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. For the purpose of this article, only English speaking countries are considered.
ABH: Actual Bodily Harm
B&E: Breaking & Entering
BOP: Breach Of Peace
D&D: Drunk & Disorderly
DIP: Drunk In Public
GBH: Grievous Bodily Harm
Skell: Unsavoury Character
TDA: Taking & Driving Away
TWOC: Taken Without Owner's Consent
UDAA: Unauthorized Driving Away Automobile
Miscellaneous Initialisms
ARV: Armed Response Vehicle
TFU: Tactical Firearms Unit
NFA: No Further Action
SOCO: Scenes Of Crime Officer; [A forensic Crime Scene Examiner]
VSS: Victim Support Scheme
VDRS: Vehicle Defects Rectification Scheme
Miscellaneous Acronyms
CO19: Central Operations Specialist Firearms Command
HOLMES: Home Office Large and Major Enquiry System - A Computer System for Major Incidents
PACE: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - Act of parliament providing a core framework of Police Powers and safeguards around stop and search, arrest, detention, investigation, identification and interviewing detainees
PCSO: Police Community Support Officer - A Civilian Uniformed Non-Warranted Officer
PNC: Police National Computer
NSPIS: National Strategy for Police Information Systems - A Computer System for the management of Police Resources
Miscellaneous Abbreviations
MISPER: Missing person
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.
United States
Numerical & 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 & 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.
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
ADW: Assault with a Deadly Weapon
DIP: Drunk In Public
HS: Health and Safety Code
PC: Penal Code
VC: Vehicle Code
WI: Welfare & Institutions Code
Fel.: Felony
Misd.: Misdemeanor
Inf.: Infraction
Initialisms Describing Situations
ATL: Attempt To Locate
BOLO: Be On Lookout
DB: Dead Body
DID: Drunk In a Ditch
DOA: Dead On Arrival
EDP: Emotionally Disturbed Person
GOA: Gone On Arrival
IFO: In Front Of
LKA: Last Known Address
LNU: Last Name Unknown
QOA: Quiet On Arrival
UTL: Unable To Locate
Miscellaneous Abbreviations and Descriptive Terms
Adam Henry (AH): Ignorant Individual Slang [see HUA]
APB: All Points Bulletin
APC: All Points County
BOLO: Similar to and APB, Be On The Look Out (for)
CJ: County Jail
CIVIES: 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
DV: Domestic Violence
DOB: Date Of Birth
EC: Emergency Contact
FD: Fire Department
FTO: Field Training Officer
GATT: Illegal firearm
GOA: Gone On Arrival
HBO: Handled By Officer
HOUSE MOUSE: A Police Officer who seldom leaves the Police Station
HUA: Ignorant slang [see AH or "Adam Henry"]
LUDS: Local Usage Details. A detailed record of calls made and received from a particular phone number.
MUTT: An extremely unsavory character
NAT: Necessary Action Taken
NORP: Normal, Ordinary, Responsible Person
OLN: Operator's License Number
PA: Prosecuting Attorney
PC: Probable Cause (Reasonable Suspicion - for Arrest or Stop)
PD: Police Department
PUKE: A Pejorative for an Inmate of the County Jail or State Prison
RO: Registered Owner
RP: Reporting Person/Party
SA: State's Attorney
SKELL: Unsavory Character (term often used by New York 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
UTL: Unable To Locate
WOOD SHAMPOO: Using less than lethal force to gain voluntary compliance
Miscellaneous Acronyms
AFIS: Automated fingerprint identification system
CODIS: Combined DNA Index System
IAFIS: Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System
NCIC: National Crime Information Center
SWAT: A Police Department's Elite Special Weapons & Tactics Unit
VIN: Vehicle Identification Number
Miscellaneous Abbreviations
BKD: Booked (into county jail)
BLK: Street block
BTWN: Between
Bus: Ambulance
COMPL: Complaintant
DESC: Description
JUV: Juvenile
MOD: Model (of vehicle, for example)
M/N: Model Number (of article, for example)
PROP: Property
PERP: Perpetrator
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 violent shows. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a television series about forensic scientists, uses many acronyms such as AFIS, CODIS and DB.
The numeric code 187 from the California Penal Code section dealing with murder has been featured in numerous gangsta rap songs such as Deep Cover and as the title of the movie One Eight Seven.
