.

An early version of movable type of printing was first developed in China around 1045, and was
independently developed by Koreans in the 13th century AD . In 1450, the German printer Johannes Gutenberg
perfected movable metal type and introduced the first reliable system of typesetting, a key invention in the
development of printing.

As more books became available, more people learned to read. Books were printed in the local, or
vernacular, languages as well as classical Greek and Latin. With literacy came exposure to new ideas. Some
historians believe that the 16th-century Protestant Reformation (a revolution in the Christian church that
divided it into factions) might not have occurred if European thought had not been prepared by ideas
introduced and circulated in printed books. Printers published other things besides books, including
newspapers, pamphlets, and broadsides (sheets of paper printed on one or both sides). These cheaper works
helped spread news throughout Europe and, in the 17th and 18th centuries, throughout the British colonies in
America.

During the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, printing technologies
evolved rapidly. The steam-powered press was invented in Germany in the 19th century, and the rotary press,
which prints images onto a continuous sheet of paper from a rotating drum, was introduced in the United
States in 1846. The Linotype typesetting machine was patented by the German -born American inventor
Ottmar Mergenthaler in 1884. It permitted typesetters to set text by typing on a keyboard rather than hand -
setting each letter individually. Together, the Linotype machine and the rotary press transformed the speed of
printing. These so-called hot-metal or letterpress printing technologies dominated the industry until the 1950s,
when phototypesetting and photo-offset printing were introduced.

Photocopying was another technology that made document duplication easier. Invented by American
physicist and inventor Edwin Land in the 1950s, photocopying transfers an image from one sheet of paper to
another very rapidly.

A more recent advance is computer typesetting and printing. Computers and word-processing and
graphics software are used today to set type and compose pages on the screen just as they will look in the
final print, in either black and white or color. Page layouts can also be transmitted digitally (numerically coded
into electronic pulses) via fax machines, computer modems, telephone networks, and satellite systems to
other locations for editing, redesign, or printing.
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The spread of computer-based word processing and graphic design has led to the growth of desktop
publishing. Today almost anyone can publish newsletters, newspapers, or magazines for medium -sized
audiences. Business communication has been transformed by computer and information technolog ies.
Letters, memos, reports, or other documents can be transmitted almost anywhere at the speed of light.

Early advocates of business computers predicted the paperless office, an office where paper would be made
obsolete by computer technology. Experience, however, has shown that the ease of copying, printing, and document
transmission made possible by computer technology has produced more demand for paper, not less.

Postal Services

Different societies have devised systems for transporting messages from place to place and from
person to person. The earliest were courier-type services whereby messengers carried memorized or written
messages from one person to another, and returned with the reply. The Persian and Roman empires and
some Asian societies sent couriers regularly along planned routes to retrieve reliable and timely information
about trade and military affairs from distant areas.

In the United States, the postal service was established by the government in 1789, and the
postmaster general's office was created to supervise the mail service. The first postmaster general of the
United States was Samuel Osgood. In the late 19th century, as the United States expanded its territory west
beyond reliable roads or rail lines, the U.S. Post Office started the Pony Express, reviving courier-style
services in the new territories. Pony Express riders carried sacks of mail through rugged and remote territory,
relaying their loads from one rider to the next. The Pony Express quickly became renowned for its s peed of
delivery.

Over time, the U.S. Post Office took advantage of new transportation systems. Huge volumes of mail
were sent across the country on trains, and the Post Office started its own postal security force to prevent the
mail from being stolen in railroad holdups. They were also the first postal service to hire pilots to fly mail to
distant or rural locations within the United States and overseas. By the 1930s every small town and rural route
had carrier service; in many places, deliveries were made twice a day. As demand for postal services grew,
the U.S. Post Office developed systems for coding and sorting the mail more quickly, notably the
neighborhood ZIP Code system in the 1960s.

The Telegraphy

The first truly electronic medium was the telegraph, which sent and received electrical signals over
long-distance wires. The first practical commercial systems were developed by:

1. Sir Charles Wheatstone (physicist, Great Britain);

2. Sir William F. Cooke (inventor, Great Britain); and
3. Samuel F. B. Morse (artist and inventor, United States).

Morse demonstrated the first telegraph system in New York in 1837. But regular telegraph service,
relaying Morse code (system of code using on and off signals), was not established until 1844. Tele graphers
would translate the letters of the alphabet into Morse code, tapping on an electrical switch, or key. The
telegrapher at the other end of the line would decode the tapping as it came in, write down the message, and
send it to the recipient by messenger.

Telegraph systems were immediately useful for businesses that needed to transmit messages
quickly over long distances, such as newspapers and railroads. A telegraph room installed in the United
States Capitol in 1844 was the center of a sensation when news of the nomination of James K. Polk as the
Democratic presidential candidate was conveyed by telegraph between the convention in Baltimore,
Maryland, and the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. In cities, thousands of telegraph lines suspended on

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poles webbed the streets by the latter half of the 1800s. Telegraph cable was first laid under the Atlantic
Ocean in 1858, and regular transatlantic telegraph service began in 1866.

The telegraph made it possible for many companies to conduct their business globally for the first
time. Because price changes could be communicated almost instantaneously, the telegraph also prompted the
reorganization of American commodities markets. Prices became uniform from city to city, and futures
(agreements to buy a commodity at a fixed price on a fixed date in the future) markets were established. In
addition, standard time zones across the United States were established so that railroads could set regular
and consistent schedules as trains moved across the country, enabling the railroads to check on schedules,
passengers, and freight via telegraph.

