police

en-noun

police pl (normally plural, singular police)

Southern US, African-American Vernacular, South Asia

From Middle French police, from Latin polītīa (“state, government”), from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía). Doublet of policy and polity.

The Cook County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction across most of Chicago but focuses on the unincorporated area and tasks like prisoner transport, leaving the rest to the Chicago Police Department.

(law enforcement) A public agency charged with enforcing laws and maintaining public order, usually being granted special privileges to do so, particularly

(Canada, US and historical) A department of local (usually municipal) government responsible for general law enforcement.

Scotland Yard is, technically speaking, only the metropolitan police for Greater London but because of their importance they have special jurisdiction for some crimes across the United Kingdom.

(UK) A branch of the Home Office responsible for general law enforcement within a specific territory.

(Australia, New Zealand) Any of the formally enacted law enforcement agencies at various levels of government.

There are nine Principles of Police:
...
7 To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen, in the interests of community welfare and existence.

1943, Charles Reith, British Police and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 3–4

‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 18, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

In the criminal justice system, the People are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime, and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders.

1990 Sept. 13, David Black & al., "Prescription for Death", Law & Order, 00:00:01

Citadel Security is a volunteer police service answering to the Citadel Council. The 200,000 constables of C-Sec are responsible for maintaining public order in the densely populated Citadel.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Citadel Station: Citadel Security Services (C-Sec) Codex entry:

The rally on Sunday in Victoria Park, in the Causeway Bay district, was authorized in advance by the police. But protesters were also expected to begin marching later in the day from Sham Shui Po, a working-class neighborhood on the Kowloon peninsula, across the harbor from North Point. The police rejected their application for a permit.

2019 August 11, Mike Ives, “Hong Kong Protesters Gather Amid Fears of Mob Violence”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-08-11:

Call the police!

There’s only one police in this town.

2012 July 16, Jonathan, Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, spoken by Peter Foley (Matthew Modine), Warner Bros. Pictures:


LAPD

(telecommunications) Link Access Procedures, D channel; specified in ITU-T Q.920 and ITU-T Q.921. The second layer protocol on the ISDN protocol stack.


NYPD

An NYPD officer struck in the arm by a bullet allegedly fired by a teen gunman ignored his wound and gave chase to the 16-year-old suspect, cops said Tuesday.

2023 January 17, Harry Parker, Rocco Parascandola, Thomas Tracy, “Wounded NYPD cop gave chase to Bronx teen accused of shooting him”, in New York Daily News:

Police Department
police department#English

Initialism of New York Police Department.


constable

From Middle English constable, cunstable, constabil, connestable, cunestable, from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabulī (“officer of the stables”). For the sense-development; compare marshal. Doublet of connétable.

der

(historical) An officer of a noble court in the Middle Ages, usually a senior army commander. (See also marshal).


policeman

→ French: policeman

→ Maori: pirihimana

→ Welsh: plismon

The policeman who arrests the "Red" does not understand the theories the "Red" is preaching; if he did, his own position as bodyguard of the monied class might seem less pleasant to him.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn, Pt. I:

Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

Still agitated, she watched resentfully as two traffic policemen remounted their motorcycles.

2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 378:

(law enforcement) A male police officer, sometimes used for any police officer regardless of gender.


RIP

[…] recommended as punishment a 55-day RIP (reduction in pay) but was overruled by higher authorities […]

1972, New York Magazine, volume 5, number 5, page 32:

He admitted to his indiscretion and accepted a five-day RIP (reduction in pay). What the hell is going on? I wondered. We let a captain with possible O.C. connections off the hook, but we bust a patrolman for having a drink!

1991, Vincent Murano, William Hoffer, Cop Hunter, page 73:

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of reduction in pay.


policewoman

(law enforcement) A female police officer.


Pseudo-acronym of canine, by phonetic similarity of the letter and number names with the two syllables of canine.

Police working dogs (K9s) often have extremely close bonds with their handlers.

