Embedded Files
Company radios are operational and safety equipment. Clear, brief, and professional radio communication allows Absolute Security employees to coordinate activity, request assistance, communicate hazards, and respond effectively to emergencies.
Employees issued a company radio are responsible for keeping it operational, accessible, and used only for authorized company purposes.
Radio communications shall always be treated as non-private communications. Other employees, nearby persons, other radio users, or monitoring equipment may be able to hear a transmission. Employees shall therefore consider both the necessity and content of a transmission before keying the microphone.
Radio Operation
When a radio is issued for an assignment, it shall remain turned on and sufficiently audible throughout the shift unless otherwise directed by a supervisor or operational circumstances temporarily require an adjustment.
The radio should normally remain on the channel assigned for the site or shift. Employees shall not change channels unless authorized or directed to do so.
Employees shall not reprogram company radios, alter frequencies, modify radio equipment, or change settings beyond normal authorized operation without management approval and appropriate training.
The lapel microphone, when provided, acts as both a speaker and microphone. It should remain accessible and positioned so that the employee can hear incoming transmissions and communicate without unnecessary delay.
Radio Care & Accountability
Company radios and related equipment are valuable electronic tools and shall be handled accordingly. Employees are expected to reasonably protect radios, microphones, batteries, and related equipment from weather, contamination, impact, loss, and unnecessary damage.
Malfunctions, damaged equipment, unusual wear, battery problems, or other concerns shall be reported to the appropriate supervisor as soon as practical.
Unless otherwise directed, radios shall be returned to their designated location or charging station at the end of the shift. These expectations are consistent with the equipment-care requirements in the existing manual.
Professional Radio Conduct
All company radio transmissions shall be professional, clear, concise, and related to legitimate company operations or safety.
Employees shall not use company radios for extended personal conversations, jokes, arguments, gossip, entertainment, or unnecessary conversation.
Profanity, threats, derogatory comments, discriminatory remarks, sexually explicit language, insults, or argumentative communications are prohibited over company radios. The existing manual already prohibits foul language, derogatory statements, and threats over the air.
Employees should listen before transmitting when circumstances permit and avoid interrupting radio traffic. Do not unnecessarily occupy the channel.
When communicating, pause briefly after pressing the transmit button before speaking, speak in a normal and clear voice, and release the button when finished.
Confidentiality & Personal Information Over the Radio
Absolute Security's confidentiality requirements apply fully to radio communications.
Employees shall not unnecessarily transmit confidential, personal, medical, or sensitive information over the radio. This includes information such as phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, medical information, passwords or access codes, client security information, confidential incident details, or other information that does not need to be broadcast over the channel.
Being another Absolute Security employee does not automatically mean that person needs to receive confidential information. Information should be shared only when there is a legitimate operational reason.
For example, if another officer radios for information that would require broadcasting someone's medical condition, an appropriate response may be: “Give me a TX when available.” rather than broadcasting the medical information.
Call Signs
Employees will use the appropriate call sign assigned or established for their shift, site, or position.
Call signs should be used to address other employees over the radio rather than unnecessarily broadcasting names or other identifying information.
Employees shall not use call signs or radio terminology to intentionally conceal improper communications. Their purpose is efficient, professional operational communication.
Phonetic Alphabet
Individual letters can easily be misunderstood over a radio. For example, B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V, and Z can sound similar because of poor reception, background noise, or normal speech.
When spelling names, license plates, locations, or other information where individual letters must be understood correctly, Absolute Security employees shall use the following police phonetic alphabet, which is the system contained in the existing manual.
Employees should use the company phonetic alphabet consistently rather than switching between the police and military alphabets.
Priority Calls
Priority classifications tell employees how quickly assistance or response is needed. The existing manual establishes four basic levels and the “Step It Up / Step It Down” commands.
Priority 1
Emergency — respond directly and without unnecessary delay
Ongoing physical fight, direct threat to a person, weapon threat, immediate safety threat
Priority 2
Important / urgent — respond as soon as practical
Large gathering, developing situation, matter requiring prompt officer assistance
Priority 3
Routine — respond when able
Protocol question, report question, routine employee request
Non-Priority
No immediate response required
Matter that can reasonably wait
Step It Up
Increase the response one priority level
Situation has become more urgent
Step It Down
Reduce the response one priority level
Situation has stabilized or urgency has decreased
Employees should never exaggerate a priority merely to obtain a faster response.
If circumstances change, provide a clear update over the radio.
Ten Codes
Ten codes are intended to shorten commonly used radio transmissions. They should never be used when doing so would make an important message less clear.
Employees are expected to maintain a functional working knowledge of the 10 codes and understand its meaning when heard or used in an appropriate operational context.
Acronyms & Common Radio Terminology
Absolute Security employees routinely encounter abbreviations and acronyms during company radio communications, reports, interactions with law enforcement, and other field operations.
Acronyms allow employees to communicate commonly occurring situations or conditions quickly and efficiently. Many of these terms are also commonly encountered in police and public-safety communications.
Employees are expected to maintain a functional working knowledge of the following terminology and understand its meaning when heard or used in an appropriate operational context.
Acronyms should be used to improve communication—not to make a transmission unnecessarily difficult to understand. When there is any reasonable possibility that the recipient will not understand an acronym, employees should communicate the information in plain language.
Hold the Air / Radio Silence
A supervisor or authorized employee may order:
“Hold the Air”
or
“Radio Silence.”
This is an instruction, not a request.
When the order is given, employees shall stop non-emergency radio transmissions immediately. Employees should not transmit merely to acknowledge the instruction, because the purpose is to keep the radio channel available for an active incident.
Radio silence remains in effect until an authorized person announces that normal radio traffic may resume.
The exception is an immediate emergency or safety situation requiring radio communication.
FCC Compliance
Absolute Security employees shall operate company radio equipment only as authorized and only for legitimate company and safety communications. Radio transmissions should be kept as brief as practical, employees shall avoid interfering with other radio traffic, and radio equipment shall not be modified or operated by unauthorized persons. Employees shall follow company policy, management instructions, and all applicable Federal Communications Commission requirements.
Current Handheld Model is the Motorola XPR 4600
Current Mobile Model is the Motorola XPR 4350
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse