245 Police Code

“245” is one of the more serious calls an officer can respond to, and one of the more commonly heard on a California scanner. It’s the code for assault with a deadly weapon, and it signals a violent situation where someone has been attacked, or nearly attacked, with something capable of causing serious harm. This article explains what the 245 police code means, the legal definition behind it, the suffixes officers attach to it, and why the number belongs specifically to California.

The short answer: 245 is Section 245 of the California Penal Code, which covers assault with a deadly weapon or by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. California law enforcement uses “245” on the radio and in reports as shorthand for this kind of violent assault, frequently spoken aloud with a suffix identifying the weapon.

What 245 Means

California officers name crimes by speaking the penal code section number, and 245 is the section covering aggravated assault — an assault committed with a deadly weapon, or by a level of force likely to cause great bodily injury. When a “245” is broadcast, everyone on the channel knows a serious, potentially armed, violent situation is involved.

The legal definition has a couple of features worth understanding. First, 245 doesn’t require that anyone was actually injured. Assault, in the legal sense, is an act that could result in the application of force to another person — so a 245 can apply to an attempt or a threat carried out with a deadly weapon, even if the weapon never connected. Second, “deadly weapon” is broader than it sounds. It includes obvious weapons like firearms and knives, but also any object used in a way capable of causing death or great bodily injury — a bottle, a bat, a vehicle, or nearly anything else, depending on how it’s used. And the statute also covers force “likely to produce great bodily injury” even without a weapon, such as a severe beating.

Because 245 involves a deadly weapon or serious force, it’s treated as a dangerous, high-priority call. It implies a violent suspect who may still be armed and a victim who may be injured. The response scales accordingly. For the broader picture of how California’s penal-code radio language works, our overview of US police codes sets the context.

The Suffixes That Identify the Weapon

Because “assault with a deadly weapon” covers such a wide range of weapons, officers and dispatchers frequently attach detail to a 245 to specify what’s involved. The statute itself has subsections, and the radio usage often reflects them. The weapon makes an enormous difference to how officers approach, so this detail is the part that matters most:

The difference between a 245 involving a firearm and one involving another weapon shapes the entire response — the distance officers keep, the cover they seek, the backup they request. Assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer is treated with particular seriousness and carries its own subsection. Listening for the weapon detail is the key to understanding any 245 on the radio. Our US 10-codes guide explains how these qualifiers and code families fit together.

How Officers Use 245 on the Radio

A 245 typically travels with the codes that manage an urgent, potentially dangerous response. A 245 in progress might come in with a Code 3 for a lights-and-siren response, a description of the suspect and weapon, and a request for medical aid if someone has been hurt. Because the suspect may be armed, officers approach with caution, often staging, setting up cover, and coordinating before moving in.

A 245 can arise from many situations — a fight that escalates when someone produces a weapon, a domestic incident involving a knife or firearm, a road-rage confrontation, or a targeted attack. Once the scene is secured and any suspect is contained, you may hear a Code 4 indicating the situation is under control, along with requests for medical response and investigative follow-up. The 245 anchors a response built around the presence of a weapon and the real possibility of serious injury. Our US police code category shows how these codes coordinate.

245 Among California’s Spoken Penal Codes

Placing 245 alongside the other assault-related penal codes California officers speak aloud clarifies where it sits on the spectrum of violence:

This grouping is especially useful because 240, 242, and 245 are easy to confuse. 240 is simple assault — an attempt or threat to use force. 242 is battery — the actual unlawful use of force on someone. 245 is the aggravated version, assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury. The step up from 240 to 245 is the introduction of a weapon or serious force, which is what makes 245 a far more dangerous call than a simple assault. The master police code lists page collects these references together.

Assault vs Battery: A Common Point of Confusion

Since 245 is an assault code, it’s worth clearing up the assault-versus-battery distinction that trips people up, because the two words are used interchangeably in casual speech while the law treats them differently.

Assault (240) is an act that threatens or attempts to apply force — you don’t have to make contact to commit an assault. Raising a weapon at someone can be an assault even if you never strike them.

Battery (242) is the actual, unlawful application of force — the contact itself.

245 is aggravated assault: the assault becomes far more serious because a deadly weapon or force likely to cause great bodily injury is involved. Notably, because it’s an assault code, a 245 can apply even where the weapon didn’t connect — swinging a bat at someone or firing and missing can still be a 245. This is why the code captures both attacks that injured a victim and dangerous attempts that didn’t.

Why 245 Is a California Code

As with the other spoken penal codes, 245 is specific to California. It means assault with a deadly weapon because that’s the section of the California Penal Code defining the offence. Other states cover aggravated assault under different statute numbers, so “245” as an official code points to California or agencies using California’s penal-code radio conventions.

This reflects the wider reality of American police radio: there’s no national code book, and meanings are tied to the jurisdiction that assigns them. Like other well-known California codes, 245 is recognised by many people through media set in the state, but its official use remains Californian.

Why Understanding 245 Matters

For scanner listeners, 245 signals a dangerous, high-priority call, and listening for the weapon suffix tells you immediately how serious and what kind of threat is involved. For writers and journalists, using it accurately means understanding the real legal definition — that it covers attempts as well as completed attacks, that “deadly weapon” is broad, and that it’s a California statute rather than a universal code. And for anyone curious about the law, 245 is a clear example of how the presence of a weapon transforms a lesser offence into a grave one, and of the fine but important line between assault and battery.

The number matters because of what it represents: a violent encounter with the real potential for serious harm or death. Behind a genuine 245 is a victim who was attacked or nearly attacked with something capable of grievous injury. The code’s efficiency — three digits, often with a one-word weapon suffix — gives officers exactly what they need to gauge the danger before they arrive.

Using Police Code to Explore Further

Police Code is a global police code explorer built to answer exactly this kind of question — what a code means, how it differs from the related crimes people confuse it with, and where it applies. Instead of assuming 245 is a universal police code or that assault and battery are the same thing, you can search one organised database that shows how each code is used, how they relate, and how California’s system compares to the rest of the country and the world. It’s free to browse and built for scanner listeners, journalists, writers, and anyone who wants a code’s meaning to be right rather than approximately right.