2003, Nicholas H. Dodman, If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People, page 248:

Originally a K9 dog for the police department, Captain was asked to resign for unknown reasons.

2003, Trevor J. Orsinger, The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs, page 90:

Apollo, part of the New York Police Department K9 Search and Rescue team was on the scene of the disaster just 15 minutes after the disaster

2005, Priya Kapoor, Nandita Jaishankar, VIPs: Very Important Pets, page 71:

The Saitama Prefectural Police Department, for example, had no K9 units of its own, and relied on contract dogs exclusively.

2006, Asa Nonami, Juliet Winters Carpenter, The Hunter: A Detective Takako Otomichi Mystery, page 134:


rabbi

en-noun

rabbi (plural rabbis or (archaic) rabbies)

rabbis (plural)
rabbies (archaic plural)

From Middle English raby, from Ecclesiastical Latin rabbi, and its source Koine Greek ῥαββί (rhabbí), from (post-Tanakh) Hebrew רַבִּי (rabbi, “my master”), from רַב (rav, “master [of]”) + ־י (-i, “me”). Compare late Old English rabbi. Doublet of rebbe.

suffix

Hoskins? He doesn't have a better rabbi in the department than that?

2006 September 17, David Mills, “Soft Eyes”, in The Wire, season 4, episode 2, spoken by Clarence Royce (Glynn Turman):

If I'm ever gonna make Captain, I need a good mentor. I need my rabbi.

2013 September 17, Dan Goor, Michael Schur, “Pilot”, in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero):

(law enforcement, slang) A senior officer who acts as a mentor.


overhaul

/ˈəʊvəˌhɔːl/

/ˌəʊvəˈhɔːl/

(firefighting) The process after the fire appears extinguished in which the firefighters search the structure for signs of hot spots that may cause the structure to reignite. Often this includes the process of salvage under the blanket term, salvage and overhaul.


inspector

→ Japanese: インスペクター (insupekutā)

Borrowed from Latin īnspector, from īnspiciō.

(law enforcement) A police officer ranking below superintendent.


CCG

(Canada, nautical, law enforcement) Initialism of Canadian Coast Guard.


slammer

A man being sentenced for starving some horses chose 24 hours in the slammer with no food rather than seven days with the regular amenities.

1971 June 7, “Better Than Prison”, in Time:

(slang, usually "the slammer") Jail, prison.

I was in Britain, wanting to take a train to Portsmouth, and I only needed a one-way ticket. I did love the English trains; we still had slammers then. A slammer is a train where you got to slam the door shut yourself.

2009, Claude Lambert, On Pets and Men, page 33:

A fraudster who carries out slamming (fraudulent changes to a customer's service).


MDC

Metropolitan Detention Center
w:Metropolitan Detention Center

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of Metropolitan Detention Center.


secret police

1979, Jello Biafra & John Greenway, "California Über Alles", Dead Kennedys, California Über Alles.
Now it is nineteen eighty-four / Knock-knock at your front door / It's the suede denim secret police / They have come for your uncool niece

Leading Jordanian exponents of the Salafi-jihadi world view, such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, are now behind bars or silent, fearing arrest by the powerful mukhabarat secret police.

2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:

A police force operating in secrecy and outside the normal boundaries of law and hidden from the public, usually in support of a totalitarian government's political policies to suppress political dissent through the use of methods including intimidation, violence, and surveillance.

geheime polisie

police operating outside normal boundaries of law


tango

From translingual Tango (representing the letter T), from English tango (see above).

Tango down!

The two tangoes running toward the carnage at the prison door dropped simultaneously, dead in their tracks.

2005, Charles W. Sasser, Detachment Delta: Operation Aces Wild, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 370:

The sharp crack of breaking glass preceded Emily's calm voice. "One tango dead and Marcus is down, John."

2017, Beth Rhodes, Strike Zone, →ISBN, page 210:

(US, law enforcement, military slang) A target; an enemy.


shank

From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).

The metal part on a curb bit that falls below the mouthpiece, which length controls the severity of the leverage action of the bit, and to which the reins of the bridle are attached.