Telegraph technology became more sophisticated, especially after its competitor, the telephone, was
introduced in the 1890s. Telegraph systems evolved into telex systems, in which machines eliminated the
need for coding and decoding the messages. Users could type in a message, and the identical message
would appear at the recipient's end, carried over telegraph and telephone lines (and eventually satellite
systems) to telex machines anywhere in the world. In remote areas where long-distance telephone service
was unavailable or impractical, telex machines were widely used (much like an early version of electronic
mail). Telegraph and telephone lines were also used to transmit pictures via an early version of facsimile
called telefacsimile or Wirephoto service. Newspapers used Wirephoto to transmit photographs as early as
the 1930s.

The Telephone

In 1876, Scottish-born American inventor Alexander Graham Bell was the first to patent and produce
a telephone. His patent was titled Improvement in Telegraphy, and contained the design of a device that
would transmit the human voice over wires instead of electrical clicks or other signals, like the telegraph.
Originally, Bell thought that the telephone would be used to transmit musical concerts, lectures, or sermons.
The American inventor Elisha Gray filed an intention to patent at the same time, but after many court battles,
Bell was given the rights to the invention.

Bell and his financial backers established the Bell Telephone Company. In an extraordinary business
move, Bell decided to lease telephones rather than sell them. His next step would be to build the connecting
networks and sell services on those networks to customers. Bell began by leasing pairs of telephones that
would connect two locations, such as a businessman's home and office, or between two partners' offices.
However, the real appeal of telephone service emerged with the opening of the first telephone exchange a
switchboard connecting any member of a group of subscribers to any other member in 1878.

After Bell's patents expired in 1893 and 1894, other companies began manufacturing telephones,
wiring new networks, and installing exchanges. The new exchanges conne cted people in rural communities
and residential households. Some were rural cooperatives owned and operated by the customers. The
American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), which bought the Bell Telephone Company in 1900,
developed switching systems to connect calls between exchanges, and eventually began experimenting with
long-distance connections.

Between the 1880s and the 1980s the telephone system in the United States had an enormous effect
on the quality of life and work. In rural communities, telephone service meant an end to the isolation and
loneliness experienced by many farm and ranch families. Families whose members moved away to school or
new jobs could stay in contact with each other over the phone. For ill or disabled peopl e, the telephone
became an indispensable link to the outside world. Telephone service also enabled immediate contact with
emergency services, such as the police, fire department, or emergency medical services. By the 1960s the
telephone was considered so essential that telephone companies provided basic services at reduced rates to
elderly and disabled people.

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The telephone network has also provided the electronic network for new computer-based systems
like the Internet, Facsimile transmissions, World Wide Web. The relationship today between computers and
the telephone system is inseparable.

The Radio

The telegraph and telephone were systems for distance communication that sent electrical signals
through wires. The earliest system for sending electrical signals through the air via electromagnetic waves
was called wireless, and later radio. Radio technology was based on the discoveries of James Clerk Maxwell.

The Italian electrical engineer Guglielmo Marconi was the first person to invent a true wireless radio.
In 1895, he built a system that could send and receive a signal at a distance of close to 3 km. (close to 2
miles). He moved to England, and by 1899 the British Marconi Company had sent signals across the English
Channel. In 1901, Marconi received the Morse code signal for the letter S sent across the Atlantic Ocean to
Canada.

Marconi's radio system used a spark-gap technology that could transmit only simple on-off signals
so radio signaling used an on-off system like Morse code. This type of radio technology is called
radiotelegraphy. Wireless was especially valuable for ships in distress, so t hat other ships could be
dispatched to save their passengers and crews in times of emergency.

In 1901, the Canadian-born American physicist Reginald Fessenden patented an alternator that
would use continuous waves instead of on-off spark-gap signals. This system could also send signals much
farther and with much less background noise, so it could carry the sound of the human voice. This new
approach to radio was called radiotelephony. On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve in 1906, Fessenden
produced the first radio broadcasts from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, which were picked up as far away as
New York and by ships in the Atlantic.

Radio technology improved rapidly throughout the 20th century. The first breakthrough was the
invention of the cat's-whisker receiver, or crystal set, which used a silicon crystal and a small metal wire to
detect radio waves clearly. Later improvements were made in the valves, or tubes, such as De Forest's
Audion, which amplified the signal once it was received. Radio transmissions initially used amplitude
modulation (AM) to superimpose audio signals onto radio waves. The invention of frequency modulation (FM)
radio provided much more sensitive and clear radio transmission and reception. Tuners became more
sensitive, and more broadcast signals were sent over the air at different frequencies. In the 1950s and 1960s
radio manufacturers began replacing the bulky and heat-generating vacuum tubes in radios with transistors,
and radios became smaller.

Eventually the radio industry asked the federal government to intervene in their disputes over
frequencies and signal power. The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was created in 1927 and was given the
task of allocating frequencies to different users. However, the FRC was a somewhat ineffect ive body until the
Communications Act of 1934, when it was renamed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and
given a budget and a staff. FCC rulings had the power of law, and the agency was responsible for issuing
licenses to radio broadcasters for particular bandwidths, frequencies, and signal powers. License holders had
to demonstrate that they operated their radio stations in the public interest, convenience, and necessity.

The Television (TV)

Two pioneers independently created the first workable television systems American inventor Philo
T. Farnsworth and Russian-born American engineer Vladimir K. Zworykin. Farnsworth used an electronic
camera he called an image dissector to transmit a picture of a dollar sign in 1927. He patented aspects o f his
system, and developed his television further in the 1930s, but lost his financial backing when World War II
(1939-1945) began.

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In 1923, Zworykin first demonstrated an electronic television camera he called the iconoscope. At
the time, he was working for Westinghouse Electronic Corporation, but Zworykin moved to RCA when David
Sarnoff, vice president of RCA, became interested in his invention. Sarnoff supported the development of the
iconoscope when RCA obtained the rights to Westinghouse's radio res earch projects in 1930.

Since the 1950s many improvements have been made in television technology, particularly the
introduction of color television in the 1960s. Image reception has become clearer, and screens have become
larger. Most televisions can now receive stereo sound. The widespread growth of cable television since the
1960s has introduced many new channels and types of programming into American homes. And today direct -
broadcast-satellite (DBS) services allow individual households to receive hu ndreds of channels carried by
satellites directly into their homes.

There is no doubt that television has been one of the most important communication technologies in
history. Televisions are switched on an average of seven hours a day in American househ olds. Debates
continue about the medium's effects on children, culture, education, politics, and community life. Critics say
that television feeds a constant stream of simplified ideas and sensationalistic images, that it has a negative
effect on political campaigns and voting patterns, that it destroys local cultures in favor of a bland national
culture, and that it has encouraged the growth of an uncritical and passive audience. Defenders say that
television provides a great deal of high-quality educational and cultural programming, and that it is the major
source of national and international news and information for most U.S. citizens. Television can be a very
effective teaching tool in the classroom and at home. And, as the Canadian writer Marshall McLu han pointed
out, perhaps nothing has been more responsible for creating the global village the sense that we can see
and hear events anywhere in the world as they happen and so can feel more connected to other places.

The Computers

The earliest computers were machines built to make repetitive numerical calculations that had
previously been done by hand. By the 1890s, calculating machines were used to tabulate the U.S. Census
with a punched-card system invented by Herman Hollerith. Electromechanical calculators were being built by
the 1930s, especially by a new company called the International Business Machines Company (IBM). The first
truly electronic memory and processors were built by John Vincent Atanasoff in 1939 at the Iowa State
College, and the first fully functioning electronic computers, a series of ten called Colossus, were built by the
British Secret Service during World War II to help them crack the Germans' secret military codes.

The first general-purpose electronic computer in America, called the Electronic Numerical Integrator
and Computer (ENIAC), was built at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. Two of its inventors, American
engineers John Presper Eckert, Jr., and John Mauchly, moved on to build the first electronic computer for
commercial use, the UNIVAC, at the Remington Rand Corporation.

In 1975 the first microcomputer was introduced, which had the power of many larger machines but
could fit onto a desktop. This miniaturization was accomplished by using new microprocessor technol ogies,
which compressed the memory and processing power of many hundreds and then thousands of circuits onto
tiny chips of materials called semiconductors. The invention was soon followed by the introduction of the first
word-processing software in 1978, which enabled people to use the computer to write and change text and
graphics.

Today the Internet is the foundation of computer networks in the United States and allied countries.
It is interconnected by both wire and over-the-air microwave and satellite telephone lines. Commercial online
service providers such as America Online, CompuServe, and the Microsoft Network sell Internet access
to individual computer users and companies. Smaller networks of computers, called Local Area Networks
(LANs), can be installed in a single building or for a whole organization. Wide Area Networks (WANs) can be
used to span a large geographical area. LANs and WANs use telephone lines, computer cables, and
microwave and laser beams to carry digital information around a smaller area, such as a single college
campus. In turn, they can interconnect to the Internet. Computer networks can carry any digital signals,
including video images, sounds, graphics, animations, and text.
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Since the 1970s, personal computers have transformed business, education, and entertainment. The
typical home or business computer today has many times the computing power of a single early mainframe.
People can use computers to design graphics and full-motion video, compose music, send electronic mail,
make airline or hotel reservations, or search the Library of Congress over the World Wide Web. They can play
games and even visit electronic rooms or parties to talk to other people. These activities are made possible by
multimedia computer programs that employ still and motion pictures, sounds, graphics, and text together.

Computers are used in all aspects of business and education. Self-instructional computer programs
help people learn new information or skills through computer-aided instruction. Some programs are
simulations, which imitate tasks that require the learner to perform in certain ways, and give the learner
feedback about that performance. For example, airline pilots sharpen their flying skills in computer -generated
flight simulators, which exactly duplicate the experience of flying in different types of aircraft.

Mobile Phone

This is a very recent mode of communication which is already utilized by private and commercial
entities. The Police and the military are also using this as one of the major alternatives of communication.

Mobile (cellular) phones have become invaluable for people who need to stay in touch while on the
move. Cellular telephone systems combine radio and television technology with computer systems. As a caller
moves from one geographical cell (the name given to a specific part of the area being covered by the system)
to another, computers in switching offices transfer calls among variously located antenna transmitters without
interrupting service (Microsoft Encarta).

Text Messaging also known as Short Message System (SMS). It is a method of communication allowing
cellular, or mobile, phone users to exchange brief notes, typically up to 160 characters in length. Now, you can send as
much as 450 characters.

The huge popularity of text messaging is remarkable considering that the service was developed by mobile
operators in the early 1990s as something of an afterthought and was never expected to take off.

