This document is maintained by Anthony W. Haukap The current version of this FAQ document can always be found on my website at: All items listed here are subject to change at any time. While every attempt is made to present accurate data it should be noted that the author makes no guarantee as to the accuracy of any information provided in this document, and is not responsible for any consequences of its use.
Police Radio FrequenciesSt. Louis City's radio system is an 800 MHz Motorola Type-II Trunked Radio System, its system identification number is 0D30 and uses a connect tone of 90 Hz. In this systems there are a total of 4 3600-baud control channels:857.4375 - Motorola Channel Number 258 858.4375 - Motorola Channel Number 298 859.4375 - Motorola Channel Number 338 860.4375 - Motorola Channel Number 378 For the complete listing of frequencies used by this agency see the following link: St. Louis City Police Frequencies Rotation of the control channel occurs around midnight each day. There are 800 MHz repeaters (radio transmitters) at 2 separate sites. The primary site is at Police Headquarters (downtown) and the alternate (or backup) site is at the South Patrol station. On a weekly basis the radio system is switched to the alternate site to verify operation should it be needed in an emergency. Currently this switch occurs each Wednesday and the alternate site remains in operation for a total of 24 hours. While the system is operating from the alternate site you may notice a difference in the strength of the signal.
St. Louis City Motorola Trunked Radio System Information:Motorola Type-II System (CCOM 800MHz, Plan-1) Motorola Trunked System ID: 0D30 Motorola TRS Connect Tone: 90 Hz Trunk Radios Used: Motorola STX-800 (no keyboard or display) Motorola MTX-2000 Motorola ASTRO XTS-3000 Talkgroups Programmed Into Typical Patrol Radio: 1) INFO A 9) B.O.I. 2) DIST 1&2 10) COMMAND 3) DIST 3 11) S.O.D.D. 4) DIST 4&5 12) TACT A 5) INFO B 13) TACT B 6) DIST 6&8 14) UNASSIGN 7) DIST 7 15) UNASSIGN 8) DIST 9 16) UNASSIGN St. Louis City Police Talkgroups:
Police Talkgroups - Dispatch ChannelsThe city is currently broken up into 9 districts (there were as many as 12 districts in the past), which are incorporated into 3 distinct areas. The areas/districts are organize as follows Area 1 (South Patrol Division); Area 2 (Central Patrol Division); Area 3 (North Patrol Division). Motorola Talkgroup ID numbers are shown in the lefthand column below: Area I (South Patrol Bureau): 057360 1st & 2nd District Dispatch 057392 3rd District Dispatch Area II (Central Patrol Bureau): 057424 4th (Downtown) & 5th District Dispatch 057520 9th District Dispatch (Central West-End) Area III (North Patrol Bureau): 057456 6th & 8th District Dispatch 057488 7th District DispatchPolice Talkgroups - Tactical Channels Tactical Channels (a.k.a. Tac Channels) are used primarily for car-to-car communications, when you hear an officer ask someone to "switch up" what they really mean is change over to the tactical channel so that I can talk to you directly. This keeps the main police dispatch channels from being tied up unnecessarily. Normal District Beat Officers and their Commanders will use TACT-A. TACT-B is used as a command channel during special events, such as Presidental visits, 4th of July Parades, etc. Evidence Technicians, Street Corner Apprehension Teams and Homicide Units will use MISC TACT. St. Louis City Police Car-to-Car: 057648 Tact A (Patrol Officers) 057680 Tact B (Special Situations/Operations) 059600 Misc. Tactical 059376 K9 Tactical 059152 Mobile Reserve Tactical 057968 Recon 1 (South Patrol Detectives) 059056 Recon 2 (Central Patrol Detectives) 059088 Recon 3 (North Patrol Detectives)Police Talkgroups - Infomation Channels The INFO-A DISPATCHER enters wanted information, stolen and recovered property information in one of the crime databases. They also provide computer information checks on motor vehicles