Many police-related slang terms exist for police officers. These terms are rarely used by the police themselves. Police services also have their own internal

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

and

jargon Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...

; some of it is relatively widespread geographically and some very localized.

A

;Alphabet Agency/Alphabet Soup :Used in the United States to denote the multiple federal agencies that are commonly referred to by their initials such as the FBI, ATF, and DEA. ;Amcalar :A Turkish language word meaning "uncles". ;Anda :An

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' egg, for the pure-white uniform of traffic police in urban

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i areas like Karachi. ;Aynasız :A Turkish phrase derived from word ''ayna'', referring to 'those without a mirror', a pejorative description of police lacking honor and having too much shame to look at themselves in the mirror. Often used by Turkish and Middle Eastern immigrants, particularly to describe police who will beat or assault them sans witnesses. Also, the first Renaults to enter the market in Turkey had no right rear-view mirrors. Most owners would simply get a mirror installed, but inasmuch as policemen did not want to pay out-of-pocket for one they were called "mirrorless" (aynasız).

B

;Babylon:

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

n slang for establishment systems, often applied to police. Derived from the

Rastafari movement Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...

which, in turn, regards

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

as symbolising debauchery, corruption and evil-doing in general. The term was used as the title of the 2014 British police drama ''

''. ; Bacon: See '' Pig''. Derogatory; derived from the term "Pig/Pigs"; can refer to a single officer or the police generally. ; Bagieta: Polish slang term for police officer, that is: baguette and it is reference to police baton ; BAC: French slang for police officer; acronym of the Brigade anti-criminalité in France. ; Barney: Slang term, usually derogatory, for a town policeman; named for Barney Fife. ; Battenburg: Referring to yellow and blue, large, squared, reflective checker pattern on UK police cars; refers to a type of cake. (Update from " Jam Sandwich" of earlier cars.) ; Bears: Slang term for the police (

citizen's band radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...

slang), "Smokey Bear" in reference to the Highway Patrol

campaign hat A campaign hat, sometimes called campaign cover, is a broad-brimmed felt or straw hat, with a high crown, pinched symmetrically at the four corners. The campaign hat is occasionally referred to as a Stetson, derived from its origin in the company ...

s. Seldom derogatory; very common with truckers in the US. ; The Beast: US term used in this singular form to refer to any number of police officers,an entire police force, or police in general. This linguistic pattern results in an implied sense that individual police are all representative parts of one whole, monstrous creature with a united objective and attitude. Referenced most widely on

The Fugees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

' album '' The Score'' and KRS-One's ''

Sound of da Police In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

''. ; Beat cop: inoffensive slang for patrolling officers. ; Benga: Czech slang term for police officers. Derived from Romani language word "beng" meaning devil or satan. ; Bill: Also '' Old Bill''. ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused o ...

'' was the title of a television police series in the UK, based in a fictional London borough. ; Bird: US, slang for a police helicopter. See also "Ghetto Bird". Not to be confused with the UK parallel to "chicks", a more modern and now more common use of "birds." ; Bizzies: UK, said to have been coined in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

, as the police were always too "busy" to help citizens who reported low-level crimes such as house burglaries. An alternative origin is that the police are seen as "busybodies", i.e., they ask too many questions and meddle in the affairs of others. ; Black Maria (pronounced "Mariah"): Slang term used in the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere; the police van used to transport prisoners, also used in the 19th century in the US and France with various suggested etymologies including racehorses or the infamous black, large, fierce

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

guesthouse owner, Maria Lea. ; Black police:黑警. A derogatory Cantonese slang widely used to insult a

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

officer by pro-democracy supporters during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. Portmanteau for triad gangsters (黑社會) and police (警察) . See also ''triads'' for context. ;

Blackshirt The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

: UK, derogatory name referencing the modern police uniforms and armed squads of Italian Fascists under Benito Mussolini. ; Blues and Twos: UK, from the flashing blue lights and the two-frequency siren on a police car. ; Blueband: UK, from the blue cap-band worn by PCSOs. ; Bluebottle: Antique name for the police referring to the old-style uniform. ; Blue Canary: Canadian, a term used by firefighters to rib police officers. Miners historically used canaries to monitor the air quality of a mine; when the canary died, the air quality was considered unworkably poor. Police officers have been known to put themselves at risk when rendering aid, usually running into a fire or other toxic atmosphere without proper training or personal protective equipment. Antonym: Hose Monkey. ; Blue Force: US slang term for the police, mainly used in Florida. ; Blue Heeler: Australian slang term, particularly in rural areas, in reference to the blue appearance and traits of the Blue Heeler Australian Cattle Dog.

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

was a long running Australian police television drama series. ; Blue Light Special: Slang term for someone being pulled over. ; : 1960s and 1970s hippie slang for the police in Britain, referring to the blue uniforms. ; Bobby: UK, derived from the Conservative British Home Secretary,

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

("Bobby" being a nickname for "Robert"), the founder of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. Occurs in fixed phrases e.g. "bobby on the beat", "village bobby". Still used on UK Railways to describe signalmen and women, dating back to the earliest days of railway operations when a train driver was required to stop only at a policeman's order. ; Bœuf:

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, ('ox'). Probably in opposition to the French term ''vache'' (' cow'), or for the usual featureless gaze of police officers colloquially called ''face de bœuf'' ('ox face'). Allows to call a police car an 'ox cart' (''char à bœufs''). ; Booked: UK and US, usually after being arrested, to be taken to custody suite and held there in a cell. "They took me to the

nick Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Place ...

and they booked me." (Dizzie Rascal) ; Bofia: a derogatory slang in Portugal used for police officers and law enforcement in general. ; Booze Bus: Australian slang term referring to a police roadside random breath testing station, which are often specialized buses. ; Boy Dem: UK slang term for one or more police officers. ; The Boys: Term used by African-American communities in Baltimore. ; Boys in Blue: In reference to the blue uniform. ; Brady Cops: Police officers who have been dishonest are sometimes referred to as " Brady cops". ; Bronze: Police slang term used in ''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...

