Law Enforcement Jargon refers to a large body of acronyms, abbreviations, codes and slang used by law enforcement personnel to provide quick concise descriptions of people, places, property and situations, in both spoken and written communication. These vary between countries and to a lesser extent regionally.
Video Law enforcement jargon
United Kingdom
Initialisms
- ABH: Actual bodily harm
- ARU: Armed Response Unit
- ARV: Armed Response Vehicle
- B&E: Breaking and entering
- BIP: Uda
- BOP: Breach of the peace
- CAD: Computer Aided Dispatch
- D&D: Drunk And Disorderly
- DIC: Drunk In Charge (of a vehicle)
- DUI: Driving Under Influence (Drugs or Alcohol)(of a vehicle)
- DIP: Drunk In Public
- GBH: Grievous Bodily Harm
- IRTC: Injury Road Traffic Collision
- NFA: No Further Action or No Fixed Abode
- PCSO: Police Community Support Officer; A civilian uniformed non-warranted officer. Alternatively a Police Custody and Security Officer in Scotland.
- PNC: Police National Computer
- PWITS: (pronounced peewits) Possession With Intent To Supply
- RCU: Road Crime Unit
- RTC: Road Traffic Collision
- TAG: Tactical Aid Group
- TDA: Taking and Driving Away
- TFU: Tactical Firearms Unit
- VDRS: Vehicle Defects Rectification Scheme
- VSS: Victim Support Scheme
Acronyms
- ACPO: Association of Chief Police Officers now NPCC
- ACRO: ACPO Criminal Records Office
- ANPR: Automatic Number-Plate Recognition
- CO19: Central Operations Specialist Firearms Command; A unit of the Metropolitan Police Service.
- HOCR: Home Office Counting Rules
- HOLMES: Home Office Large and Major Enquiry System; a computer system for major incidents
- LEO: Law Enforcement Officer
- PACE: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984; Act of parliament providing a core framework of police powers in England and Wales and safeguards around stop and search, arrest, detention, investigation, identification and interviewing detainees
- NSPIS: National Strategy for Police Information Systems; a computer system for the management of police resources
- NPCC: National Police Chiefs' Council
- SOCO: Scenes Of Crime Officer; a forensic crime scene examiner
- TWOC: Taken Without Owner's Consent
- TPAC: Tactical Pursuit and Containment
Abbreviations
- AIO: All In Order
- ATT: At This Time
- MISPER: Missing person
- MOE: Method Of Entry (battering ram)
- WOFF: Write off; a vehicle or other property deemed a total loss for insurance purposes
- WINQ: Warrant inquiry
- Code 99: Tea break, "99" is a brand of Co-op tea. The Co-op is a popular UK supermarket chain
- NOK: Next Of Kin
- NRRR: No Reply Repeated Ringing (telephone)
- NRRK: No Reply Repeated Knocking (residence)
- PAAOTCO: Please Ask An Officer To Call On...
- POLSA: Police Search Advisor.
- POLSTN: Police Station
- POLACC: Police Accident (replaced by POLCOL)
- POLCOL: Police Collision
- U/K: Unknown
- VIW: Victim/Informant/Witness
Other
- Big Red Key: A type of battering ram.
- Mistaken Harassment: Where a complainant alleging harassment is mistaken about the behaviour of another person because they have read more into that behaviour than was reasonable.
Maps Law enforcement jargon
United States
Numerical and alphanumerical codes
The ten-codes are used only for voice communications, usually radio transmissions and denote commonly used phrases; for example 10-16 means domestic disturbance for some agencies. Use of ten-codes is intended for the clear, quick, and concise communication between law enforcement officers.
The response codes consist of the word "Code" followed by a number; for example "Code 3" means lights and sirens.
Numbers and alphanumeric combinations referring to offenses and actions covered by legal codes are often used both as nouns and verbs in both spoken and written communication. Since each state has its own system of law, this usage varies widely by state. For example, in California, if a suspect is 849B'd, it means they are released from custody after being arrested (instead of being booked into county jail) and refers to section 849(b) of the California Penal Code.
