10-20 Police Code Meaning & Definition

What Does 10-20 Mean?

10-20 is a police radio code most commonly used to mean Location.

Police departments and dispatch centers may use 10-20 differently, but Location is the most common meaning found in our database of agencies across the United States.

Most Common Meaning: Location

Used this way by: 62% of agencies on this page
Used in: 21 agencies across 14 states
Category: Communication
Consensus: MediumMost agencies use this code similarly, but some regional or agency variations exist.

Code Distribution Breakdown

Location: 62% (13 agencies)
Your Location: 14% (3 agencies)
Traffic Detail: 5% (1 agency)
O.C. Used: 5% (1 agency)
Incident Under Control: 5% (1 agency)
Robbery: 5% (1 agency)
Drowning: 5% (1 agency)

10-20 Police Code Meanings by Agency

21 agencies across 14 states

Why Does 10-20 Have Different Meanings?

Police radio codes are not standardized nationwide. Different agencies may assign different meanings to 10-20 , which is why multiple definitions can exist for the same code.

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