The main reason for its success is that younger phone users have adopted text messages as their preferred
means of communication. Early concerns over the clumsy means of entering text and the limited length of messages
have been overcome partly by familiarity and partly by a shorthand language; for instance c u l8r is an abbreviated
way of saying See you later. A major factor in the uptake of text messaging was that it was free when pre-pay phones
were first introduced. Even with messages now charged for, they are still considerably cheaper than mobile phone calls
(Microsoft Encarta).

Many police officers are using this communication technology as an alternative to the traditional means of
communications. The PNP and other law enforcement related agencies are using hotlines as and easy access to
crime reports by the populace.

POLICE COMMUNICATION CONCEPTS

If patrol is the backbone of police organization, POLICE COMMUNICATIONS are the backbone of police
tactics. Without proper communications, the modern police department would be lost.

Historical Development of Police Communications

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In primitive times, the pounding of hollow logs or the beating of animal skin drums was used to convey a
message. Later man discovered that when he cut the tip from the horn of an animal and blew through it, the sound
carried for quite a distance. We find its use mentioned throughout the Bible, and it was certainly the main warning
instrument used in the Hue and Cry even into the twelfth century. In the orient, the brass gong and finally the bell
became the warning instrument.

In western civilization, until very recently, the church bell, high in the steeple, not only called the people to
church services but also warned the town or village of imminent dangers. The American Indian used smoke signals,
bird calls and drums in his effort to communicate and send out warnings.

In the history of Anglo-American police patrol, we find the horn replaced by the hand-bell and rattle, and then
finally by the metal whistle.

When police vehicles were first used, there was no radio communications as we know it today. The system
of notifying patrol vehicles of emergencies and calls for service was handled by the installation of red lights at the major
intersections of the town or city. When headquarters wanted to contact a police car, they would pull a switch that would
send power to the red lights at the intersections. The next time the patrol car passed the intersection and saw the red
light on, he would drive to headquarters for the assignment. When telephones become more common, the officer
would call headquarters when he observed the light signal.

When radios were first installed in police vehicles, they were just usually receivers and did not have
transmitters for answering calls. The radio operators would broadcast the calls and hoped that it was received.

The police have always been keenly aware of the importance of communications and because of this they,
along with the military, have been leaders in the development and adoption of new methods of communications. In the
early days of electronic communication the departments themselves had to develop their own communications
equipment because there was little or no commercial equipment available to suit the police needs. Today the situation
is different. Because of military and space development programs, the police are able to readily adapt existing
commercial equipment to their needs. This has the great advantage of eliminating the many years of costly and time
consuming experiments and failures that the early police departments had to suffer in their development of police
communications.

Significant dates and events in the development of Police Communications

1. 1877- The Albany New York Police Department installed five telephones in the mayors office connected to
precinct stations.
2. 1880 The Chicago Police Department installed the first Police Call Box on City Street. Only officers and
reputable citizens were given keys to the booth. Before this time a signal box was used that would signal
the emergency without voice communications. Detroit made such installations in 1884 and Indianapolis in
1895.
3. 1883 The Detroit, Michigan Police Department installed one police telephone. This was significant when
one considers the fact that there were only seven telephones in the whole city at that time. In 1889, the
department established a new division to handle communications. It was called the Police Signal Bureau.

A code wheel was installed in the box so that when the beat man called in for his time check, it would register
at headquarters with the proper signal for that call box. This insured that the beat officer was in fact at the location from
which he claimed to be calling.

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4. 1916 The New York Harbor Police installed spark transmitters so they could communicate with their police
boats while they were patrolling the harbor.
5. 1923 The Pennsylvania State Police installed point-to-point radiotelegraph between their headquarters and
various posts throughout the state.
6. 1928 On April 7, 1928, the worlds first workable police radio system went on the air. The Detroit Police
Department went on the air as station W8FS. The transmitter was installed on Belle Isle in the Detroit River,
and the receiver was installed in cruiser No. 5.

By 1927 the prohibition era had sent he development of big time crime and gangsters were making wide use
of automobiles as get-away cars. The police were under great pressure to control the situation, but always arrived at
the scene too late. Commissioner Rutledge then persuaded Robert L. Batts, a young radio technician and student at
Purdue University, to come to Detroit and work on a radio receiver that would operate in a police car. It was through
this effort that the first workable police radio setup was developed.

7. 1929 In September 1929, the Cleveland Police Department went on the air with a few cars, and in
December of the same year, Indianapolis became the third police department in the world to set up a
workable police radio system.

8. 1930 The Michigan State Police became the first state police organization to go on the air in October of
1930. It proved very effective in apprehending bank robbers and other gangsters.

9. 1931 The first police motorcycle was equipped with a radio by the Indianapolis Police Department in
September 1931.

10. 1933 In March 1933, the Bayonne New Jersey Police Department went on the air with the first two-way,
mobile police radio system.

11. 1934 By 1934, so many police departments have police radio systems that they were being as inter-city
communications for all types of general police messages. The Federal Communications Commission had to
intervene and establish strict control on police radio communications, restricting non-emergency messages
to wire communications.

12. 1935 Because the police departments did not understand the government restrictions, they (at first) refused
to obey them and police radiomen from all over the country banded together to form the APCO (Association
of Police Communications Officers). (It was later changed to the Association of Public-Safety
Communications Officers).