and persons as well as criminal history checks. ALL-POINTS-BULLETINS are issued when all the districts need to be informed of an event. This could be wanted information on a subject or a major (2nd alarm or higher) fire. St. Louis City Police Informational: 057712 Info A (South) 057744 Info B (North) 057872 PD AnnouncementPolice Talkgroups - Support Channels The COMMAND CHANNEL is used for special police operations; for example during a hostage situation all the units involved will switch to this channel and leave the main dispatch and tactical channels free for normal traffic. The SPECIAL OPERATION DEPLOYMENT DIVISION (SODD) dispatcher is responsible for dispatching the specialized City Police units. Such as the Mobile Reserve unit that supplies additional manpower and supplements regular area beat cars when and where needed. And the STREET CORNER APPREHENSION TEAM (SCAT) which is a task force for dealing with illegal drug activity (crack cocaine/meth) within the neighborhoods. The remainder of the specalized units that fall under SODD are ETU (Evidence Technician Units), K9, Sex Crimes, DART (Domestic Abuse Response Team), Juvenile, Homicide, Highway, Forest Park, Task Force, Medical Examiner, Child Abuse and Metro Link units. St. Louis City Police Special Operations: 057616 Command 057552 Special Operation Deployment Division (S.O.D.D.) 057904 Field Apprehension Strike Team (FAST) 058992 Street Corner Apprehension Team (S.C.A.T.) 057584 Bureau of Investigation (B.O.I. - Detectives) 058928 Narcotics 059184 Vice Squad 059216 Undercover 059248 Task Force 059440 Comm Confidential 057776 Disaster Management 059408 Lambert Airport Units 057936 Traffic Units (Radar) St. Louis City Sheriff's Department: 058608 City Sheriff Department 058640 City Sheriff (Ex-Parte Orders) St. Louis City TRS Maintenance: 057840 Comport (Radio Technicians) St. Louis City Traffic Control Division: 059920 Traffic Division - Parking Violation 059952 Traffic Division (metermaids?) St. Louis City Owned Parking Garages: 059984 Events Detail (Parking Garage Attendants) St. Louis City EMS/ Ambulance: 058416 EMS 1 - Dispatch | 058448 EMS 2 | As of February 2001 no longer in use. 058480 EMS 3 | EMS has switched back to VHF radios. 058544 EMS 4 (Repeater) | 058512 City Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) St. Louis City Maintenance: 059728 Maintenance Trucks St. Louis City Jail & Court: 059536 City Marshalls (Court Security) 059568 City Marshalls (TV Court) 059664 Workhouse & Jail 060336 St. Louis City Justice Center St. Louis City Departments: 059760 Air Pollution 059792 Water 1 (Repair) 059824 Water 2 (Customer Service) 059856 Water 3 (Engineering) 059888 Water 4 (Distribution) 060016 Building Inspectors 060048 Street Lighting & Sign Maintenance 060080 City Towing 060112 Street Department (Repairs) 060144 Refuse Department 059632 Animal Control 060304 Forestry Department (Park Rangers) 059504 Animal Control 060176 Parks Department 060208 Car/Truck Repair 059696 St Louis City Charter Cable's Installers Unit-To-Unit (MDT dispatched) St. Louis City Phone Patches (I-Calls) 700000 I-CALL ALL Unidentified Talkgroups (FYI - Block #7 is the only active block for Talkgroups. Block #7 runs from 57344 to 65536. Anything above or below that is a false ID.) 058576 058896 058960 059024 059120 059312 059472 060216 Unknown Digital (encrypted?) 