The end or remainder, particularly of a period of time.

the shank of the morning

AMANDA: Going now? You're joking! Why, it's only the shank of the evening, Mr. O’Connor!

1945, Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie, page 92:

The main part or beginning of a period of time.


nominal

→ Afrikaans: nominaal

From the Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names”), from nōmen (“name”).

a nominal difference

1856 February, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Oliver Goldsmith, republished in 1865, The Miscellaneous Writings of Lord Macaulay, Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green, page 300,
At Edinburgh he passed eighteen months in nominal attendance on lectures, and picked up some superficial information about chemistry and natural history.

In contrast to the traditionally conservative or libertarian ethos of the entrepreneurial class, the oligarchy is increasingly allied with the nominally populist Democratic Party and its regulatory agenda.

2013 October 5, Joel Kotkin, “California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude”, in The Daily Beast:


nominal

Numeric codes of characters used in programming are nominals.

A number (usually natural) used like a name; a numeric code or identifier. (See nominal number on Wikipedia.)

(UK, police jargon) A person listed in the Police National Computer database as having been convicted, cautioned or recently arrested.


dungeon

From Middle English dongeoun (“keep of a castle; dungeon; abyss, cave, den; whirlpool”), from Anglo-Norman donjun (“keep of a castle; keep used as a prison; dungeon”) and continental Old French donjon (“keep of a castle”), from Vulgar Latin *dominiōnem, seemingly derived from Latin dominus (“master, lord”) perhaps via some figurative sense like “dominant building”. Doublet of donjon. The sense of “prison (associated with a castle)”, first attested in Anglo-Norman (13th c.) and apparently never in continental Old French, likely developed in combination with Old English dung (“underground prison cell”), whence Middle English donge (“pit, abyss” - senses that are also attested for Middle English dongeoun).
The game term has been popularized by Dungeons & Dragons.

der

“pit, abyss” - senses that are also attested for Middle English <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">dongeoun</i>

Year after year he lay patiently in a dungeon.

1911, Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Bunyan, John”, in 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:

An underground prison or vault, typically built underneath a castle.

(obsolete) The main tower of a motte or castle; a keep or donjon.

torre mestra

the main tower of a motte or castle; a keep or donjon

(roleplaying games) An area inhabited by enemies, containing story objectives, treasure, and bosses.

(BDSM) A room dedicated to sadomasochistic sexual activity.


uniform

Borrowed from Middle French uniforme, from Latin uniformis.

Skeletor held the gun against Speedo’s head, held Speedo between himself and the cops who stood, motionless and futile, where they’d stopped. Robinson, Lindfors, Carter, three uniforms and I watched helpless as Skeletor, dragging Speedy with him, inched out the gate, started backing down the hill.

1996, S. J. Rozan, Concourse, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 265:

Four men flew out of it, three uniforms and one in what appeared to be an English riding outfit—boots, whip, the whole nine yards. […] He called out, “I’m the superintendent of police.”

2001, Christine Wiltz, The Last Madam: A Life in the New Orleans Underworld, Da Capo Press, →ISBN, page 113:

Eyes to the front now and there was the body, a lump of black and brown. Moon counted three uniforms and a photographer, the medical examiner and his assistant.

2004, Will Christopher Baer, Penny Dreadful, MacAdam/Cage Publishing, →ISBN, page 81:

(law enforcement) A uniformed police officer (as opposed to a detective).


prisoner

From Middle English prisoner, from Old French prisonier (compare Medieval Latin prisōnārius), equivalent to prison + -er.

The evidence disclosed that the three prisoners were in a public-house together with the prosecutor, Abraham Rhodes, and that in concert with the other two prisoners, the prisoner John Dewhirst placed a pencase on the table in the room where they were assembled, and left the room to get writing-paper.

1861, Edward William Cox, Reports of Cases in Criminal Law:

A person incarcerated in a prison, while on trial or serving a sentence.