13. 1939 Daniel E. Noble, of Connecticut State College, developed the first FM mobile two-way transmitters
and receivers for the Connecticut State Police. This was to bring about a change in the whole mobile radio
picture. (FM means Frequency Modulation)

14. 1940 Motorola President, Paul Galvin, saw, the value of FM over AM for mobile police communications,
and hired Dan Noble to develop two-way FM for Motorola Police Radio Sales. One of Nobles first
developments was the remarkable Differential Squelch Circuit, which demonstrated greatly increased range
in fringe areas.

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15. 1945 The Federal communications Commission allocated frequencies for FM, and it became the
established system for police radio communications.

Today most departments have three-way radios where the patrol car in the field may not only carry on a two-
way conversation with the base radio, but may also carry on the same type of conversation with other police vehicles in
the field.

Recent developments by the military, in the area of field communications, indicate that law enforcement
communications will have much more to look forward to.

PLANNING A POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Planning a Police Communication System (PCS) is not that complicated, especially if the system is for small
municipal police station. The planner must of course have technical knowledge and skill in radio operation and
installation. The technical requirement can be translated into simple laymans language easily understood by the Chief
of Police (COP), members of the peace and order council, and the Mayor.

A good plan is always written. It should determine, by survey, what is existing and what is needed. Before the
recommendations, analysis of the survey should be made. Here the financial status of the local government should be
determined. For the implementation, a responsible police officer should be appointed with corresponding authority and
responsibility.

STEPS in Planning a Police Communication System

1. Determine the Basic Need - Is there a need for -

portable two-way radio
radio tranceivers in mobile patrol cars
radios tranceivers for police officers on foot patrol
telephone system
manual telephone exchange
semi-automatic telephone exchange
National Direct Dial (NDD)
International Direct Dial (IDD)

Standard Modern Police Communication System requirements: Modern communication systems require
OPERATION CENTER or BASE and the communication room at the base contains the following:
radio transceivers with control panels and mikes
telephone trunklines and switchboards
monitor receivers
inter-city radio controls
paging and recall systems
fax machines
alarm and indicator systems
intercoms
closed circuit TV
traffic control panel
computer with Land Area Network (LAN) and modem (for internet access)

2. Conduct a Survey - The survey must be done by a TECHNICAL TEAM

a. Conduct pre-survey conference with the COP and city/municipal officials to determine the:
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funding - type of system desired and kind of support the system will need

b. The Technical Survey should be conducted to reveal:

location of the precincts - limits/boundaries of areas to be patrolled - obstructions of radio and telephone transmission
interferences, frequency drifts and harmonics - availability of local facilities such as electric power, telephone system,
fax, etc. Questions that must be answered during the technical survey include but not limited to:
Is the radio and/or telephone traffic light or heavy?
Are 2-way radios needed?
Is duplex needed or simplex is enough?
What is the degree of maintenance needed for the equipment?

c. Analysis of the Survey - Compatibility of the equipment and system - Cost of the equipment:
Is there available fund to support the quality of system that is needed?
Is there an alternative if the first option cannot be realized?

3. Draft the PCS and Propose the Plan - The Technical Team prepares an output (summary report) of their
survey and submits this to the local government. The report is actually a project proposal or feasibility study
which includes the recommendations of the technical team such as training of operators, maintenance
program, appointment of a Communication Officer

4. Choice and Acceptance - The report of the Surveying Team (Technical Team) is then transformed into a
feasibility study. The feasibility study is submitted to the Reviewing Team, which is composed of the Local
Chief Executive (LCE), the COP and other concerned authorities in the locality, for evaluation and decision
making. After evaluation, the reviewing team must accept the proposal or choose an alternative from the
options recommended by the surveying team.

5. Implement Action and Checklist - If the proposal or a corresponding alternative has been chosen and
accepted by the reviewing team, the technical team must then set priorities and prepare a checklist of tasks
to be performed.

6. Appointment of Action Official - In the checklist of priorities, among the first tasks to be performed is
determining the person who will be appointed as the Action Official the coordinator of the project of
installing the planned PCS.

7. Procurement of Equipment - In the procurement of equipment that will be used for the PCS, bidding must
be conducted as a standard operating procedure (SOP). In bidding, the proposed equipment to be bought
and used is advertised. At least 3 dealers or suppliers of such needed articles respond by furnishing a
quotation (itemized price list) and then submits it to the action official. The action official has the discretion to
choose the dealer or supplier who offers the lowest quotation. Procurement of needed equipment is then
awarded to the dealer chosen by the action official.

8. Training of Technicians, Dispatchers, and other Users - Training of Technicians and Users of the system
to be installed may be done thru formal schooling or thru on-the-job (OJT). Technicians and Dispatchers
should be trained with the standard radio, telephone and other communication procedures. They must also
be updated with the laws, rules and regulations for public communication.

9. Coordinating Center and Service Shop - An office for the action official and communication engineers who
will supervise the installation of the communication system must be established. This is important in order to
have a formal setting of decision making while the system is about to be installed or is already in the actual
process of installation.

10. Checking, Alignment and Installation of Equipment

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RADIO COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS FOR THE POLICE

Radio is the system of communication employing electromagnetic waves propagated through space.
Because of their varying characteristics, radio waves of different lengths are used for different purposes and are
usually identified by their frequency.

Note: The shortest waves have the highest frequency, or number of cycles per second; the longest waves
have the lowest frequency, or fewest cycles per second.

A. RADIO WAVES

Radio waves range from a few kilohertz to several gigahertz. Waves of visible light are much shorter. In a
vacuum, all electromagnetic waves travel at a uniform speed of about 300,000 km (about 186,000 mi) per second.

