Arkansas police 10 codes are numeric shorthand phrases officers use over the radio to keep transmissions brief and consistent. The set used across Arkansas overlaps with the national APCO codes but not perfectly: a handful of numbers carry different meanings here than they do elsewhere, and meanings can shift slightly from one department to the next.
Common Arkansas Police 10 Codes
The codes below are widely recognized across Arkansas law enforcement agencies.
- 10-4: Affirmative / yes
- 10-7: Out of service
- 10-8: In service
- 10-9: Repeat your message
- 10-15: Prisoner in custody
- 10-16: Send ambulance
- 10-20: What is your location?
- 10-21: Call by telephone
- 10-22: Disregard last information
- 10-24: Traffic stop
- 10-27: Armed person
- 10-28: Vehicle registration check
- 10-29: Warrant check on a person
- 10-33: Emergency traffic
- 10-37: Pursuit in progress
- 10-51: Check NCIC for warrants or stolen files
- 10-57: Fight in progress
- 10-86: Switch to another channel
- 10-97: Arrived at scene
- 10-98: Finished with last assignment
Individual sheriff’s offices and municipal departments sometimes assign their own meanings to less common numbers, so an officer moving between agencies, or a listener monitoring traffic across county lines, should not assume every code is identical everywhere in the state.
How Arkansas Codes Differ From the National APCO Set
Two of the codes above stand out because their Arkansas meanings do not match the national Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials standard. In the APCO system, 10-15 means “civil disturbance” and 10-24 means “assignment complete.” In Arkansas usage, 10-15 signals a prisoner in custody and 10-24 signals a traffic stop. Officers arriving from out of state, and anyone comparing Arkansas radio traffic against a national code chart, have to watch for these mismatches.
When Officers Must Drop 10 Codes for Plain Language
The National Incident Management System requires agencies to use plain language rather than 10 codes during multi-agency, multi-jurisdiction, or multi-discipline events such as major disasters or large-scale exercises. Federal preparedness grant funding has been tied to that requirement since fiscal year 2006.1Federal Emergency Management Agency. NIMS and Use of Plain Language
The requirement does not ban 10 codes for routine internal communication. A deputy working ordinary patrol on a county frequency can keep using them without putting the department’s federal funding at risk. FEMA still encourages plain language even in daily operations, on the reasoning that officers should practice the same style they will need in an emergency. Most Arkansas agencies land in the middle: 10 codes for internal traffic, plain language whenever mutual aid channels or multi-agency coordination come into play.1Federal Emergency Management Agency. NIMS and Use of Plain Language
Which Channels Carry These Codes
Arkansas Code Title 12, Chapter 10, Subchapter 2 sets up three categories of law enforcement radio frequency: an assigned county frequency, a statewide base-to-base frequency at 37.20 MHz, and a statewide emergency frequency at 37.24 MHz.2Justia. Arkansas Code 12-10-201 – Definitions
The assigned county frequency is where most 10-code traffic lives. It handles day-to-day operations inside a single county, and both base stations and mobile units can transmit on it. Larger municipal departments and the sheriff’s offices of Pulaski, Garland, and Sebastian counties instead operate on a separate high-band system between 150 and 175 MHz.2Justia. Arkansas Code 12-10-201 – Definitions
The 37.20 MHz base-to-base channel lets dispatchers in different counties talk to each other for routine business, and provides routine access to the nearest Arkansas State Police district headquarters and the nearest NCIC or criminal justice information system terminal. Only base stations can transmit on it; mobile units are not authorized.3Justia. Arkansas Code 12-10-205 – Frequency Allocation
The 37.24 MHz emergency channel is reserved for situations where inter-agency contact is needed to preserve peace or protect life and property. Base stations and mobile units can both transmit on it. Arkansas Code 12-10-204 lists the qualifying situations:4Justia. Arkansas Code 12-10-204 – Special Conditions for Use of Statewide Emergency Frequency
- Serious traffic accidents with injuries, hazardous material dangers (chemicals, explosives, gas, nuclear material), or rescue operations
- A felony in progress, or the pursuit of a felon or suspected felon
- Civil disorder
- Natural disaster
- Urgent NCIC or criminal justice information system queries tied to a felony situation
- A mobile unit conducting official business outside its assigned county with law enforcement in that jurisdiction
The emergency frequency can also act as a temporary backup when a county’s regular frequency or the base-to-base channel goes down, but only when the breakdown is at a base station. A single mobile unit’s failed radio does not justify switching over.3Justia. Arkansas Code 12-10-205 – Frequency Allocation
Penalty for Unauthorized Transmissions
Transmitting on a frequency assigned to an Arkansas law enforcement agency without authorization from the agency or department head is illegal. A violation of that rule, or of any other provision of the statewide radio communications subchapter, is a Class A misdemeanor. In Arkansas, a Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. The prohibition reaches anyone who transmits without approval, whether a civilian breaking into police traffic or an officer using a frequency they were not assigned to, and the authority to grant permission rests with each agency’s head or their designee.