What does the Foxtrot have to do with Police Work?
Perhaps you’ve heard police officers on TV or in person using what sounds like random words in strange ways while communicating over their radios. Some of these random words include references to dancing like “Foxtrot” or “Tango”. Some may resemble references to a Shakespearean play with the use of “Juliett” or “Romeo”. What about “Golf” or “Whiskey”? I can assure you that neither is the police officer discussing after work plans, nor is it an attempt to deliberately confuse anyone. The officer is using what is called the International Phonetic Alphabet which is used to clearly communicate important details with the dispatcher and/or other police personnel over the radio.
The International Phonetic Alphabet, officially called the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, created by the International Civil Aviation Organization, is an evolved version of a telephone spelling alphabet developed prior to World War I when voice supported two-way radio use became very popular. The International Phonetic Alphabet, which is not at all related to any phonetic transcription system, is a set of code words assigned to the letters of the English alphabet. Each code word begins with the letter it is assigned to.
The whole point of the code word system was to improve message delivery between parties using tele/radio communication. Spelling parts of the message improved accuracy and assigning words instead of using just the letter name avoided confusion associated with similar sounding letters like “m” and “n” or “f” and “s”. Several tests involving thirty-one nationalities were conducted to make final decisions on which words would be most successful to use in assigning them to each letter.
Peel Regional Police uses the International Phonetic Alphabet often. When you see a car pulled over by one of our police cruisers at the side of the road, you can be certain that the officer called the vehicle’s licence plate out to the dispatcher using this alphabet. You will also hear the officer using this system to spell out names, places or other details needing clarification over radio communication.
Although some officers do in fact golf, do the foxtrot and recite William Shakespeare, hopefully now you have a bit more clarity about why you might hear these references on the big screen or out on the streets. Despite all the advances in methods of communication that are available these days, in a job where clear, accurate communication is a priority, we still rely on a one hundred year old invention - The International Phonetic Alphabet.