Radio Frequency Designation Abbr. Wavelength

3-30 kHz Very low frequency VLF 100,000-10,000 m
30-300 kHz Low frequency LF 10,000-1,000 m
300-3,000 kHz Medium frequency MF 1,000-100 m
3-30 MHz High frequency (short wave) HF 100-1 m
30-3000 MHz Very high frequency VHF 10 -1 m
300-3,000 MHz Ultrahigh frequency UHF 1 m-10 cm
3-30 GHz Superhigh frequency SHF 10 -1 cm
30-300 GHz Extremely high frequency EHF 1 cm-1 mm

kHz = 1 kilohertz = 1,000 Hz

MHz = 1 megahertz = 1,000 kHz
GHz = 1 gigahertz = 1,000 MHz

A typical radio communication system has two main components, a transmitter and a receiver. The
transmitter generates electrical oscillations at a radio frequency called the carrier frequency. Either the amplitude or the
frequency itself may be modulated to vary the carrier wave. An amplitude-modulated signal consists of the carrier
frequency plus two sidebands resulting from the modulation. Frequency modulation produces more than one pair of
sidebands for each modulation frequency. These produce the complex variations that emerge as speech or other
sound in radio broadcasting, and in the alterations of light and darkness in television broadcasting.

B. RADIO TRANSMITTER - Essential components of a radio transmitter include the ff:

1. An oscillation generator for converting commercial electric power into oscillations of a predetermined radio
frequency;
2. Amplifiers for increasing the intensity of these oscillations while retaining the desired frequency; and
3. A transducer for converting the information to be transmitted into a varying electrical voltage proportional to
each successive instantaneous intensity. For sound transmission, a microphone is the transducer; for picture
transmission the transducer is a photoelectric device.

Radio Modulators

Other important components of the radio transmitter are the modulator, which uses these proportionate
voltages to control the variations in the oscillation intensity or the instantaneous frequency of the carrier, and the
antenna, which radiates a similarly modulated carrier wave. Every antenna has some directional properties, that is, it
radiates more energy in some directions than in others, but the antenna can be modified so that the radiation pattern
varies from a comparatively narrow beam to a comparatively even distribution in all directions; the latter type of
radiation is employed in broadcasting.

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Modulation of the carrier wave so that it may carry impulses is performed either at low level or high level. In
the former case the audio-frequency signal from the microphone, with little or no amplification, is used to modulate the
output of the oscillator, and the modulated carrier frequency is then amplified before it is passed to the antenna. In the
latter case, the radio-frequency oscillations and the audio-frequency signal are independently amplified, and
modulation takes place immediately before the oscillations are passed to the antenna. The signal may be impressed
on the carrier either by frequency modulation (FM) or amplitude modulation (AM).

Radio Antennas

The antenna of a transmitter need not be close to the transmitter itself. Commercial broadcasting at medium
frequencies generally requires a very large antenna, which is best located at an isolated point far from cities, whereas
the broadcasting studio is usually in the heart of the city. FM, television, and other very-high-frequency broadcasts
must have very high antennas if appreciably long range is to be achieved, and it may not be convenient to locate such
a high antenna near the broadcasting studio. In all such cases, the signals may be transmitted by wires. Ordinary
telephone lines are satisfactory for most commercial radio broadcasts; if high fidelity or very high frequencies are
required, coaxial cables are used.

C. RADIO RECEIVER - The essential components of a radio receiver are:

1. An antenna for receiving the electromagnetic waves and converting them into electrical oscillations;
2. Amplifiers for increasing the intensity of these oscillations;
3. Demodulator or detection equipment for demodulating;
4. A speaker for converting the impulses into sound waves audible by the human ear (and in television a
picture tube for converting the signal into visible light waves); and
5. In most radio receivers, oscillators to generate radio-frequency waves that can be mixed with the
incoming waves.

D. THE CONVENTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMAND CENTER

Most police communication centers operate in a two-stage manual process. The following is the SOP when a
call is made to the police department:
1. The officer at a complaint desk position, first determines the need for police action, and then records the
details on a card.
2. The card is then routed to dispatch console where the operator has control of one or more radio
channels. In the smaller organizations, this usually accomplished by handing the card from one person
to another. In larger departments it is customary to use a conveyer belt system between the two
positions.
3. The operator at the dispatch console then establishes radio contact with the patrol unit and relays the
details of the complaint.
4. The dispatcher also has the duty of maintaining a record of the status of the police vehicles under his
control. If information is needed from the records division or from some computer source, the operator
must then phone for this information.
E. THE POLICE RADIO DISPATCHER

The radio dispatcher is the personnel in a police communication center or coordinating center tasked to
receive and transmit radio messages. Before a policeman or civilian can become a radio dispatcher, he must be
trained formally or through an OJT. The dispatcher is also called radio coordinator and radio operator.