And gainſt the General we will lift our ſwords / And either lanch his greedie thirſting throat, / Or take him priſoner, and his chaine ſhall ſerue / For Manackles, till he be ranſom’d home.

c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:

Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile ; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.

1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

presu

figurative: any person held against his or her will

I am no longer a prisoner to fear, for I am a child of God.

A person who is or feels confined or trapped by a situation or a set of circumstances.


kavass

From Ottoman Turkish قواس (kavvas, “guard, sentry”), derived from Arabic قوّاس (qawwās, “archer”), from Arabic قَوْس (qaws, “bow”).


coop

Dutch Bantam
Marshall, Texas
Oxford English Dictionary
coop

From Middle English cǒupe, cupe, from Old English cȳpe (“basket, cask”) or possibly from Middle Dutch cûpe (compare modern Dutch kuip, Saterland Frisian kupe, Middle Low German kûpe), from Old Saxon *kûpa, côpa (“cask”) (compare Middle Low German kôpe, Old High German chôfa, chuofa, Middle High German kuofe, modern regional German Kufe f (“cask”)), probably from Latin cūpa, Medieval Latin cōpa (“cask”) (thus a doublet of coupe, cup, and keeve). However, the Oxford English Dictionary notes that if the word is from Latin, “it is difficult to account for the umlaut in Old English cýpe”.

'Tis the cruel gripe, / That lean hard-handed poverty inflicts, / The hope of better things, the chance to win, / The wiſh to ſhine, the thirſt to be amus'd, / That at the found of Winter's hoary wing, / Unpeople all our counties, of ſuch herds, / Of flutt'ring, loit'ring, cringing, begging, looſe, / And wanton vagrants, as make London, vaſt / And boundless as it is, a crowded coop.

1785, William Cowper, “The Garden”, in The Task, a Poem, in Six Books. By William Cowper … To which are Added, by the Same Author, An Epistle to Joseph Hill, Esq. Tirocinium, or a Review of Schools, and The History of John Gilpin, London: Printed for J[oseph] Johnson, No. 72 St. Paul's Church-Yard, OCLC 221351486; republished as The Task. A Poem. In Six Books. To which is Added, Tirocinium: or, A Review of Schools, new edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Printed for Thomas Dobson, bookseller, in Second-street, second door above Chestnut-street, 1787, OCLC 23630717, page 87

Why think to shut up all things in your narrow coop, when we know there are not one or two only, but ten, twenty, a thousand things, and unlike?

1850, R[alph] W[aldo] Emerson, “Montaigne; or, the Skeptic”, in Representative Men. Seven Lectures, London: George Routledge & Co., Soho Square, →OCLC, page 94:

Lou Brent rolled from his cot, got to his feet on the floor of the tiny coop.

1929 September, Raoul F[alconia] Whitfield, “The Dog-Fight”, in Boys' Life, volume XIX, number 9, Irving, Tx.: Boy Scouts of America, →ISSN, page 18:

coop. A (gen., from ca. 1880, a country-town) prison: 1785, Sessions Papers of the Old Bailey, Sept., p. 1111, 'He has been in coop for a week'; […]

1968, Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American; being the Vocabularies of Crooks, Criminals, Racketeers, Beggars and Tramps, Convicts, the Commercial Underworld, the Drug Traffic, the White Slave Traffic, Spivs, 3rd edition, rev. and much enl., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, OCLC 311502654; republished as A Dictionary of the Underworld: British and American, Abingdon, Oxon.; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-317-44552-4

(figuratively, slang) A narrow place of confinement, a cage; a jail, a prison.


coop

en-verb

coop (third-person singular simple present coops, present participle cooping, simple past and past participle cooped)

coops (present singular third-person)
cooping (participle present)
cooped (participle past)
cooped (past)

COOPING. The term cooping refers to police officers sleeping on duty. […] One critic of two-man squad cars suggests that this is a recipe for cooping, since one officer can drive while the other sleeps.