'' originated in Australia but used in the UK. ; BTP: Specialized use (mainly on UK railways) - abbreviation of "British Transport Police", the oldest and only fully UK national police force. Sometimes derogatorily known as "Sleepers" (US railroad "ties") but not due to their position in the track. ; Buck Rogers: UK (London and south east) comic/derogatory reference to officer using speed trap gun. ; Bull: Railroad police in the US, most prevalent in the first half of the 20th century. ; Bulle:German for 'bull'. Slang for police officer, often derogatory. ''Bullerei'' and the plural ''Bullen'' refer to the police as a whole. ; Buttons (The): US, 1940s, referring to the large brass buttons of the era. ; Byling: Old Swedish slang for patrolling officers. The word means "peeler" in Swedish and it is rarely used nowadays.

C

; Cana: Slang term for police officers in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

("walking stick"). Widely used against repressive police during

December 2001 riots in Argentina The December 2001 crisis, sometimes known as the Argentinazo (), was a period of civil unrest and rioting in Argentina, which took place during December 2001, with the most violent incidents taking place on 19 and 20 December in the capital, Bu ...

, possibly because by then policemen used nightsticks against protesters. ; Candy cars: Slang term for police cars in the UK as the is livery yellow and blue. (Ambulances are yellow and green, fire service yellow and red, and transport (motorway) yellow and black. Except for the black, all are reflective. The backs of all vehicles are red/yellow inverted chevrons—only red/yellow because the other colors are not legal on the back. ;Cheese: In New Zealand, especially in the Auckland area police officers may be referred to as "The Cheese". ; Cherry Toppers, Cherry Tops, or Cherries: Often used in reference to police cars which in some nations bear red lights on the top of the car. See

Cherry top (slang) Emergency vehicle lighting, also known as simply emergency lighting or emergency lights, is a type of Automotive lighting, vehicle lighting used to visually announce a vehicle's presence to other road users. A sub-type of emergency vehicle equip ...

. ; Chimps: UK slang term for Community Support Officers, acronym for "Completely Hopeless in Most Policing Situations". ; CHiPS: Used to refer to California Highway Patrol Officers. ; Chlupatej: Czech slang term for police officer. Meaning of word is "hairy". Originated in the time of Austro-Hungarian Empire when officers wore helmets decorated with rabbit fur. ; Chota: Central American slang term. ; City Kitties: Slang term for police officers. ; Coxinha: Slang term for police officers in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, likely derived from the fact that most of them eat the

snack A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home. Traditionally, snacks are ...

during their work intervals. ; Clear: Often shouted when police, FBI, or SWAT teams have swept the area and no criminal activity is present at the specific area of the criminal scene. ; Cogne: French, roughly means "to beat up". It is used in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

'' among others. :*''. Je crois à tout moment qu’un cogne me cintre en pogne !'' — (

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

, Les Misérables, 1862, chap. III p.1261) ; Cop Shop: US, UK, and Australia (and other Commonwealth English) slang for police station. ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. The show The show revolved ar ...

'' was a long-running Australian television series. ; Cop, Coppa or Copper: The term ''copper'' was the original word, used in Britain to mean "someone who captures". In British English, the term ''cop'' is recorded (Shorter Oxford Dictionary) in the sense of 'to capture' from 1704, derived from the Latin ''capere'' via the Old French ''caper''. The OED suggests that "copper" is from "cop" in this sense, but adds that the derivation is uncertain. Many imaginative, but incorrect stories have come up over the years, including that ''cop'' refers to the police uniform's copper buttons, the police man's copper badge, or that it is an abbreviation for "constable on patrol", "constabulary of police", or "chief of police". ; Cosmonaut: See Kosmonavt. ; County Mountie: In Canada in reference to county police officers or sheriffs. Also used by truckers on their CBs to refer to county sheriffs or county police departments in the US. ; Crusher: UK Victorian-era slang term for a police officer, from the slang term "beetle crushers" in reference to that era's heavy boots. ; Cuntstable: Derogatory UK slang term for a police officer, a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsconstable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

and

cunt ''Cunt'' () is a vulgar word for the vulva or vagina. It is used in a variety of ways, including as a term of disparagement. Reflecting national variations, ''cunt'' can be used as a disparaging and obscene term for a woman in the United St ...

D

; Danthe: Slang for police officer (constables of patrol officers) in Nepal. The term is usually used as the police officers are carrying a stick with them. ; Ds: Slang for detectives, police. ; Dekosuke: 凸助/デコ助, Japanese derogatory slang for police. Can also refer to someone with a large/protruding forehead. Applied to police due to the large badges adorning their caps. ; Dibble: The name of fictional police officer in the cartoon ''

Top Cat ''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season of ...

