Developed by ICAO in the 1950s, the current international phonetic alphabet goes by several names such as the ITU Phonetic Alphabet, the FAA Phonetic Alphabet and the NATO Phonetic Alphabet. There are slight spelling variants between "Alfa" and "Alpha", "Juliett" and "Juliet", etc. The right–most column lists the phonetic alphabet still in use by many Los Angeles area emergency services organizations (and their associated RACES and ARES units).
| Character | ITU Phonetic Alphabet | LAPD |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | Adam |
| B | Bravo | Boy |
| C | Charlie | Charles |
| D | Delta | David |
| E | Echo | Edward |
| F | Foxtrot | Frank |
| G | Golf | George |
| H | Hotel | Henry |
| I | India | Ida |
| J | Juliett | John |
| K | Kilo | King |
| L | Lima | Lincoln |
| M | Mike | Mary |
| N | November | Nora |
| O | Oscar | Ocean |
| P | Papa | Paul |
| Q | Quebec | Queen |
| R | Romeo | Robert |
| S | Sierra | Sam |
| T | Tango | Tom |
| U | Uniform | Union |
| V | Victor | Victor |
| W | Whiskey | William |
| X | X–Ray | X–Ray |
| Y | Yankee | Young |
| Z | Zulu | Zebra |