Oh, my. Some distressing news. You don't have to 10-62 on this, but if you, do, 10-40 it, OK? It's a 10-18 situation, maybe even requiring a 10-33. So, 10-12 till I get back to you:
Today, the Dallas Police Department moves to a new plain-language system that's supposed to make communications more universal and less complicated. No more of those distinctive radio codes or signals.
The department says it's following a nationwide trend, but some call it the end of an era.
Others say the switch is no big deal. Many Dallas police dispatches already include plain language because it's simple.
I get the plain English part, to end the confusion and make the police's job easier and safer. There are too many departments using too many different codes. But it sure does take away some of the romance, doesn't it? I did police beat for a while on my first reporting job in Wabash, and I learned the city police codes as part of the job. Listening the the back and forth on the police radio was like being part of a secret club. You didn't know what was going on without the decoder ring, and not that many people had one.
Comments
Breaker, breaker one nine ... this is the gadfly talkin' ... what's your twenty, Leo Lion?
Copy that and that's a big ten four, Good Buddy. Keep your wheels between the ditches and the bears off your britches.
Ah yes, a return to the simpler life when speeding was okay and 'Don't text and drive" was incoherent.