''. "Dibble" has been adopted as a British-English derogatory slang term for police officer, especially one with

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

; Dicks: Slang for detectives. Apparently originally coined in Canada and brought south by rumrunners during Prohibition. The fictional comic strip character

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (character), Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the ''De ...

was given the first name of "Dick" in token of its being a slang expression for "detective". Dickless Tracy is used in Australia as slang for female police officers. ; Dirty police: See also ''black police''. ; Divvy Van: Australian slang for

police van A police van (also known as a paddy wagon, meat wagon, divisional van, patrol van, patrol wagon, police wagon, Black Mariah/Maria, police carrier, or in old-fashioned usage, pie wagon) is a type of vehicle operated by police forces. Police vans ...

(divisional van). The term is confined mostly to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and Western Australia. ; Dogs: Georgian and Polish slang for police; comparable with "pigs". Also a common derogative term for Hong Kong police officers. ; Donut Patrol or Donut Muncher: Refers to unhealthy police officers in the United States. Comes from night-shift officers stopping at doughnut shops for coffee, as they often used to be the only catering establishments open all night long. ; Double Bubble: Refers to Australian highway patrol vehicles with rotating twin blue lights. ; Discowägeli: Derogatory Term for police car in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, loosely translated as "disco cart". Might stem from the fact that some Swiss police use two different sirens on the same car (loud for daytime, muffled for night, or one set for city and one for country corps).

F

; Fakabát: An old Hungarian term meaning "wooden-coat". The name originates from WW2 Hungarian army slang, where a wooden coat meant a box-like small wooden shelter at guard posts, just enough for a guard to step in and be somewhat protected from weather. Later, in the Socialist era, the police was issued with brownish vinyl jackets which became rigid in cold weather, and cops started calling them wooden coats, for they felt like actually wearing a guard box, as the name implies. The term is still widely known today. ; Feds: Usually used in the United States to refer to federal law enforcement agencies, especially the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

and the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforcem ...

. Also used in Australia to refer to the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. ...

, and in London as general slang for the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

, due to influence from U.S. media. ;

Federales ''Federales'' (singular ''Federale'' or, rarely but aligning with Spanish, ''Federal'') is a Spanglish word used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by E ...

: Spanish, the Mexican Federal Police. The term gained widespread usage by English-speakers due to its popularization in films. The term is a cognate and counterpart to the slang "Feds" in the United States. ; Feo: A term which indicates a law-enforcement officer approaching the speaker's vicinity. Taken from the Spanish word for "ugly", this slang term is exclusively used by the Puerto Rican and Dominican communities of Philadelphia and (to a lesser extent) New York City, United States. ; Filth: Normally "The Filth", UK, the police. Inspiration for the

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

novel '' Filth.'' Also common in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. ; Five-O: Derived from the name of the television series '' Hawaii Five-O'', this term is used in the US. Non-derogatory, e.g.: "If you notice loose plastic cap over the card slot of ATM just call Five-O". It is sometimes shouted out as a warning by lookouts or others engaged in illegal activity when a police officer is spotted. ; Fízl: Czech pejorative term for police officer. ; Flatfoot: A term with uncertain origins. Possibly related to the large amount of walking that a police officer would do; at a time when the condition flat feet became common knowledge, it was assumed that excessive walking was a major cause. Another possible origin is the army's rejection of men with flat feet, who would often take jobs in law enforcement as a backup, particularly during war when established police officers would often join up (or be forced). What is known is that by 1912, flat-footed was an insult among U.S. baseball players, used against players not "on their toes." This may have been applied to police officers sometime later, for similar reasons. ; Flic: A French word for police (singular "un flic", but more commonly used in the plural "les flics"), best translated as "cop". Much like "cop", this informal term is not derogatory. However, the extended version - "les flicailles" - adding the suffix -aille, is pejorative and corresponds to "pigs". ; Fucking Big Idiots: Slang abbreviation for the

. Derogatory ; Fuzz, the: Slang term for the police, possibly deriving from a mispronunciation or corruption of the phrase "the police force" or "the force". It may also refer to police radio static. The term was used in the title ''

Hot Fuzz ''Hot Fuzz'' is a 2007 action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Starring Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton, and Jim Broadbent, the film centres on two police officers investigating a series of mysteriou ...

'', a 2007 police-

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

and Peter Peachfuzz from '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle''. The term is also referenced in the title of the

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ...

single "Caught by the Fuzz". CB radio lingo called the police "Bears"; fuzz was a spin-off from this (this is a dubious assertion, as the term fuzz is much older than the use of mobile CB radio and older than Smokey the Bear, whose hat type, worn by many highway patrols, is the source of the bears term for police) because bears are fuzzy. In use from 1929 and of unknown American origin.

G

;Gabor: Romanian pejorative referring to police men ; Gaets:Russian, slang, Гаец, pl Гайцы. Only slightly disparaging; in general use, to mean traffic police officers. From the historical abbreviation GAI (Russian: ГАИ - Государственная Автомобильная Инспекция for ''State Automobile Inspectorate).'' ;Gavver:(UK, slang) A member of the police. ;Gammon : UK, see ''

Bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

'' ; Gestapo: Non-police-related slang term for door security (Bouncers) in reference to their white armbands. Reference to the secret police of Nazi Germany, also called the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. ; Ghetto Bird: US, derogatory, slang for a police helicopter. ; Glina: Polish, widespread and non-derogatory term used for all police officers but specifically for higher-ranking or criminal police personnel. ; Glowie: Slang for an American federal agent, often used online. Originates from a quote by

Terry A. Davis Terrence Andrew Davis (December 15, 1969 – August 11, 2018) was an American programmer who created and designed TempleOS, a public domain operating system. Its development was an extremely complex, time-consuming and unusual undertaking for one ...

