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1. Free Driver History Report
2. Abbreviations For Words List
3. California Driver History Report
4. Financial Report Abbreviations

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.^[1]

• 1United Kingdom
• 2United States

United Kingdom[edit]

Initialisms[edit]

• ABH: Actual bodily harm
• ARU: Armed Response Unit
• ARV: Armed Response Vehicle
• ASBO: Anti Social Behaviour Order
• B&E: Breaking and entering
• BIP: Break in Progress
• 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;^[2] an illegal drug trade-related criminal charge
• RCU: Road Crime Unit
• RTC: Road Traffic Collision
• TAG: Tactical Aid Group
• TDA: Taking and Driving Away
• TFU: Tactical Firearms Unit
• TWROC: Taking Without Registered Owners Consent
• VDRS: Vehicle Defects Rectification Scheme^[3]
• VSS: Victim Support Scheme

Abbreviations[edit]

• 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^[4]
• 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[edit]

• 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
• 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[edit]

• Big Red Key: A type of battering ram.^[5][6]
• DECAMP: Suspect abandoning vehicle and escaping on foot. Mostly done when a driver goes down a dead end (sometimes by accident) when trying to shake the Police off.
• Equipped: An officer is said to be 'equipped' in radio chatter if they have firearms.
• 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.^[7]

United States[edit]

Numerical and alphanumerical codes[edit]

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 andverbs 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[edit]

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]^{[permanent dead link]}. 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[edit]

*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^[8]
• UUMV: Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
• VC: Vehicle Code
• WI: Welfare & Institutions Code
• Fel.: Felony
• Misd.: Misdemeanor
• Inf.: Infraction

Initialisms describing situations[edit]

• 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
• GSR:Gun Shot Residue
• GSW:Gun Shot Wound

Free Driver History Report

Slang terms for police misconduct[edit]

• Alley court: Unlawfully endeavouring to force a prisoner to make a confession.^[9]
• Testilying: Police perjury.^[10]

Miscellaneous abbreviations and descriptive terms[edit]

• Adam Henry (AH, i.e. 'asshole'): ignorant individual; slang [see also HUA]
• AKA: also known as (person has assumed name, alias)
• APB: all points bulletin
• APC: all points county
• ATL: attempt to locate
• AVL: automatic vehicle location; allows dispatch to see exactly where a given patrol car is ^[11]
• BOLO: be on the look-out [for]; similar to APB
• CDS: controlled or dangerous substance (narcotic)
• CJ: county jail
• Civvies: term describing non-uniform clothing, including those used in undercover operations
• CompStat or comp-stat: comparative statistics, a method of tracking criminal activity and subsequent enforcement^[12])
• Condition: problem or concern in need of police attention
• DA: district attorney
• DisCon or dis-con: disorderly conduct
• 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: 'head up ass', i.e. ignorant; slang [see also 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, a legal standard for evidence gathering that is greater than reasonable suspicion
• PD: police department or police headquarters
• PMVA: pedestrian and 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 New York police officers); from skeleton.
• Skell gel: Anti-bacterial lotion used by officers after contact with a skell
• SNEU: street narcotics enforcement unit
• SO: Sheriff Office Formal use, usually with an ' 's '. Colloquial and regional term referring to the County Sheriff Department or Parish Sheriff Department (LA)
• Soc: Social Security Number
• SOR: sex offender registration/registrant
• SRO: school resource officer
• Tune up: a beating administered to prisoner
• UTL: unable to locate
• Wood shampoo: Using a nightstick (originally made of wood) on someone's head.

Miscellaneous acronyms[edit]

• 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[edit]

• 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[edit]

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 Big Pun 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, despite the fact that 187 does not denote murder under Michigan law.

External links[edit]

• 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)^{[dead link]}
• 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[edit]

1. ^'Law Enforcement Terms'.
2. ^Evidence in Drugs Cases. Release.
3. ^Dorset Police Performance Report 2011-2012.
4. ^Beggs and Davies. Police Misconduct, Complaints, and Public Regulation. Oxford University Press. 2009. Para 1.39 at p 13.
5. ^Video: Exhausted cops don't give up on the Big Red Key. The Northern Echo.
6. ^Police open doors for Children in NeedArchived 2015-02-19 at the Wayback Machine. North Yorkshire Police.
7. ^Harris, Jessica. An evaluation of the use and effectiveness of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Home Office Research Study 203. Research, Development and Statistics Directorate. Home Office. ISBN1 84082 499 9. Page 42.
8. ^Michigan Law and Practice Encyclopedia. 2nd Ed. LEXIS Law Publishing. 2007. Volume 4. Page 424. Google Books.
9. ^Widick, B J. Detroit: City of Race and Class Violence. Wayne State University Press. 1989. Page 181.
10. ^Kenworthy Bilz, 'Book Review: The Fall of the Confession Era' (2005) 96 The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 367 JSTOR; Pitts, Giacopassi and Turner, 'The Legacy of the OJ Simpson Trial' (2008) 10 Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law 199 Hein; Phillip Walters, 'Would a Cop Do This: Ending the Practice of Sexual Sampling in Prostitution Stings' (2011) 29 Law & Inequality 451 Hein.
11. ^'Police slang and nojargon'. Concealed carry archive
12. ^https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/stats.page