2001, Mitchel P. Roth, Historical Dictionary of Law Enforcement, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, pages 76–77:

One of his first, and most groundbreaking, stories was about "cooping," police slang for sleeping on duty. It was sparked when Burnham interviewed Jim Curran, then a New York City policeman, who referred to someone being "in the coop," Burnham recalled. […] Burnham heard that every day thousands upon thousands of New York police supposedly working the night shift were actually sleeping, stashed in coops all over the city, only to be awakened if a crime was discovered. […] Cooping was a natural result and a dramatic example of a city agency misusing its resources.

2010, Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel, Blur: How to Know What's True in the Age of Information Overload, New York, N.Y.: Bloomsbury USA, →ISBN, page 155:

The majority of policemen, […] act so as to save the public from harm, i.e., they shun their duties. Instead of being up and about, interfering with the rights of the people, many policemen choose the honorable way out—they coop. Cooping (sleeping in some out-of-the-way place while on duty) was a situation which enraged [Frank] Serpico. In the finest tradition of the busybody who insists on running other people's lives, Serpico insisted on being out on the streets at all hours, stopping a prostitute here, ambushing a gambler there, harassing drug merchants everywhere.

2012, Walter Block, Defending the Undefendable: The Pimp, Prostitute, Scab, Slumlord, Libeler, Moneylender, and Other Scapegoats in the Rogue's Gallery of American Society, Baltimore, Md.: Laissez Faire Books, →ISBN:

This cynicism may lead to an increased number of job actions and deviance, such as the "blue flu" or "cooping."

2012, Jeffrey Ian Ross, Policing Issues: Challenges and Controversies, Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett Learning, →ISBN, page 66:

Cooping-prone areas are those locations where officers tend to engage in non-police activities that interrupt patrols in an unauthorized manner. A variety of such locations can be surmised, such as spending time at home or other locations not in the officer's area of responsibility while on duty. The department provided the example of officers parking in desolate areas to sleep.

2015, Steven V. Gilbert, Barbara A. Gilbert, Police Corruption in the NYPD: From Knapp to Mollen, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN, pages 116–117:

(intransitive, law enforcement, slang) Of a police officer: to sleep or relax while on duty.


R&D

(business) Initialism of Research and Development (a department within a company (or governmental division) dedicated to that task, or the fiscal category that represents it in fiscal reporting.)

Research and Development

(prison) Initialism of Receiving and discharge or receiving and dismissal (a department or office through which inmates arrive at and leave a prison.)


trespass

trespass (third-person singular simple present trespasses, present participle trespassing, simple past and past participle trespassed)

trespasses (present singular third-person)
trespassing (participle present)
trespassed (participle past)
trespassed (past)

From Middle English trespassen, borrowed from Old French trespasser (“to go across or over, transgress”), from tres- (“across, over”) + passer (“to pass”).

der

The dean trespassed the streaker from his university.

"You were trespassing on private property when you were taking pictures," he said, with no hint of courtesy. "I must trespass you. Come with me."

1996 April 16, Glenn Campbell, “Another Business Office Found”, in The Groom Lake Desert Rat, number 35, Rachel, NV, archived from the original on 1998-02-23:

The entire police force has in effect been trespassed from a Wellington property to stop officers checking whether a heavy-sleeping offender is complying with an overnight bail curfew.

2012 June 21, Greg O'Connor, “Criminal trespasses police officers”, in Stuff:

(transitive, law enforcement) To decree that a person shall be arrested for trespassing if he or she returns to someone else's land.


9/11 attacks
Federal Communications Commission
National Emergency Number Association
United States

Chosen by the United States in the 1960s in place of the older British 999 number as a better way to avoid accidental calls from push-button telephones. It is officially pronounced "nine-one-one," not "nine-eleven," since "nine-eleven" refers to the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. 9/11 is universally distinguished from 911 and usually refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Officially written as 9-1-1 in regulations and materials from the United States National Emergency Number Association and Federal Communications Commission, which is also advocated by some media style guides.

When you call 911 in the United States, a local dispatcher usually answers the phone with "911" or "911. What's your emergency?"