Subject description initialisms
Three letter abbreviations are commonly used to describe subjects mentioned in incident reports. The first letter denotes apparent race/ethnicity; the most commonly used letters are: A--Asian, B--Black, H--Hispanic, O--Other, W--White. The letters PI are occasionally used to denote Pacific Islander resulting in a four letter abbreviation [1]. The second letter denotes gender: F--Female, M--Male. The final letter denotes whether the subject is legally an adult: A--Adult, J--Juvenile. Thus the initialism WFJ (or wfj) appearing after a subject's name in a police log would denote a white female juvenile.
Code violations
*Note: Names for offenses vary by jurisdiction; accordingly, several acronyms may mean the same thing
- ADW: Assault with a Deadly Weapon
- B&E: Breaking and Entering
- BFW: Bond Forfeiture Warrant
- DIP: Drunk In Public
- DOC: Department of Corrections
- DUI: Driving Under the Influence [of alcohol or drugs]
- DWI: Driving While Intoxicated
- DWS: Driving While Suspended
- DWLS / DWLR: Driving While License Suspended / Revoked
- DUS: Driving Under Suspension
- FTA: Failure to Appear
- GTA: Grand Theft Auto
- HS: Health and Safety Code
- LFA: Larceny from Automobile
- MIC/MIP: Minor in Consumption/Possession [of alcohol]
- PC: Penal Code
- PI: Public Intoxication
- UDAA: Unlawfully Driving Away an Automobile
- UUMV: Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
- VC: Vehicle Code
- WI: Welfare & Institutions Code
- Fel.: Felony
- Misd.: Misdemeanor
- Inf.: Infraction
Initialisms describing situations
- ATL: Attempt To Locate
- BOLO: Be On Lookout (pronounced as Bo-Low)
- DB: Dead Body
- DID: Driver in Ditch
- DOA: Dead On Arrival
- DRT: Dead, Right There
- EDP: Emotionally Disturbed Person
- GOA: Gone On Arrival
- IFO: In Front Of
- LKA: Last Known Address
- LNU: Last Name Unknown
- PNB: Pulseless Non-Breather
- QOA: Quiet On Arrival
- UTL: Unable To Locate
Slang terms for police misconduct
- Alley court: Unlawfully endeavouring to force a prisoner to make a confession.
- Testilying: Police perjury.
Miscellaneous abbreviations and descriptive terms
- Adam Henry (AH, i.e., "Asshole"): Ignorant individual slang [see HUA]
- AKA: Also Known As (Person has assumed name, aliases)
- APB: All Points Bulletin
- APC: All Points County
- AVL: Automatic Vehicle Location; allows dispatch to see exactly where a given patrol car is
- BOLO: Similar to APB, Be On The Look Out [for]
- CDS: Controlled or Dangerous Substance (Narcotics)
- CJ: County Jail
- Civvies: term describing non-uniform clothing used in undercover operations
- CompStat: method of tracking criminal activity and subsequent enforcement
- Condition: problem or concern in need of police attention
- DA: District Attorney
- DL: Driver's License
- DOC: Department of Corrections
- DOB: Date Of Birth
- DOJ: Department of Justice
- DV: Domestic Violence
- EC: Emergency Contact
- ETOH: Intoxicated (Ethyl Alcohol)
- FD: Fire Department
- FTO: Field Training Officer
- GAT: Illegal firearm
- GOA: Gone On Arrival
- GSW: Gunshot wound
- HBO: Handled By Officer
- House mouse: A police officer who seldom leaves the police station
- HP: Highway Patrol
- HUA: Ignorant slang [see AH or "Adam Henry"]
- KA: Known Associate
- LEDS/LEADS: Law Enforcement (Agencies) Data System
- LUDS: Local Usage Details. A detailed record of calls made and received from a particular phone number.
- MDT: Mobile Data Terminal, referring to in-car computer systems.