. ; Grass: Cockney (English)

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymi ...

for a police informant: Grasshopper = Copper. Alternative suggestions are from "Narc in the Park", or the song "WhisperingGrass". ; Gris: (Swedish for pig. Pronouced with a long i) A derogatory term in Sweden for the whole police force or for a single police officer. ; Grüne Minna: (German for green Minna, short form of Wilhelmine), denomination for a

prisoner transport Prisoner transport is the transportation of prisoners by law enforcement agencies or contractors. To extradite a suspected or convicted criminal from one jurisdiction to another, a rendition aircraft may be used, although the high cost inv ...

in Germany and Austria, also "Grüner August" (German for green August) in some regions in Germany (like

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

), or "Grüner Heinrich" (German for green Henry) in Austria as well ; Gschmierte: for police officers, "Schmier" for the police, in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

slang. Derogatory. ; Gorra:Lower class Argentine slang, Spanish for "hat". Derogatory. ; Guards or Guard: Ireland, slang for the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

or one of its members. Shortened from English translation guardians of the peace ; Gumshoe: US, derogatory, slang for

detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, who allegedly wear soft-heeled shoes or Hush Puppy shoes so they can follow suspects without being noticed. ; Gura: Latin American Spanish slang for police enforcement, derogatory.

H

;Ḥakem :Ḥakem (حاكم) is a Tunisian slang term for police, meaning "ruler" in Arabic. ;HNACH (حنش) is a Tunisian slang term for police, meaning "snake" in Arabic, Also used in Morocco for Inspectors since they don't work in uniforms. ;Harness bull :American term for a uniformed officer. A reference to the

Sam Browne belt The Sam Browne is a leather belt with a supporting strap that passes over the right shoulder, worn by military and police officers. It is named after Sir Samuel J. Browne (1824–1901), the British Indian Army general who invented it. Origi ...

that was formerly part of some police uniforms, also ''Harness cop'', ''Harness man''. ;Havāladāra: term meaning Constable in Marathi ;Heat or The Heat :For police and law enforcement in general (due to some police vehicles featuring red lights). ; Hendek: French Slang for police officer. It comes from the Algerian dialect. It means "be careful". ; Hobby Bobby :UK slang for special constables. ; Heh: Derogatory denomination for the police, especially in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; Hurry up van:Slang term used on Merseyside to describe a police van.

I

; In the bag:

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

slang for being a uniformed patrol officer. ; Isilop: Indonesian reversed words from Polisi (police)

J

; Jack or Jacks:English/Australian slang term short for jackboots. The term can be used to describe a police officer, informant or an unreliable person. "To go jack on a mate" is the act of betraying associates or implicating them in a crime. A "jack" is someone who is considered not be trusted. Also old slang for CID in Liverpool. ; Jackboots: Heavily armed police in riot gear ; Jake/Jake the Snake: Slang term for the police originated in the Bronx (mildly derogatory). ; Jam sandwich, or Jam Butty: UK, police traffic car, from the now largely obsolete historical colour-scheme – an overall white vehicle, with a longitudinal red, or red and yellow, stripe on each side. Still used for the metropolitan police in London. Silver cars with a red stripe down the side. ;Jjapsae: South Korean term for the police. Derogatory. ; Johnny: Sometimes used to refer to the police in Upstate South Carolina.

K

; Karao: Used in Kenya to refer to police; seen as derogatory. Its source is the sheng language (mashup of English and

Kiswahili Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

). ; Keuf: French, used in the plural "les keufs", as slang for the police. This word is more derogatory than "les flics", even though it means the same thing. The word is derived from the pronunciation of "flic" as "FLEE-KUH". In verlan slang, words are reversed, thus making the word "kuhflee". In turn, "lee" was dropped from the word, leaving "keuf". ; Kiberer: also "Kiwara" in

slang for a police officer, in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

denomination for a police detective, "Kiberei" or "Kiwarei" for the police. Slightly derogatory. ; Kollegen mat den Rallysträifen:

Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...

, literally "colleagues / fellows with the rally stripes". A reference to police officers with their police cars, which in Luxembourg have three stripes on the bonnet and on each side, representing the national colours (red, white, light blue). Due to the fact that the police cars are white as well as the colour of the central stripe, it seems like they only have two stripes on it, like rally cars. It has a more or less humorous character. ; Kosmonavt: Russian, referring to an

OMON OMON (russian: ОМОН – Отряд Мобильный Особого Назначения , translit = Otryad Mobil'nyy Osobogo Naznacheniya , translation = Special Purpose Mobile Unit, , previously ru , Отряд Милиции Осо� ...

policeman equipped with riot gear (literally "cosmonaut"). ; Krasnopyoriye: Russian, slang, Краснопёрые ''sg'' Краснопёрый ("red-feathered"), outdated. Refers to th
USSR police uniform of 1975–1990
having red collar insignia of rhombic shape. ; Kerovi: Serbian slang for police, used to disrespect the police officers, comes from word ker which in slang means dog . ; Kchulim: Hebrew slang for police officers. Comes from the word Kachol, which means blue.

