Ladies and gentlemen, this is a police radio.
I mean, that's obvious is it not? It's the second image that comes up when "police radio" is ran by a Google images search.
While identification of such an object is a relatively simple and easy thing to do, it appears that within the PLPD, the usages of this device remains rather poor. Within this guide I will attempt to outline a few basic radio protocols and present a method of consideration for what should be said over voice based radio.
Let's begin with why a Police Radio is used.
If anyone were to take a step back, and question why a police radio is used, the answer would be very simple. To communicate. But the real use is a little more complicated than this. A more appropriate answer would be to communicate important information quickly and efficiently.
Criminals have a text based radio chat, and so do we. But what separates us from them is our voice based radio. The ability to relay crucial information quickly is what gives us a tactical advantage. The key words here are crucial and quickly. The ability to quickly adapt thanks to this is paramount if the execution of our duties.
Text based or voice based radio?
When deciding which means of communication to use, I use a very simple acronym.
C.O.I
Concise, Original, Important
For a message to qualify for voice based radio, it must be concise, or short. Try not to take up too much time on the radio, try to avoid long pauses or "ums" or "ers." These usually just take time away from other people who may have equally important things to say.
Secondly, it must be original. Repeating the same thing somebody else has said is no good, doing so just wastes radio time where somebody else could be talking.
Finally, your message must be important. If it is something menial, such as a request for a partner or a meal break, use text based radio. Clogging the radio with non-important messages leads to a strong breakdown in communication.
Do's and Dont's
Do ☑
-Respect other's messages
-Keep calm over the radio
-Wait your turn to speak
Don't ✘
-Yell over the radio
-Call other officers out over the voice based radio (or at all)
-Shout down your radio
-Be generally rude / disrespectful
-Go off on tangents or talk for too long.
That's a whistle stop guide to proper radio communication, hope you enjoyed!
