Code of Honor
English 110
3 October 2012
Code of Honor
In the movies, when you enter the stereotypical police station, you are instantaneously bombarded with the sounds of phones ringing, keyboards clacking and numerous people carrying on different conversations. This may seem confusing or if you are a person accustom to the sounds of a busy office, it might seem completely normal. These feelings could all change when a snatch of one of the conversations drifts your way. Hearing “No I haven’t turned in my 10-82 report yet” or “The suspect Mirandaed up so we will have to sit on them” will most likely befuddle the common man. But anyone who has ever worked in a police station will be nodding along in complete understanding. Police have their own way of communicating, ways that everyday citizens don’t know. The police use the knowledge and skill that they are taught to accurately assess a situation, devise a solution, and protect the welfare of the general public. Before someone can correctly announce themselves as a police officer they have to go through two kinds of training. The training is separated into the Police Academy and field training. The students are stripped of their usual title of Ms. Mr. and so on and instead are referred to as Probationary Police Officer (Rachlin, 7). From the moment they step through the doors of the academy they cease to be an everyday citizen and become a protector of the law, on a probationary period at least. The words used by their instructors, the rules they are taught, even the title they are referred to as, slowly change the way these people communicate. For the rest of their lives they will have a completely different lexis than say a construction worker or kindergarten teacher. One of the first types of communications they are required to master is the different codes used to describe situations. For example, According to The Making of a Cop when a 10-13 comes over the radio it immediately grabs the attention of every cop
3 October 2012
Code of Honor
In the movies, when you enter the stereotypical police station, you are instantaneously bombarded with the sounds of phones ringing, keyboards clacking and numerous people carrying on different conversations. This may seem confusing or if you are a person accustom to the sounds of a busy office, it might seem completely normal. These feelings could all change when a snatch of one of the conversations drifts your way. Hearing “No I haven’t turned in my 10-82 report yet” or “The suspect Mirandaed up so we will have to sit on them” will most likely befuddle the common man. But anyone who has ever worked in a police station will be nodding along in complete understanding. Police have their own way of communicating, ways that everyday citizens don’t know. The police use the knowledge and skill that they are taught to accurately assess a situation, devise a solution, and protect the welfare of the general public. Before someone can correctly announce themselves as a police officer they have to go through two kinds of training. The training is separated into the Police Academy and field training. The students are stripped of their usual title of Ms. Mr. and so on and instead are referred to as Probationary Police Officer (Rachlin, 7). From the moment they step through the doors of the academy they cease to be an everyday citizen and become a protector of the law, on a probationary period at least. The words used by their instructors, the rules they are taught, even the title they are referred to as, slowly change the way these people communicate. For the rest of their lives they will have a completely different lexis than say a construction worker or kindergarten teacher. One of the first types of communications they are required to master is the different codes used to describe situations. For example, According to The Making of a Cop when a 10-13 comes over the radio it immediately grabs the attention of every cop
Cited: "Police Scanner Codes." RadioLabs Wireless and Beyond. RadioLabs International Inc., 2007. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.radiolabs.com/police-codes.html>. Rachlin, Harvey. The Making of a Cop. New York: Pocket, 1991. Print. Shorrock, Robert. "Questions for a Police Officer." Telephone interview. 05 Oct. 2012. "What Is the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor?" International Association of Chiefs of Police Global Leadership in Policing. International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2012. http://www.theiacp.org/PoliceServices/ProfessionalAssistance/Ethics/WhatistheLawEnforceen>.