The Police Phonetic Alphabet
US law enforcement has its own spelling alphabet — the APCO/LAPD system. Here's how it compares to NATO and which agencies use which.
| Letter | Police (LAPD) | NATO | Different? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Adam | Alfa | ✦ |
| B | Boy | Bravo | ✦ |
| C | Charles | Charlie | ✦ |
| D | David | Delta | ✦ |
| E | Edward | Echo | ✦ |
| F | Frank | Foxtrot | ✦ |
| G | George | Golf | ✦ |
| H | Henry | Hotel | ✦ |
| I | Ida | India | ✦ |
| J | John | Juliett | ✦ |
| K | King | Kilo | ✦ |
| L | Lincoln | Lima | ✦ |
| M | Mary | Mike | ✦ |
| N | Nora | November | ✦ |
| O | Ocean | Oscar | ✦ |
| P | Paul | Papa | ✦ |
| Q | Queen | Quebec | ✦ |
| R | Robert | Romeo | ✦ |
| S | Sam | Sierra | ✦ |
| T | Tom | Tango | ✦ |
| U | Union | Uniform | ✦ |
| V | Victor | Victor | |
| W | William | Whiskey | ✦ |
| X | X-ray | X-ray | |
| Y | Young | Yankee | ✦ |
| Z | Zebra | Zulu | ✦ |
✦ = Letters where the police and NATO alphabets differ (highlighted rows).
History
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) established the police spelling alphabet in 1940 — sixteen years before NATO adopted its own. The APCO system uses common American first names (Adam, Boy, Charles, David) which were familiar to US officers but never designed for international use.
In 1974, APCO officially recommended switching to the NATO alphabet, but many departments — especially the LAPD, NYPD, and Chicago PD — retained their legacy systems. Today, newer departments and federal agencies (FBI, DEA, ATF) generally use NATO, while large legacy departments continue with APCO variants. When agencies from different systems communicate, confusion can arise: "Adam" might be heard as a suspect's name rather than the letter A.