Benefits of employing a trained radio dispatcher:

1. Easy of understanding radio messages
2. Elimination of errors
3. Minimum communication time
4. Development of professional attitude in sending and receiving messages
5. Inter-service cooperation
6. Conservation of equipment
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Basic Qualifications of a Radio Dispatcher or Operator

1. Ability to speak clearly and distinctly at all times

2. Ability to reduce rambling and disconnected material into concise and accurate messages
3. Ability to think and act promptly in emergencies
4. Ability to analyze the situation accurately and to take an effective course of action
5. Thorough understanding of the capacities of the communication system
6. Adequate understanding of the technical operation of his own system to allow intelligent reporting of
equipment failures
7. Physical and mental ability to work effectively under all conditions encountered
8. Knowledge of the rules and regulations applying to dispatchers responsibilities

Voice Qualities of Effective Radio Dispatcher The three characteristics of a persons voice are:

1. Loudness or volume - depends on the size of the human voice box

2. Pitch or voice frequency the level of the voice which depends on the number of cycles per second emitted
by the speaker (high pitched is not pleasant and clear in talking through a mike)
3. Timbre - the quality of a speech sound that comes from its tone rather than its pitch or volume

F. POLICE RADIO (AND TELEPHONE) LANGUAGE

Even though your primary duties are those of an investigator, patrolman, or traffic officer, you may be called
upon to pick up a radio to pass some valuable information to one of the police units or offices. This section provides
you with basic knowledge of correct radio and telephone procedures so you can operate the voice radio equipment in
an ordinary police station. The following are key terms that help you understand and observe proper radio and
telephone procedures:

1. TRANSMISSION: A communication (formal message) sent by one police unit and intended for reception by
another police unit.
2. ANSWER or FEEDBACK: A transmission made by a station called in response to the call received.
3. CALL SIGN: A call sign is a word, or a combination of words, intended for transmission by
voice means, and it identifies the command, unit, or authority of the radio station.
4. NET CALL SIGN: The collective call sign that represents all the radio stations operating together on a
particular radio net (ROTACOM, DELTACOM, etc.).
5. NET CONTROL STATION: A radio station appointed by higher authority to direct and control the operation
and flow of all traffic handled on the radio net.
6. PROWORD: A pronounceable word or phrase that has been assigned a meaning to speed up message
handling on radio nets that use radio and telephone.
7. ABBREVIATED PLAINDRESS MESSAGE: A message that has certain elements of the message heading
omitted for speed of handling. Anyone or all of the following may be omitted: precedence, date, date-time
group, and group count.
8. RECEIPT: A communication sent by the receiving operator indicating that the message or other
transmission has been satisfactorily received.
9. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: A separate message originated by the addressee to inform the originator that his
message has been received and is understood.

G. RADIO PHONETIC ALPHABETS

When necessary to identify a letter of the alphabet, the standard phonetic alphabet should be used. This
helps to prevent the receiving operator from copying your words or groups of words incorrectly. Bs, Ps, Ts, and other
letters that sound alike can be confusing when heard on radio telephone nets.

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LETTER PHONETIC EQUIVALENT PRONOUNCED AS

A ALPHA AL fah
B BRAVO BRAH voh
C CHARLIE CHAR lee or SHAR lee
D DELTA DELL tah
E ECHO ECK oh
F FOXTROT FOKS trot
G GOLF GOLF
H HOTEL hoh TELL
I INDIA IN dee ah
J JULIET JEW lee et
K KILO KEY loh
L LIMA LEE mah
M MIKE MIKE
N NOVEMBER no VEM ber
O OSCAR OSS cah
P PAPA pah PAH
Q QUEBEC keh BECK
R ROMEO ROW me oh
S SIERRA see AIR rah
T TANGO TANG go
U UNIFORM YOU nee form
V VICTOR VIK tah
W WHISKEY WISS key
X XRAY ECKS ray
Y YANKEE YANG key
Z ZULU ZOO loo

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION-

NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION COMMISSION (DOTC-NTC)

TEN CODES
(Some are given the corresponding Q Codes)