L

; Law, Laws, or The Law: Probably an abbreviation of the phrase "The long arm of the law" (suggesting that no matter how far they run, all criminals are eventually caught and prosecuted successfully). ; Legawye (pl): Russian Легавые ( sg. Легавый). Literally "gundog", "pointer". According to one of many theories, this was part of the logo of the Moscow Investigation Department in 1928, although the term existed in the 12th century. ; LEOs: Law Enforcement Officers. ;LID: Reference to uniform officers' headwear, often used as a putdown by the CID ex. 'Those bloody lids'; attempted derogatory CE. ; Local Yokel: Reference to city or town police forces, almost solely used in conjunction with "County Mountie". Mildly derogatory. ; Lodówa: a Polish slang term for a police van, literally "fridge"; refers to the large size and boxy shape of police vans.

M

; Mabando: Term used to imply the presence of law-enforcement officers in a particular area. Most commonly used by the Dominican and Puerto Rican communities of Philadelphia. ; Maama:

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, मामा. Commonly used in Hindi to describe a male police person, typically referring to traffic police. ; Mama/Mami: Marathi, slang, मामा/मामी. literally meaning "maternal uncle/his wife", it is one of the most common forms of addressing any strange male/female elder. Used frequently in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

and Mumbai for traffic police personnel. ; Madama: Italian term used when a police man is spotted on the site to advise someone during some sort of illegal action. ; Madero: Slang, sometimes derogatory or vulgar. Spanish slang referring to a member of Cuerpo Nacional de Policia. ; Man, The: Derogatory. Police officer or other government agent who has control, either by force or circumstance. Widely used in the United States, especially among African Americans and prisoners. Popular during the 1960s and 1970s by anti-establishment groups. ; Mata/Mata-Mata: Common slang in both Singapore and Malaysia, "mata" means "eye" in Malay and connotes surveillance, thus becoming a metonym for the police. ; Meat Wagon: Common UK term for a police van, typically a Transit van, used for transporting people from a crime scene to the police station. Not commonly used for police cars or riot vans. :"John got arrested for being drunk and disorderly, the Police cuffed him and threw him in the back of the Meat Wagon" :Not applicable in the United States, where the term is used to describe a

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within the coroner's jur ...

's van, nor in Germany, where a Mietwagen is a hired car. : :Memur Bey :Common slang used in Turkey. Means "Mr. Officer". : ; Ment: Russian slang, Мент (pl. Менты). Only slightly disparaging, in general use (e.g. ''Ments'' is an alternative title for ''

Streets of Broken Lights ''Streets of Broken Lights'' (russian: Улицы разбитых фонарей, Ulitsy razbitykh fonarey) is a Russian criminal drama-detective TV series anthology about police work in Saint-Petersburg. The pilot episode, known as ''Menty'' (r ...

''). The word dates back to the nineteenth century and is originally Hungarian, meaning "cloak" (because the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

police uniform included a cloak). ; Messingen: Norwegian, literally "The Brass", referring to police badges traditionally being made of said material. ; Městapo: Czech term used for members of city police which is known for arrogant and harassing behaviour. Combination of term ''městská policie'' and secret police of Nazi Germany

. ; Millicents: Term originated from the novel ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

''. ;

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

: Slang in Romania and various post-Soviet countries with roots from the

secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic ...

. ; Mr. Plod: See Plod. ; Moosor: Russian, lit. "garbage" (but

countable In mathematics, a set is countable if either it is finite or it can be made in one to one correspondence with the set of natural numbers. Equivalently, a set is ''countable'' if there exists an injective function from it into the natural numbers ...

), offensive. Etymology uncertain, theories suggested include the acronym MUS for "Moscow Criminal Investigation ffice (Московский Уголовный Сыск) in Tzarist Russia and Hebrew for "informer." Also, in Belarus, acronym MUS stands for Ministry for Home Affairs (Belarusian: Міністэрства ўнутраных спраў, МУС), and is embroidered on policeman uniform. ; Mountie(s): Canada, colloquial,

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

. Also used in Australia to refer to the mounted police sections of the various state police forces. ; Murija:

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

, common colloquial term for "police"; from the Italian word ''muro'', meaning "wall"

N

; Narc or Nark: 1. A term used for an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informant ...

. 2. An undercover narcotics agent. ; Neighbour: Partner (Possible only used in Scotland with Detectives). ; Nick: Police station (British slang). ; Nicked: To be arrested (British slang). Noddies. ; New Jack: A rookie police officer; used in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area.

O

; Old Bill: Term in use in London among other areas, inspiring the television series ''

''. This nickname's origin is obscure; according to the Metropolitan Police themselves, there are at least 13 different explanations. However, the word is quite old fashioned and is used much less nowadays, especially by younger people. ; One Time: Term used in many English speaking countries, used because one looks at the police one time, so not to attract attention. ; Onkel politi: Norwegian, literally "Uncle Police", an obvious put-down referring to a guy who traveled around Norwegian schools in the sixties tutoring kids on traffic safety. ; Occifer/ossifer: Slang term used to satirically reference the title of a police officer, while implying that the speaker is intoxicated. Popularized by the 1978

Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...

film '' Up in Smoke''. ; Ōkami: Derogatory Japanese term for police. The term is a pun: the word can mean “one who is above” ( 大上), a term often used “in reference to the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...

, one's

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

, or the authorities”; “supreme deity” ( 大神); or “wolf” ( 狼). Commonly used by the protagonist of the

dorama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thr ...