060184 Unknown Digital (encrypted?) St. Louis TRS Notes: Configuration to monitor only EMERGENCY & APBsTo reduce the number of nuisance calls you hear on a busy TRS, set the "STATUS BIT" to "OFF" in the scanner's configuration menu (only Uniden scanners support Status Bits) and put only the following EMERGENCY talkgroup IDs (ID+2) and the APB talkgroup IDs (ID+7) in a talkgroup bank(s) by themselves: Emergency Talkgroup IDs: 057362 Emergency: Districts 1 & 2 057394 Emergency: District 3 057426 Emergency: Districts 4 & 5 057522 Emergency: District 9 057458 Emergency: Districts 6 & 8 057490 Emergency: District 7 057714 Emergency: Info A Channel 057746 Emergency: Info B Channel 057554 Emergency: SODD (Special Operation Deployment Division) 057586 Emergency: BOI (Bureau of Investigation) All Points Bulletins Talkgroup IDs: 057872 PD Announce 057367 APB: Districts 1 & 2 057399 APB: District 3 057431 APB: Districts 4 & 5 057527 APB: District 9 057463 APB: Districts 6 & 8 057495 APB: District 7 057719 APB: Info A (South Channel) 057751 APB: Info B (North Channel) 057559 APB: SODD (Special Operation Deployment Division) 057591 APB: BOI (Bureau of Investigation) - April 2004 removed from APB folder Tactical Talkgroups: 057680 Tact B With only the above talkgroup numbers programmed (be sure all the other talkgroup entries are lockedout in the scan list/bank), you will only hear the APBs dispatched and when someone hits their emergency button on that particular talkgroup. Talkgroup ID 57680 (Tact-B) will allow you to hear any tactical situations that may develop. Also, if your scanner support it, you can turn on BEEP ALERT for the Emergency ID numbers, so that when someone pushes the emergency button, the scanner will beep. City of St. Louis Police DispatchThe city police are split into 3 distinct areas:
Police Car NumbersThe composition of a unit call. Calls beginning with 1 - 3 are district calls and represent shift. Second number 1 - 9 represents the district number. Third and fourth number represents individual car unit-IDs. The dispatcher/officer will provide the following information to identify the unit on the radio: work shift, district area and car number. For example, when you hear a four-digit unit-ID, such as: 1-2-3-4
1 2 34
| | |
| | |
| | +------------ Car Number
Shift ----------------------+ | 00 = District Captain
1 = Afternoon Shift | 01 = District Lieutenant
2 = Evening Shift | 11 = District Sergeant
3 = Morning Shift | 12 = District Supervisor
|
District Number --------------+
1 = 1st District
2 = 2nd District
3 = 3rd District
4 = 4th District
5 = 5th District
6 = 6th District
7 = 7th District
8 = 8th District
9 = 9th District
Calls beginning with 0xxx through 9xxx are defined below:
Saint Louis City Police Unit Numbers0100 series IDs - On Foot Officers or Bike Units x160 series IDs - Area One Community School Officers x300 series IDs - District 3 Bike/Footbeats x450 series IDs - Washington Ave Footbeats x460 series IDs - Downtown Bike Beats x480 series IDs - Laclede's Landing Footbeats x460 series IDs - Area Two Community School Officers x660 series IDs - Area Three Community School Officers 1010 series IDs - Day Watch - South Patrol Desk Clerk* 1020 series IDs - Day Watch - Central Patrol Desk Clerk 1030 series IDs - Day Watch - North Patrol Desk Clerk 1100 series IDs - First District Patrol (day shift) 1200 series IDs - Second District Patrol (day shift) 1300 series IDs - Thrid District Patrol (day shift) 1400 series IDs - Fourth District Patrol (day shift) 1500 series IDs - Fifth District Patrol (day shift) 1600 series IDs - Sixth District Patrol (day shift) 1700 series IDs - Seventh District Patrol (day shift) 1800 series IDs - Eighth District Patrol (day shift) 1900 series IDs - Ninth District Patrol (day shift) 2010 series IDs - Afternoon Watch - South Patrol Desk Clerk 2020 series IDs - Afternoon Watch - Central Patrol Desk Clerk 2030 series IDs - Afternoon Watch - North Patrol Desk Clerk 2100 series IDs - First District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2200 series IDs - Second District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2300 series IDs - Thrid District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2400 series IDs - Fourth District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2500 series IDs - Fifth District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2600 series IDs - Sixth District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2700 series IDs - Seventh