10-0 Caution/Safe tracking 10-8 Monitor/QRX 10-16 Problem

10-1 Hard copy 10-9 Repeat/One more time 10-17 Request/Please/Kindly
10-2 Clear copy 10-10 Over and out 10-18 Record/Log
10-3 Slow down 10-11 Inquire 10-19 Come back/Go back
10-4 Roger/Positive/QSL 10-12 Stand by 10-20 Location/QTH
10-5 Relay message 10-13 Road & weather condition 10-21 Call by telephone
10-6 Busy/QRL 10-14 To pick up 10-22 Disregard/Cancel
10-7 Stop transmitting/QRT 10-15 Answer/Reply 10-23 Arrived at scene
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10-24 Follow-up/Make a report 10-71 Nature of fire 10-122 CVA (stroke)
10-25 Meeting/Eyeball 10-72 Demo/Rally 10-123 Fracture
10-26 Subject/Victim/Casualty 10-73 Fire trucks 10-124 OB Emergency
10-27 Change frequency/Drivers 10-74 Negative 10-125 Hypertension
license 10-75 Permission 10-126 IN patient
10-28 Plate no. of vehicle 10-76 Proceed to 10-127 OUT Patient
10-29 Verify/Observe/Check 10-77 Time of arrival 10-128 Operator
record 10-78 Assistance needed 10-129 Son/Daughter
10-30 Water supply/H2o 10-79 Dead person 10-130 Secretary
10-31 Approval/Result 10-80 Kidnapping case 10-131 Extension
10-32 Armed/Man with gun 10-81 Carnapping case 10-132 Driver
10-33 Emergency/Urgent 10-82 Reservation prepare 10-133 Wife/XYL
10-34 Crime in progress/Riot 10-83 Vehicle found 10-134 National officer
10-35 Red alert 10-84 Estimated time of departure 10-135 Regional officer/ Group
10-36 Correct time/QRT 10-85 Will be late 10-136 NTC
10-37 Eat food./Reload/Fill fuel 10-86 Missing person 10-137 NBI Clearance
10-38 Local police/Military 10-87 Female/YL 10-138 Police clearance
10-39 Hurry up/Use light-siren 10-88 Limaline No. 10-139 Necessary papers
10-40 Roving/Silent 10-89 Person found 10-140 I.D.
monitoring/QRU 10-90 Robbery/Theft 10-141 Organization base
10-41 Operatives/Members 10-91 Unnecessary use of radio 10-142 Thank you/TNX
10-42 Disengage/Cancel 10-92 Anti-narcotics case 10-143 I Love You/QLY
10-43 Information 10-93 Address 10-144 Welcome
10-44 Regards 10-94 Drug racing
10-45 Vehicle/Mobile 10-95 Operation
10-46 Assist motorist 10-96 Visitor/Jammer/QRM
10-47 Crew needed 10-97 Radio check/QSA
10-48 Excavation/Road repairs 10-98 Call sign/QRA
10-49 Traffic situation 10-99 Home/House
10-50 State complete details 10-100 Office
10-51 Wrecker needed 10-101 Statement of account
10-52 Ambulance needed 10-102 Treasurer/Collection
10-53 Heavy traffic/Road block 10-103 Money
10-54 Investigation/Tor needed 10-104 Change frequency/QSY
10-55 Electric power 10-105 Reactivated/Mechanic
10-56 Intoxicated person/ 10-106 Modulation
Alcoholic behavior 10-107 Antenna
10-57 Hit and run 10-108 Radio license
10-58 To direct road traffic 10-109 Uniform/Attire
10-59 Convoy/Companion 10-110 Equipment
10-60 Hospital 10-111 Radio (portable)
10-61 Doctors/Medical team 10-112 Base Radio
10-62 Medicines 10-113 Booster
10-63 Assignment completed 10-114 Power supply
10-64 Message 10-115 Battery pack
10-65 Assignment/tasks 10-116 Repeater/Phone patch
10-66 Necessary/Needed 10-117 Computer
10-67 Male/YM 10-118 Rotator
10-68 Deliver/Dispatch 10-119 Coax cable
10-69 Received message 10-120 Gun shot/Stab wound
10-70 Fire alarm 10-121 Heart attack
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H. WALKIE-TALKIES

The slang term for the two-way radio systems developed by Motorola in the 1930s designed for home and police
radios. Today, it is known as two-way hand held radio (HHR) or radio transceiver.

Features and advantages of walkie-talkies:

1. Portable and easy to operate;
2. The foot patrolman can both send and receive messages quite easily; and
3. Enables patrol officers to call for immediate assistance.

I. TECHNIQUES IN RADIO COMMUNICATION

Though radio communication is not complex, there are still problems that usually encountered by police operatives.
One problem is the massive use of the airwave by both police and civilian communication groups. To reduce or eliminate these
problems, basically, police operatives should be familiar with proper use of the equipment, and to adhere to the basic rules of
radio procedure.

THE ABCS OF RADIO TRANSMISSION

A. Accuracy It is the correctness and truthfulness of what is being communicated. Inaccuracy oftentimes causes
miscommunication. The major cause of inaccuracy is haste and impatience. The old saying that haste makes waste
certainly applies to police communications.

B. Brevity This means using few words. Due to the expanding volume of radio traffic, it is essential that there be no
unnecessary or repetitious words in the transmission.

C. Courtesy Courtesy refers to politeness of the words being used in communication. As the old adage points out,
Courtesy begets courtesy. Anger begets anger. The practice of courtesy is actually a practice of good human
relations. In radio communication, courtesy can be shown:
by saying thank you (but this may take very valuable air time);
in the tone of voice;
by avoiding humorous comments over the air when somebody goofs up or commits error in transmitting or
understanding the message; and
by avoiding jamming up when police officers are on the air.

Clarity, the Second C

C in radio communications also stands for Clarity which is often mentioned in report writing and note taking but it
is also an essential in police communications.

Clarity can be best obtained through two main areas:

1. Semantics - What is semantics? Webster lists it as: significant meaning, the science of meanings as contrasted with
phonetics, the science of sound. Proper semantics would be the transference of thoughts or ideas between people
through communication without a loss or perversion of the original meaning or intent.

Two ways to improve semantics - Learn through experience what the most common errors are. If an officer tries to
communicate with someone and finds that he is misunderstood or has trouble getting the idea over to him, he can give the
problem some thought with the intent of finding a better way of expressing it next time. He can talk to others and find out how
they would express this thought, or just listen to others when they try to communicate in the same or similar situations.
Think before Talking. An officer should always put his mind in gear before releasing the clutch on his tongue. Too
many officers grab for the mike, press the transmitter button then think of what they want to say. This is quite easy to do when

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the situation involves an urgent matter. The important thing to remember is that the message be received and UNDERSTOOD,
or the time made precious by the emergency would be wasted.

2. Phonetics - Phonetics is the science of sounds - the understanding of a communication through the proper sounding
of words. There are three main areas of phonetics that hinder good police communications.

Radio interference and distortion - This can be corrected to some extent by the proper adjusting of the Squelch
control. Changing position and having the message relayed by other units can also help.

Poor Pronunciation - An officer should not transmit over the air if he has gum in his mouth or is eating his lunch. If it is
an emergency, he should spit them out for the sake of clarity. He should face the mike at all times, and talk about two inches
from the mike. If he is speeding with the siren going, he may cut out the noise by placing the mike on the side of his throat and
then transmitting his message.

Similar sounding words and letters - There are many words in the English language that have similar sound. There
are also many letters that sound the same.

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