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

Well, look, I wear a mask, I try not to be a maskhole about it. If I see — if I see somebody who doesn't have a mask, I don't call 911.

2021 March 18, John Kennedy, quotee, “SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA) IS INTERVIEWED ON FOX NEWS”, in Political Transcript Wire, Lanham:

The telephone number for emergency services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Liberia, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Anguilla, Palau, and Tonga.

emergency services(Australia) 000(Mongolia) 105(China, Iran) 110(New Zealand) 111(European Union) 112(Japan, South Korea) 119(UK, Ireland) 999


imprison

en-verb

imprison (third-person singular simple present imprisons, present participle imprisoning, simple past and past participle imprisoned)

imprisons (present singular third-person)
imprisoning (participle present)
imprisoned (participle past)
imprisoned (past)

From Middle English imprisonen, emprisounen, emprisonen, from Old French emprisonner.

One of the village's most notable sons was Thomas Grantham, a Baptist church leader born in 1634, who was persecuted and imprisoned in the struggle for nonconformist beliefs during the reign of Charles II.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 214, about Halton Holegate:

None of these people has ever had what they really wanted, and if they get a glimmer of it, they back off suspiciously, failures of imagination helping to imprison them further.

1985 December 21, Mara Math, “Fen (review)”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 23, page 15:

[...] demand for the boots fell sharply after the Battle of Waterloo, and Brunel was imprisoned for debt in 1821.

2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 87:

(transitive) To put in or as if in prison; confine somebody against their will.


smoke explosion

en-noun

smoke explosion (plural smoke explosions)

(firefighting) An explosion of flue gases accumulated inside a burning building.


CP

CP (countable and uncountable, plural CPs)

(law enforcement) Initialism of containment perimeter.


backdraft

(American spelling, firefighting) Sudden, dangerous recombustion that occurs when there is a rapid reintroduction of oxygen to an enclosed space containing a fire.

a different extreme fire behavior phenomenon


firefighting

(by extension, figuratively) Solving an urgent problem.


engineer

→ Burmese: အင်ဂျင်နီယာ (anggyangniya)

→ Hawaiian: ʻenekinia

→ Hindi: इंजीनियर (iñjīniyar)

→ Japanese: エンジニア (enjinia)

desc

အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Mon: အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Mon: အိန်ဂျေန်နဳယျာ

→ Persian:

Dari: اِنْجِنِیر (injinīr)

/ˌɛn(d)ʒɪˈnɪə/

/ˌɛnd͡ʒɪˈnɪ(ə)ɹ/

The noun is derived from:
* Middle English enginour (“one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence, etc.; machine designer”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman enginour, engigneour [and other forms], and Middle French and Old French engigneor, engigneour, engignier (“one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence; architect; carpenter; craftsman; designer; planner; one who deceives or schemes”) (modern French ingénieur), from engin (“contraption, device; machine; invention; creativity, ingenuity; intelligence; deception, ruse, trickery”) + -eor, -or (suffix forming agent nouns); engin is derived from Latin ingenium (“innate or natural quality, nature; intelligence, natural capacity; ability, skill, talent; (Medieval Latin) engine; machine”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’) + gignere (the present active infinitive of gignō (“to bear, beget, give birth to; to cause, produce, yield”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth to; to produce”)) + -ium (suffix forming abstract nouns); and
* from engine + -er (occupational suffix); and
* from engine + -eer (suffix forming nouns denoting people associated with, concerned with, or engaged in specified activities), possibly modelled after Middle French ingénieur (a variant of Middle French, Old French engigneour; see above), and Italian ingegniere (“engineer”) (obsolete; modern Italian ingegnere).
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Medieval Latin, Late Latin ingeniārius (“engineer”)
* Medieval Latin ingeniator (“one constructing or using an engine”)
* Old Occitan engenhador, enginhador
* Portuguese engenhador (obsolete), engenheiro (“engineer”)
* Spanish engeñero (obsolete), ingeniero (“engineer”)

nb...