District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2800 series IDs - Eighth District Patrol (afternoon shift) 2900 series IDs - Ninth District Patrol (afternoon shift) 3010 series IDs - Night Watch - South Patrol Desk Clerk 3020 series IDs - Night Watch - Central Patrol Desk Clerk 3030 series IDs - Night Watch - North Patrol Desk Clerk 3100 series IDs - First District Patrol (night shift) 3200 series IDs - Second District Patrol (night shift) 3300 series IDs - Thrid District Patrol (night shift) 3400 series IDs - Fourth District Patrol (night shift) 3500 series IDs - Fifth District Patrol (night shift) 3600 series IDs - Sixth District Patrol (night shift) 3700 series IDs - Seventh District Patrol (night shift) 3800 series IDs - Eighth District Patrol (night shift) 3900 series IDs - Ninth District Patrol (night shift) 4000 series IDs - Bureau of Investigation 4050 series IDs - Violent Crime Task Force 4200 series IDs - Crimes Against Persons 4205 series IDs - Homicide Units 4260 series IDs - Sex Crimes Unit 4270 series IDs - Child Abuse 4290 series IDs - Domestic Abuse Response Team (DART) 4300 series IDs - Crime Against Property 4330 series IDs - Auto Theft 4350 series IDs - Fraud 4360 series IDs - Criminal Justice Liaison 4370 series IDs - Bomb / Arson 4400 series IDs - Vice Section 4440 series IDs - Narcotics Interdiction 4450 series IDs - Street Corner Apprehension Team (SCAT) / Undercover 4700 series IDs - Juvenile Unit 5000 series IDs - Administration 5100 series IDs - Communications Support 5200 series IDs - Records 5211 series IDs - Identification 5300 series IDs - Information Services 5350 series IDs - P.I.R.S. 5550 series IDs - Buildings 5600 series IDs - Fleet Services 5900 series IDs - Evidence Technician Units/Laboratory 5930 series IDs - Batmobile 5950 series IDs - Day Watch ETU Vans 5960 series IDs - Afternoon Watch ETU Vans 5970 series IDs - Night Watch ETU Vans 6000 series IDs - Bureau of Professional Standards 6100 series IDs - South Patrol Detectives (Area One) 6200 series IDs - Central Patrol Detectives (Area Two) 6300 series IDs - North Patrol Detectives (Area Three) 6630 series IDs - Job Performance 6690 series IDs - Department Personnel 6710 series IDs - Armory 6720 series IDs - Planning / Development 7000 series IDs - Bureau of Patrol Support (7000 Deputy Commander, 7001 Captain) 7030 series IDs - Police Reserves 7100 series IDs - Mobile Reserve 7125 series IDs - City Watch One (City Helicopter) 7126 series IDs - City Watch One (City Helicopter) 7150 series IDs - County Helicopter 7200 series IDs - K9 Units 7300 series IDs - Warrant/Fugitive Section 7400 series IDs - Prisoner Processing 7500 series IDs - Radar Units (Metro Link ?) 7900 series IDs - Traffic Units (Highway Units) 7940 series IDs - Mounted Patrol 7980 series IDs - Forest Park Units 8000 series IDs - Board of Police Commissioners 8100 series IDs - Special assistant to the Chief 8116 series IDs - Fox Theater Detail 8120 series IDs - Mayor's Office 8200 series IDs - Intelligence 8300 series IDs - Internal Affairs 8350 series IDs - Academy 8400 series IDs - Public Affairs / Information 8500 series IDs - Lambert Airport Task Force 8500 series IDs - D.E.A. 8500 series IDs - Special Assignments 8142 series IDs - Medical Examiner (Operates on SODD Channel) 8200 series IDs - Intelligence Units 8601 series IDs - Area 1 Building Inspector 8602 series IDs - Area 2 Building Inspector 8603 series IDs - Area 3 Building Inspector 8700 series IDs - Housing Project Security (Housing Authority) 8710 series IDs - Peabody Housing Project Security 8715 series IDs - Lasalle Housing Project Security 8720 series IDs - Cochran Housing Project Security 8725 series IDs - BluMeyer Housing Project Security 8730 series IDs - All Housing Units 8800 series IDs - Crime Task Force Units (Anti-Crime Unit) 9000 series IDs - Event Security (Catch All) 9300 series IDs - Disaster Operations 9700 series IDs - Integrated Task Force