''Gokusen''. ; Ottowagen: (German for "Otto car") colloquial for a police car in some regions of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

P

; Paco: A derogatory Chilean term for Carabineros, the national military police force of Chile. In Costa Rica, a familiar term for police, loosely derogatory. The term comes from the nickname "Paco" given to Francisco Calderón, a Security Minister in the 1940s. ; Paddy wagon: A

. So named in Liverpool, UK as most of the policemen and prisoners were of Irish extraction. ;

Panda Car A panda car, or just panda, is a small or medium sized marked British police car. History of the term The term 'panda car' was first used to refer to black police cars with panels that had been painted white to increase their visibility. It wa ...

: UK, a police car. Named because they were originally painted with large panels of black and white, or blue (usually light blue) and white. First started by the Lancashire Constabulary in the 1960s. Original Panda cars were the same model of car bought by two adjacent forces - the one in black and the other in white. The doors were then swapped between vehicles giving all the two-tone colour scheme one way round or the other. Bonnets (hoods) could also be swapped. Not clear if boot (trunk) lids were swapped. Not all fitted with a blue beacon. Some fitted with a large box shaped roof sign "police" with the blue beacon on top (or not). Many were Morris 1000, Austin Morris Minis or 1100s. Ford Anglias and later Escorts also used by some forces. Colour scheme later changed to blue (usually light blue) with white doors - or, again, the reverse - light blue with white doors. ; Pandu: Marathi, derogatory, पांडू. Used chiefly in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. This slang for policemen, especially hawaladars, ("Havāladāra", meaning constable in Marathi) came to be from the 1975

Dada Kondke Krishna "Dada" Kondke (Marathi pronunciation: ̪aːd̪a koːɳɖke 8 August 1932 – 14 March 1998) was an Indian actor and film producer. He was one of the most renowned personalities in Marathi film industry, famous for his double entendre ...

film " Pandu Hawaldar". ; Panduri: Serbo-Croatian, slang for a group of police officers. The meaning derived from the Latin word ''banderium,'' in which the word banderia also came from. They were military units created by Austro-Hungarian nobles in the 15th century, as well as light military border units composed of Croats, Hungarians, Romanians, and Serbs during the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays, it is used in Serbia (and parts of Bosnia, Croatia, and Montenegro) in a derogatory manne
Пандур
; Panier à salade: French, lit. "salad basket", slang for a police van (cf. ''fourgon de police'') ; Parak: Slang term used for policemen in the Philippines. ; Paw Patrol: Slang term for K-9 units or Dog Units in the UK. ; Party Van: Russian, a police car or van, especially one housing an entire squad and sent out to perform a search-and-seizure and/or an arrest at a specific site. Hints at the party of police officers that it holds and/or the "party" it will "throw" at its destination. ; Pasma: Derogatory term used in Spain to refer to the police in general. The singular form is "Pasmuti". ; Peeler: UK, commonly used in Ireland and considered archaic in Britain, from

(see "Bobby"). ; Perp: Perpetrator/criminal instigator. ; Peterwagen: (German for "Peter car") colloquial for a

Hamburg Police The Hamburg Police (german: Hamburger Polizei or ) is the Germany, German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and States of Germany, state (Land) agencies. A precursor to the ag ...

car ; Pharaoh: Russian, old-fashioned. Allegedly refers to Tsarist city policemen and passage guards standing still and emotionlessly on their posts, paying no attention to the bustling of the city around them. In older times, they were also armed with poleaxes or clubs that they were stereotypically holding like a sceptre. ; Picoleto: In

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

it's a term used to refer to Guardia Civil. The term originates from "pico", meaning "spike" or "horn", referring to the

tricorne The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were refer ...

worn by the members of Guardia Civil during most of its existence and still used nowadays in formal uniform. ; Piedipiatti: Slang term used commonly in Italy to describe all kinds of police officers. Lit. ''flat feet''. ; Pies: Slang term used commonly in Poland to describe all kinds of police officers. 'Pies' means a dog in Polish and is understood to compare police activity to that of dogs i.e.sniffing around etc. Highly derogatory, not used in any official circumstances. ; Pig: This derogatory term was frequently used during the 19th century, disappeared for a while, but reappeared during the 20th and 21st century. It became frequently used again during the 1960s and 1970s in the underground and

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

culture. The adult cartoon ''Fritz The Cat'' (1972) portrayed the police as pigs, adding to the popularity of the term. Now prevalent in many English-speaking countries. It is also used in anti-authority punk, goth, metalhead,

biker Biker or bikie may refer to: * A cyclist, a bicycle rider or participant in cycling sports * A motorcyclist, any motorcycle rider or passenger, or participant in motorcycle sports ** A motorcycle club member, defined more narrowly than all motor ...

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

and hip-hop circles. ''Oz'' magazine showed a picture of a pig dressed as a policeman on a front cover and the term inspired "pig cops" in the video game ''

Duke Nukem 3D ''Duke Nukem 3D'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games ''Duke Nukem (video game), Duke Nukem'' and ''Duke Nukem II'', published by 3D Realms. ''Duke Nukem 3D'' features the adventures ...

''. ; Pig Pen: Cop shop, i.e., police station. ; Pinched: To be arrested (American slang). ; Pikachu: In Vietnam, this word refers to traffic police, who wear yellow suits and therefore resemble the Pokémon

Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which w ...

