Brevity codes

Brevity codes are lists of short coded messages -- like 10-codes, 9-codes, signals, Q-codes, and the like -- which are used for three main reasons:

• they shorten transmissions,
• they obscure meaning from the General Public, and
• they provide users with a convenient dictionary of messages, such that everyone's working off the same sheet of music.

The latter of those three may well be the most important use of brevity codes, though it's rarely mentioned, and often not obvious, even to regular users. When using a brevity code on the air, a police officer, paramedic, or street sweeper doesn't need to think about how to say what he wants to say; that part's been taken care of already.

The problem with brevity codes is the same as the problem with standards: there are so many of them; this wiki carries dozens of lists of them, promulgated by various authorities, all slightly different.

Because of this, the National Incident Management System forbids their use in the communications concerning any event managed by its Incident Command System process.

But their use is still common within departments and agencies on their own private communications systems, and having lists of them makes listening to such communications easier.

Lists of Brevity Codes

Many lists of brevity codes are already on the wiki; please add links below that point to the pages (or preferably directly to sections on a page, where applicable) with lists you are aware of. If you add a list, please put it in it's own article, and link to it from here.

By State

Virginia

[Virginia_State_Police_(VA)#VSP_Aural_Brevity_Codes_.28Ten_Codes.29]