Branded Title

When a vehicle is involved in a mishap that significantly affects the way it runs or looks, it might receive a branded title. Of course, the transformation must be serious. It involves a massive rubber stamp across the title signifying the new status. Some of the more common brands include: salvage, rebuilt, junked, lemon, and damaged.

Fleet Vehicle

These vehicles range from rental cars and taxis to police cruisers and other government cars. You might see auctions around town offering these types of vehicles at bargain prices. In many cases, you can find an inexpensive vehicle in good condition. Generally, running a VHR will reveal whether a vehicle was a fleet member.

Flood Damage

Anytime there is a major flood in some part of the country, it seems cars from that area miraculously end up in other states with new price tags. This concern is again at the forefront after hurricanes recently pummeled the U.S. Gulf Coast. Shady salvage yards try to pass these cars off for something other than they are: severely water damaged and possibly defective. Auction houses are good at noting these vehicles. Thus, a vehicle history report (VHR) will often find out whether a vehicle has endured flood damage. But as a consumer, you should be extra cautious if you suspect that a vehicle you are interested in buying was under water at some point.

Gray Market

While not at the level of the illegal black market, this metaphorical shopping haven is still a place of shady transactions. Dealing on the market is technically legal, but without consent of the manufacturer. Basically, the gray market involves the import of certain vehicles (e.g. Peugeot and Fiat), which are readily available at competitive costs in other markets. An importer then sells the vehicles at a higher-than-market cost. Unfortunately, these vehicles do not always meet U.S. safety and emission standards.

Lemon Law

Most states have enacted rather detailed laws to protect consumers from getting stuck with a car that just doesn't work like it should. A vehicle history report (VHR) might reveal when a manufacturer has repurchased a vehicle because it did not meet the standards of an enacted lemon law. Repurchased vehicles that re-enter the marketplace usually have branded titles.

Rebuilt/Rebuildable/Reconstructed

This branded title signifies a salvage vehicle that is usually ready to take to the road. The vehicle has typically undergone a complete rebuilding with new or used parts. Each part is recorded, and the entire rebuilding process is documented by affidavit.

Recall

A recall occurs when a mass defect affects the safety or performance of a specific model of vehicle. Generally, the manufacturer will fix the problem for free within a certain period of time. Some model years just cannot seem to stay off the recall list. A VHR lists each recall over the course of a vehicle's life.

Rolled Back Odometer

The more miles on a vehicle the less it is worth. Consequently, there are some folks that manipulate the correct mileage reading by subtracting (or mechanically rolling back) the numbers.

Salvage Vehicle

Essentially, this type of vehicle is one step from the scrap heap. A vehicle in this condition earns the tag 'total loss' by an insurance company for any one of a slew of reasons like wrecked beyond repair or flood damage. Yet, thanks to a bit of grease monkey ingenuity, these crunched and junked bits of mangled metal make it back onto the road. Some of these salvage vehicles run as well as they did when they first came off the assembly line. Regardless, if an insurance company totals a vehicle, in order to maintain possession, the owner must apply for a salvage title.

Vehicle History Report (VHR)

Abbreviations For Words List

A VHR is a comprehensive collection of a vehicle's past. Using a vehicle's VIN, companies that provide VHRs mine data from a wealth of public and private sources. A report usually includes information on a vehicle's title and registration along with the details of accidents, recalls, and general misuse.

California Driver History Report

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

Financial Report Abbreviations

Also known as the 'very important number,' the VIN is composed of 17 characters and is the key element used in a VHR to search a vehicle's past. All registration and titling data follows the number from owner to owner. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration helped to make the VIN with 17 characters, standard in all vehicles in 1981. Thus, detailed information for vehicles prior to that year is spotty at best. You can find this number on the driver-side dashboard or etched into the driver-side doorframe. You can also locate the number on your insurance card and vehicle registration.