. ; Plastic Policeman: UK slang term for Police Community Support Officers. ; Placa: Slang term for police officer or Police men. Origination Mexico ; Plod, PC Plod or Plodder:Slang, UK and Australia. An allusion to Mr Plod the Policeman in

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have b ...

's '' Noddy'' stories for children, to plod meaning to walk doggedly and slowly with heavy steps. ; Plot: To Plot up, Abbreviation of the term 'Park up and Look Out for Target'. ; Polda: Czech slang for police officer. Originated as short of word "policista" - Czech term for policeman. ; Po-lé: Indonesian term for Indonesian Police, popular amongst young students and streetboys in Jakarta and used to warn their friends during illegal streetrace or under-age riding. ; Polente: Slang for the police in

, slightly derogatory. ; Polyp, Polypen (plural): Slang for Police officers in Germany. ; Polis: Scottish slang for police (not to be confused with the exaggerated US pronunciation 'po-leece'). Once common in Ireland but rarely heard today except in a jocular sense. ; Ponda: Slang for policemen in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

region of Jammu & Kashmir,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is said to have derived from the British

Pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

, insinuating that the police are susceptible to bribery. ; Pony Soldier: Royal Canadian Mounted Police. ; Porkchop: Variation on Pig. ; Po-po, Popo, Popos, PoPo: A derogatory street term for police. Originally from Southern California, where bicycle police, beginning in the 1980s, wore T-shirts marked 'PO', for 'police officer', in

block letter Block letters (known as printscript, manuscript, print writing or ball and stick in academics) are a sans-serif (or "gothic") style of writing Latin script in which the letters are individual glyphs, with no joining. Elementary education in ...

s. As these officers rode in pairs, their shirts would read 'POPO' when side by side. Yelled out by children to warn a neighborhood that police are in the area. ; Poulet: French derogatory slang for police (literally "chicken"), similar to American English "pig". ; Pretty Police: obsolete term used to describe officers deployed in men's toilets to lure homosexual men into a honey trap (source

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a BBC period drama series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s and 1960s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, Helen George, Bryony Ha ...

) ; Probinsyano: Another slang term used for policemen in the Philippines due to the famous TV Show

Ang Probinsyano ''FPJ's Ang Probinsyano'' (lit. ''FPJ's The Provincial Man''; abbreviated as ''FPJAP'' and internationally known as ''Brothers'') is a 2015 Philippine action drama television series under ABS-CBN Entertainment replacing ''Nathaniel''. Based ...

. ; Puerco: Hispanic derogatory slang for police (literally "pig"). ; Purken: Norwegian slang for the police (literally "the sow").

Q

; Queen's Cowboys: Canadian slang term for members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

R

; Rati: Argentinean slang term for police officers derived from "rata" (rat). Also derived from '' vesre'' pronunciation of ''tira'' ("strap"), since older police uniforms featured a leather strap across the officer's chest. See '' Tira''. : Also used in Chile as slang for a member of the PDI. ; Reggin: Slang used for non-white police officers in Latvia. ; Rent-a-Cop : Not actually used to refer to police officers, but instead a derogatory term applied to any privately-hired security guard not acting as a bouncer or bodyguard. ; Road Pirates : US, Slang for law-enforcement who perform traffic enforcement such as writing citations for speeding and reckless driving. ; Rollers : US, Black slang for police officers widely used on the East and West Coasts in the early 1970s. ; Roussin: French. In the 18th century undercover detectives in high society were dressed in a reddish (roussâtre) long jacket. ; Rozzers: UK, slang for police officers, first recorded in the late 1800s.

S

; Sanki: A Polish term for detention, literally "sleigh", comes from "sankcje" - sanctions. ; Sbirro: Italian slang term for a police officer. ; Schmier: Derogatory slang term for policeman in Switzerland. Literally German for 'dirt'/'smear'/'grease', derived from 'schmiergeld' or 'schmieren' - 'bribe money' and 'to bribe' respectively. Referring to police as a whole as a totally corrupt organization. Plural forms: (schmiere for male and (schmierin) for feminine. ; Scuffer: Term used in

for a policeman. ; Scum: Commonly used in the U.K. Very similar in use to "The Filth" :"The Scum are raiding John’s house. The Filth are never done harassing him!" ; Shades: Term used to refer to An Garda Síochána, the police force of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. Derived from Traveller Cant, it is said to refer either to the two shades of blue on the Garda uniform, or to the practice of wearing peaked uniform caps, casting a "shade" over their eyes. It is also perhaps thought to refer to the sunglasses (or shades) they once commonly wore. ; Shickalon :

, the police force of the

. Based on a mispronunciation of ''Síochána''. ; Shtar: French slang for police. It is also used when referring to a pimple. ; Six-up: slang term for police originating in San Francisco, California USA in the mid-to-late-1970s; used primarily by Grateful Dead followers, so use of the term seems to be dying out. ; Smeris: Dutch slang for police. ; Slops: "Back-slang" formation from "police" spelled backwards, "ecilop" = "slop". Common before World War II in the UK. Rare today. ; Smokey: State police or troopers. Derived from over-the-road trucker CB radio calls, as popularized by the 1977 film

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American road action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham, the film follows ...

