Prior to the 1920's Police officers walked the beat alone. They had no way of receiving
reports of activities in the town except by word of mouth from citizens that happened to
find them. If the officer was in a situation that required assistance, he could only yell for
help. Citizens would often help, or try to find another policeman.

A lot has changed as communications equipment and computers have invaded the office.
The Detroit Police Dept. went 'on the air' with the first voice radio system in 1922, with a
call sign of "KOP" (with a K) This was a one way system, with the dispatchers
broadcasting calls 'in the blind' to units. Classified as a "broadcast station" by the
predecessor to the FCC, the Police dept. was required to provide entertainment to the
public between police dispatches. To comply - They hired musical bands to play
throughout the day. When a call came in, the public safety dispatcher would stop the
music and broadcast the call - then signal the band to play again.

The Bayonne, NJ PD placed 4 cars equipped with 2 way radios into service in March 1933,
however the Connecticut State Police were the first to use the brand new "FM" 2 way
radios that allowed the cars to talk to the dispatcher as well as to each other.

The responsibility and functions of the public safety dispatcher have evolved much like the
radios and computers that we use. This months training topic is part 1 of 2 and provides a
look at some of these protocols, and how they can be applied to a ARES-RACES Net.

Phonetic Alphabets: Phonetic alphabets are a tool that radio users rely on in times of
bad coverage, poor conditions, or when the message being transmitted has a personal
name or other non-standard word. There are two types of phonetic alphabets in use
today: The APCO/POLICE phonetics (Adam, Boy, Charles, David,) and the international
phonetics (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta).

When using phonetic on the air, do not mix letters from both alphabets (Alpha, Boy etc.).
This creates confusion, and delays in the message passing. For the same reason, words
must not be created on the fly to substitute forgotten phonetics.

The phonetic equivalent of the letter replaces the letter itself. "A as in Alpha, P as in
Papa, R as in Romeo." is incorrect. In addition to making it very hard to copy, it takes up
more precious airtime.

When broadcasting a common first name, and uncommon last name, is should be stated as
"First name John, last name Doe - phonetically Delta Oscar Echo". The IPA has long been
the Amateur Radio Operators standard, and replaced the APCO phonetics as the public
safety standard on June 1, 1974.

Numbers: The pronunciation of numerals is of critical importance. Numerical strings should
be stated by integer name - One Six Three Two, not "one thousand six hundred thirty
two". This will reduce time and potentially life critical errors. The mixing up of address
numbers is the largest cause of response delays in the public safety field, and the most
common mistake made is the pronunciation of the numerals in the address.

Some examples of confusing addresses are listed below:

          250 Four-Wheel road. - Or is it: 254 Wheel Road?
          30 51st Street. - Or 3050 First Street?
          2 64th Avenue. - Or…. 260 Fourth Avenue?

The last one is a little tricky. Since people are used to hearing 3, 4, or 5 numbers in an
address, it is a good idea to say "Number" before 1 or 2 digit addresses, so units do not
loose their train of thought.

Remember - field units do not have the advantage of seeing the original document, and
may become confused when receiving a string of numbers that appear unrelated. Numbers
should be broadcast with natural pauses, and broken into groups if the case permits. For
example, a social security number would be sent as "550-11-1255" and not 55-0111-255".
It is acceptable to use "15 cc's" or '40Mg"

Descriptive information: As a field unit or a Net Control Operator, you will need to send
and or receive descriptive information many times during an event. The best way to
ensure that the information is passed clearly and correctly is to know the pattern. The
standard pattern for reporting or broadcasting descriptive data for a person is Top to
Bottom, inside out. That is "April is wearing a cowboy hat, white shirt, pink jacket and tan
pants". This pattern is the standard because it follows a logical order. The receiver of the
message knows what is coming next and doesn't have to sort the data while receiving it.
There is another method, used when the detailed description of a person is not known,
such as a suspect in a crime. Here you use the features most easily recognized at a
distance. Race, Sex and Weight are the three common ones here.

Another item often described is a vehicle. The pattern for cars is easy to remember.

C = Color
Y = Year
M = Make
B = Body style
A = And ("And Anything Else" such as bumper stickers, broken windows etc.)
L = License.

You can see the pattern. For example: Black 1997 Ford Pickup with a broken rear window,
5C29452

Each ARES-RACES activation is different, and each Net Control Operator will be faced with
unique challenges. Proper use of time saving codes, predetermined designators, reporting
patterns are essential in maintaining efficient radio operations.

                                                             Net.Mgr. John Dollar N4NNX.