(Late Middle English) engyner, (Middle English) engineour, enginer, engyneour, engyneor, engynour, yngynore

engineor, enginere, engineur, enginor, enginur

cog

A person trained to operate an engine; an engineman.

(US, firefighting) A person who drives or operates a fire engine.


fire truck

(firefighting, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) A ladder truck, a vehicle used by firefighters to gain access to the upper stories of a building. Typically, a fire truck has a hydraulic system which operates a large, heavy-duty ladder mounted on top of the truck body, space for portable ladders to be stored and compartments for holding other tools that may be needed. Unlike a fire engine, trucks do not have pumps or carry water.


fire alarm

A four fire-alarm fire ripped through a row of 2.5 story frame dwellings during the early morning hours

(firefighting) An emergency response to a fire by the fire department with manpower and equipment.


porridge

en-noun

porridge (usually uncountable, plural porridges)

Variant of pottage (“thick soup or stew”), influenced by porray (“stew of leeks”). The "prison sentence" sense comes from the British tradition of serving prisoners porridge for breakfast.

keep one's breath to cool one's porridge

save one's breath to cool one's porridge

Just do your porridge and keep your head down.

(British, slang, uncountable) A prison sentence.

pap

breakfast cereal dish — see also oatmeal


fire hydrant

(firefighting) A device used by firefighters to obtain water from the main supply, consisting of a barrel, connections for hose and a valve assembly.

صُنْبُور حَرِيق

a device used by firefighters to obtain water from the main


gallows

gallows (plural gallows or (rare) gallowses)

gallows (plural)
gallowses (plural rare)

From Middle English galwes, galewes, plural of galwe, galowe, from Old English galga, gealga, from Proto-West Germanic *galgō, from Proto-Germanic *galgô, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰalgʰ-, *ǵʰalg- (“long switch, rod, shaft, pole, perch”). The plural construction probably refers to the vertical and horizontal beams.
Compare West Frisian galge, Dutch galg, German Galgen, Danish galge, Icelandic gálgi.
For the pronunciation /ˈɡæləs/, compare bellows, bodice.

Near-synonym: gibbet

No, Sir, 'tis fear of Hanging. Who would not ſteal, or do Murder, every time his Fingers itch'd at it, were it not for fear of the Gallows?

1728, Thomas Otway, “The Atheist, or, the Second Part of the Solider's Fortune”, in The Works of Mr. Thomas Otway, volume 2, London, page 37:

Wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging.

مِشْنَقَة

wooden framework on which persons are put to death by hanging

galgbacke

site with one or more gallows for executions

Ay, and a shrewd unhappy gallows too. / You'll ne'er be friends with him: a' kill'd your sister.

1590, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost:

(colloquial, obsolete) A wretch who deserves to be hanged.


SWAT

SWAT (countable and uncountable, plural SWATs)

(chiefly US, law enforcement) Acronym of special weapons and tactics. The area of expertise of police officers trained and equipped to neutralize armed or entrenched criminals.

special weapons and tactics

"This situation is out of control. We need a SWAT," the policeman said.

(chiefly US, law enforcement) A SWAT team


knock down

en-verb

knock down (third-person singular simple present knocks down, present participle knocking down, simple past and past participle knocked down)

knocks down (present singular third-person)
knocking down (participle present)
knocked down (participle past)
knocked down (past)

(transitive, firefighting) To reduce the burning of (a fire), as by cooling it with water or dirt.


warrant officer

en-noun

warrant officer (plural warrant officers)

The bailiff does not like to see himself as the brutal oppressor of the poor or as the agent of malicious creditors... This distinction between warrant officer and process server is not at all dissimilar to the gulf that divides the law officer and the peace officer in the police force... Warrant officers execute warrants whilst process servers distribute court summonses and cajole debtors.

1973, Paul Rock, Making People Pay, page 162:

(law enforcement) An officer assigned to execute warrants and other writs.


sheriff

From Middle English shirreve, from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour that has cognates in other languages including Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, etc.