. Though the portrayal of police in that movie was generally negative, the term itself is not always derogatory. ; Snut: Norwegian/Swedish slang widely used for cops. ; Stater/Statie: A state trooper, as opposed to a local county or federal police officer of the US. ; Stormtrooper(s): Mainly used to refer to riot police but can be used to refer to any group of police, referencing their paramilitary gear and blank uniform appearance alluding to both the German Stormtroopers of the World Wars (suggesting inherent authoritarian leanings) and the Imperial Stormtroopers of the Star Wars films (drawing connotations with being faceless henchmen). ; Suka: Polish for "bitch", both in the sense of 'female dog' and as an offensive term, refers to a police van. Possibly a play on "pies". ; Svartemarja: Norwegian (originally from English) referring to historic black police cars used to take people to jail. ; Sweeney, The: UK slang term for the Flying Squad of London's

. From Cockney

: "Sweeney Todd" = "Flying Squad".

T

; The Thin Blue Line: The role of the police as the barrier between civilized society and chaos, inspiring a UK sitcom and two documentaries of the same name. ; Three Letter Agency: Used in the United States to denote the multiple federal agencies that are commonly referred to by their initials such as the FBI, ATF, and DEA. ; Thulla: ठुल्ला. A

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Cen ...

n slang for policemen. One theory is that it is derived from "thulla", a name used in

Eastern India East India is a List of regions of India, region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the histo ...

for the

jute Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is '' Corchorus ol ...

gunny sack, which resembles the

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...

uniforms worn by many police forces in the country. ; Tira: A Brazilian Portuguese slang word (colloquial) for police officers, its origin comes from ''tira'' , since older police uniforms had a strap across the chest. ; Toniwagen: (German for "Toni car") historical denomination for a

Volkspolizei The ''Deutsche Volkspolizei'' (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the ''Volkspolizei'' or VoPo, was the national police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a h ...

car in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

; Tombo: A Peruvian, Colombian and other South American countries' slang term, comes from switching the syllabes of "Botón", which means button, an allusion to the ribbons or medals that police officers used to wear on their uniforms. ; Town Clown: Town or city police officers, contrasted with county or state police. Usually considered derogatory.: ; Twelve / "12": "12" is a slang name whose popularity is currently on the rise. This name is used mostly by criminals or people to warn those indulging in crime or illegal activity that police officers are on their way. Although the term 12 is a police radio call code, urban slang has changed it into a warning phrase. One possible etymologies include 1312, the numeric representation of the acronym "

ACAB ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) is an acronym used as a political slogan associated with dissidents who are opposed to the police. It is typically written as a catchphrase in graffiti, tattoos or other imagery in public spaces. It is sometimes num ...

" which stands for "all cops are bastards", as well as an account of the phrase deriving from the 1970s television show ''

Adam-12 ''Adam-12'' is an American television police procedural crime drama television series created by Robert A. Cinader and Jack Webb. The series follows Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed as they patrol the st ...

'' ; Triads:黑社會. A derogatory slang given by pro-democracy supporters, during the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, to hurl insult at members of

after their failure in protecting train passengers from attacks by allegedly gang members and their alleged collusion during the attack at a train station in Yuen Long . ; Tyttebærpoliti: Norwegian, literally “Lingonberry Police” (from the Securitas logo), referring to any privately-hired security guard, excluding bouncers and bodyguards. Occasional plan B for Police Academy rejects. ;Txakurra: Euskera word meaning dog. Slang for a police officer, especially a member of Spanish Nacional Police.

V

; Vics: US slang term for the police in the 1990s and 2000s, referring to the

Ford Crown Victoria The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 to 2012 model years. The Fo ...

, a car model commonly used by police departments. : Slang term used in

, Australia for the

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victoria Police had over 22,300 staff, comprising over 16,700 ...

. : Also used by the police to refer to crime victims in the US.

W

; Wachtelsepp: "waving Sepp" ('wachtel' lit. quail, but colloquially used for waving; 'Sepp' is the diminutive form for Joseph). Austrian German slang term for a cardboard cutout police officer usually set up to deter speeding. Dubbed "Kollege Vinzenz" by the Austrian police force. ; Walloper: Australian slang for a police officer. Commonly used in the 19th to 20th centuries for the policeman on the beat, carrying a truncheon. ; Wankers Association: Scottish term for the police overall, coined by Frank Anthony, and further made popular by Peter Anderson. ; Wanne: German for "tub", local denomination of Berlin Police personnel carriers equipped with mesh window shields, Germany ; Water Rat: Derogatory Australian slang for Water Police. Water Rats was a long-running TV police procedural based on the Sydney Water Police. ; Weiße Maus: German for "white mouse", for their white

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

s and

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. I ...

s that are generally not in use except for special events. In Germany: colloquial denomination of traffic police units of the state police forces and in Austria: colloquial denomination of motorbikes police units in general, although white uniforms and motorbikes are no longer in use. ; Whiter-than-White, The: Derisive term for a police force predominantly full of racist white officers; British-English in origin. ; Woodentop: Uniformed police officer. Derisory term used by British plain-clothes detectives. ; Woody: A plastic police officer. Derisory term used for British police. ; Wout: Dutch slang for police, meaning authority.

Y

; Yuta: Derogatory term for police used in Argentina, Uruguay and some parts of Chile, possibly a corruption of ''yunta'' (

yoke A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...

) since they usually ride in pairs.

References

External links

Metropolitan Police – origins of the name "Old Bill"Law Enforcement Submitted Cop Slang – ''POLICE Magazine'' (US)
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Slang Terms For Police Officers

Slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

Police officers Law enforcement-related lists