Operations* The Desk Clerk is an officer that works in the lobby of each Super-Police Station (North, Central & South) Patrol Divisions. Basically, he's the 1st officer you see when you walk in the front doors. Saint Louis City Police CodesAll calls dispatched are given a priority code. The lowest priority, Code 4 (or Stack Calls), are usually done over the I/Mobile (pronounced "eye-mobile") laptop system, this method is known as "Silent Dispatch" - the primary reason for doing this is to lessen radio traffic congestion on the dispatch channels, but it can also be used as a stealth tool to maintain privacy, when needed. Code 1 - Highest priority (example: life and death situations) Code 2 - High priority (sxample: shots fired, purse snatching) Code 3 - Low priority (example: disturbance, loud music, suspicious auto) Code 4 - Lowest priority (a.k.a. stack assignment - example: parking violations) The city doesn't use brevity codes (sometiems called "10" codes) for dispatch, although you will still occasionally hear "27" (occupied car check), "42" (2-man car) and "70" (out of service at the station). The current trend in law enforcement has been to eliminate brevity code usage in favor of clear text (spoken word) radio communication transmissions. Below are the old "Flare System" Codes that were officially abandon in July, 2001. 21 - Location 23 - Foot Patrol 24 - Vehicle Persuit 25 - Traffic violation 26 - Unoccupied car check 27 - Occupied car check 28 - Pedestrian check 29 - Building check 30 - Switching to INFO channel 31 - Returned from INFO channel 32 - Motorist assist 33 - DWI Investigation 34 - DWI Accident 35 - Personal relief 36 - Notification 37 - School/playground signs turn 39 - Foot Patrol 40 - Meal break 41 - One man car 42 - Two man car 43 - Bench warrant service 44 - Arrest Attempt 45 - Public affairs activity 47 - Subject in custody 48 - Escort 49 - Road block 51 - Detoxification center 51 - Detoxification center 52 - Problem Solving 54 - Victim/witness in car 56 - Business interview 57 - Laclede garage 58 - Radio repair 59 - Car Wash Rack 60 - Bus patrol 61 - Auto trouble 62 - City court 63 - Warrant Service 64 - Prisoner processing 65 - City counsel 66 - Preventive Maintenance 67 - Gas 68 - Out Of Service 70 - Out Of Service At Station 72 - Arrived At Scene 73 - In Service 75 - MCSAP Truck Inspection 76 - MCSAP Other Duties 77 - Station Assignment 78 - Report Writing 79 - Misc. Dispatch Use Only 1200 - Major Emergency (any officer may declare a code 1200) 7250 - Hostage situation/stand-off (only supervisor may use) Old Disposition Codes (the new codes are listed below) 80 - No Bona Fide Incident, But Have Name Of Witness 81 - No Victim, Witness, Suspect or Crime Scene Can Be Found 82 - No such address 83 - Previous Submission On Same Incident ; Or To Be Submitted By A Different Car 84 - Suspect Left Scene 85 - Peace Restored 86 - Fire 87 - False Fire Alarm 88 - No Description Of Suspect And/Or Pertinent Information 89 - Miscellaneous Hazard - Other Agency Notified 90 - Sick Case 91 - Accidental Injury On Private Property And / Or From Another Jurisdiction 92 - Suspicious Person /Auto / Occupant Of Auto - Person Can Account For His Presence 93 - Unnecessary Call For Police 94 - Accidental Alarm Sounding 95 - Non-Criminal Incident 96 - Accidental Vehicle Alarm Sounding 97 - Voided complaint Number 98 - Sudden Death - Natural Causes 99 - Call canceled by Dispatcher before Dispatch Saint Louis City Police Disposition Codes:
Code D (Code-David) = Disregard Code F (Code-Frank) = False Alarm Code G (Code-George) = Gone On Arrivial (GOA) Code N (Code-Nora) = No Report Necessary (NRN) Code O (Code-Ocean) = Other Unit to Handle Code U (Code-Union) = Unfounded Code X (Code-Xray) = Cancel Code SR = Supplemental Report Saint Louis City Police Commonly Used AbbreviationsPolice Jargon, Acronyms & Abbreviations - There are dozens and dozens of acronyms and abbreviations used, but the most common ones you will hear used over the radio are:
AR -- Arrest Register (a completed booking of a prisoner) CID -- Criminal Investigation Department (Warrant/Fugitive Section of the Department) Clouting -- Car Clouting: Breaking into and stealing items from a car. Complaint Evaluation -- 911 Center Call Takers - usually only heard on the radio when dispatching the highest priority calls Cruiser -- used to convey prisoners (the paddy wagon) Cutting -- The PD's way of saying stabbing. DART -- Domestic Abuse Response Team Directed Patrol -- Officers that patrol a very small area - couple of streets, a mall, a business district or something simlar in size DOR -- Department of Revenue DSN -- Department Serial Number ("badge number") - every police department employee is assigned a unique identification number ETU -- Evidence Technician Unit - crime scene investigators, functions include recovering fingerprints, bagging evidence, etc. - dispatched on the SODD channel Extra DSN -- 2nd Officer in Car FOP -- Fraternal Order of Police HRT -- Hostage Response Team Hot Sheet -- List of recently stolen and wanted vehicles. Recovered cars and additions are updated every even-numbered hour on the INFO-A channel to all patrol divisions, if needed. I/LEADS (iLeads) -- Intergraph/Law Enforcement Automated Data System: Police records management system and database that links people, property, and places to crimes and offences. Graphically (GUI) based windows software. I/Mobile (iMobile) -- Mobile Data Terminal (MDT), Patrol Car's Wireless Laptop Computer System. IAD -- Internal Affairs Division Individual Call (I-Call) -- A private conversation between two radios. An "individual call" removes both radios from the assigned talk group for the duration of the call and the dispatcher will be unable to contact the parties or monitor the conversation. ME -- Medical Examiner Meters -- St. Louis City Traffic Division Miniature (or Mini) -- Handheld Radio or 2nd Officer in Car MULES -- Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (crime database) MVOP -- Most Violent Offenders Program NCIC -- National Crime Information Center NLETS -- National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System No Tags -- No Traffic Tickets OBS -- Organic Brain Syndrome used to refer to a suspect or subject suffering from dementia/delirum - sometimes used with the modifier 'extreme' as in "subject is extremely OBS." On-View -- Officer came upon the incident - Self-initiated calls - Call did not come though the dispatch center. PAL -- Police Athletic League, youth-crime prevention program. PDT -- Portable Data Terminal PPO -- Probationary police officer, a sworn member who has been employed as a Police Officer for less than one year, sometimes call a "rookie." Project 87 -- Program that allow condemnation of a building based upon the potential threat to public safety because of suspected illicit activity (usually drugs) occurring in a dwelling. PIRS -- Police Information Retrieval System (Reports) Red Hot Sheet -- The red hot sheet is a list of vehicles with a limited amount of information. Missing such crucial itmes as the license plate. A lot of the vehicles on the red-hot sheet are wanted for violent crimes. REJIS -- Regional Justice Information System Switch Up -- Switch to the Tactical Channel (for unit to unit comms):
- K9 Unit = "K9 TACT" - Mobile Reserve = "Mobile Reserve TACT" - Detectives = "RECON", "RECON 2" or "RECON 3" - DART = "MISC TACT" - Child Abuse = "MISC TACT" - ETU = "MISC TACT" - Homicide = "MISC TACT" - Juvenile = "MISC TACT" - SCAT = "MISC TACT" Talk Group -- A specific group of radios that are assigned to a bureau, division, or unit. Tampering -- Motor Vehicle Tampering - Damaging, defacing or removing any parts of a vehicle; windows smashed, car keyed. UC -- Undercover Weed and Seed -- Multi-agency strategy that attempts to weed out undesirable people living in local communities. |