- MHO: Mental Health Officer
- MUTT: An extremely unsavory character
- MVA: Motor Vehicle Accident
- NAT: Necessary Action Taken
- NORP: Normal, Ordinary, Responsible Person
- OLN: Operator's License Number
- PA: Prosecuting Attorney
- PC: Probable Cause -- legal standard of proof that is greater than reasonable suspicion
- PD: Police Department or Police Headquarters
- PMVA: Pedestrian Motor Vehicle Accident
- PR: Person (or Party) Reporting (used by LAPD and various others)
- PUKE: A pejorative for an inmate of the county jail or state prison
- RDO: Regular Day Off
- Responsible (RESP): Alleged perpetrator of a violation
- RO: Registered Owner
- RP: Reporting Person/Party
- SA: State's Attorney
- Skell: Unsavory character, particularly in the sense of being unwashed, dirty, or smelly (term often used by NY Police Officers)
- SKELL GEL: Anti bacterial lotion used by Officers after contact with skell(s)
- SNEU: Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit
- SO: Sheriff's Office
- SOC: Social Security Number
- SOR: Sex Offender Registration/Registrant
- SRO: School Resource Officer
- TUNE UP: Beating administered to prisoner
- UTL: Unable To Locate
- WOOD SHAMPOO: Using less than lethal force to gain compliance
Miscellaneous acronyms
- AFIS: Automated fingerprint identification system
- CODIS: Combined DNA Index System
- UNSUB: Unknown Subject (of an investigation)
- IAFIS: Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
- NCIC: National Crime Information Center
- SWAT: A police department's special weapons and tactics unit
- VIN: Vehicle Identification Number
Miscellaneous abbreviations
- B&R: Booked and released (from county jail)
- BKD: Booked (into county jail)
- BLK: Street block
- BTWN: Between
- BUS: Ambulance
- COMPL: Complainant
- Copy: Affirmative
- DESC: Description
- JUV: Juvenile
- K9: (or K-9), handler-and-canine unit
- MOD: Model (of vehicle, for example)
- M/N: Model Number (of article, for example)
- P&P: Probation and Parole
- PROP: Property
- PERP: Perpetrator
- R&I: Records and Information
- REG: Vehicle registration
- RELD/RLSD: Released
- RPTS: Reports (verb)
- SER: Serial number
- S/N: Serial number
- S/H: Station house
- SUSP: Suspect
- S/V: Suspect Vehicle
- TKN: Taken
- TANGO: Thank You
- UNK: Unknown
- UTL: Unable To Locate
- VEH: Vehicle
- VIC: Victim
- V/C: Victim / Complainant
- WARR: Warrant
Popular culture
Law enforcement jargon is heavily used in police procedurals and similar shows. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a television series about forensic scientists, uses many acronyms such as AFIS, CODIS and DB.
Some shows, like "Adam-12" and CSI will use the criminal code, for where the show is based, to describe a crime. This would be understood by people from that state or others in the know, but would be nonsense for others.
The numeric code 187 from the California Penal Code section dealing with murder has been featured in numerous songs, including the gangsta rap song Deep Cover by Dr. Dre and the alternative hip hop-ska punk song April 29, 1992 (Miami) by Sublime. It also serves as the title of the movie One Eight Seven. A police drama show called "Detroit 1-8-7" aired in the U.S. on the ABC network in 2010 - 2011, which made no sense because 187 does not denote murder under Michigan law.
External links
- Killeen Police Jargon Page (the local police department in Killeen, Texas)
- Menlo Park Police Daily Log Glossary (PDF format) (the local police department in Menlo Park, California)
- Staffordshire Police Jargon Buster (the Police Force in Staffordshire, England)
- UK Police Slang and Acronyms (a large and growing list of police slang submitted by Police forum members)
- Legal Jargon Glossary (a large list of legal terms and jargon used by Attorneys)
- Police Glossary (a large list of police terms and jargon related to arrests)
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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