(US) A government official, usually responsible for law enforcement in their county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.


warder

1595, Samuel Daniel, Civil Wars, in The Poetical Works of Mr. Samuel Daniel, Volume II, London: R. Gosling, 1718, Book I, stanza 62, p. 25,
When, lo! the king chang’d suddenly his Mind,
Casts down his Warder to arrest them there;

Stay, the king hath thrown his warder down.

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene 3]:

If thou doſt not inſtantly comply with theſe juſt demands, he defies thee to ſingle combat to the laſt extremity. And ſo ſaying, the Herald caſt down his warder.

1764 December 24 (indicated as 1765), Onuphrio Muralto, translated by William Marshal [pseudonyms; Horace Walpole], chapter III, in The Castle of Otranto, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Lownds […], →OCLC, page 91:

(archaic) A truncheon or staff carried by a king or commander, used to signal commands.


pullover

→ Bulgarian: пуловер (pulover)

→ Catalan: pul·lòver

→ Danish: pullover

→ Esperanto: pulovero

→ French: pull-over

→ Gulf Arabic: بلوڤر (blōvar)

→ German: Pullover

→ Hungarian: pulóver

→ Greek: πουλόβερ (poulóver)

→ Italian: pullover

→ Japanese: プルオーバー (puruōbā)

→ Georgian: პულოვერი (ṗuloveri)

→ Korean: 풀오버 (purobeo)

→ Polish: pulower

→ Portuguese: pulôver

→ Russian: пуло́вер (pulóver)

→ Sicilian: pullover

→ Spanish: pulóver

→ Swedish: pullover

I followed my training in the academy regarding vehicle pullovers.

2010, D. E. Gray, The Warrior in Me, page 23:

(chiefly law enforcement) An instance of a vehicle being pulled over.


IR

IR (countable and uncountable, plural IRs)

(law enforcement) Initialism of incident report.


warden

→ Welsh: warden, gwarden

From Middle English wardein, from Anglo-Norman wardein, from warder (“to guard”), variant of Old French guarder (“to guard”) (whence modern French garder, also English guard), from Proto-Germanic *ward-; related to Old High German wartēn (“to watch”). Compare guardian, French gardien, from Old French guardian, guardein. Compare also ward and reward. Doublet of guardian.

An official charged with supervisory duties or with the enforcement of specific laws or regulations; such as a game warden or air-raid warden.

nəzarətçi

an official charged with supervisory duties


backup

→ Danish: backup

→ Italian: backup

→ Japanese: バックアップ (bakkuappu)

→ Korean: 백업 (baegeop)

→ Portuguese: backup, becape

→ Swedish: backup

He's got a gun! You'd better send for backup.

Shaman: My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?
Shepard: How is a candidate tested if he brings backup on his Rite of Passage?
Shaman: Not every krogan can be the strongest warrior, but each must inspire his peers to battle at his side.
Shaman: If the ones who know you best can find nothing worthy in you, you should wander the wastes and die alone before you weaken my clan.

2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Tuchanka:


hoosegow

From informal spoken Spanish juzgao, variant of standard Spanish juzgado (“court, courthouse”). Alteration of pronunciation and spelling by law of Hobson-Jobson.

There's parts of Mexico they'd take you straight to the hoosegow for just whistlin that.

2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 424:

Philip Zimbardo set up a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology department, divided the participants at random into ‘prisoners’ and ‘guards,’ and even got the Palo Alto police to arrest the prisoners and haul them to the campus hoosegow.

2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 674:


behind bars

There is one kind of prison where the man is behind bars, and everything that he desires is outside; and there is another kind where the things are behind the bars, and the man is outside.

1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter XXVII, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1906 February 26, →OCLC:

Some 460,000 Americans are behind bars for drug offenses.

2001 May 7, Margot Roosevelt et al., “The War Against The War On Drugs”, in Time:

Leading Jordanian exponents of the Salafi-jihadi world view, such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, are now behind bars or silent, fearing arrest by the powerful mukhabarat secret police.

2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian:

(figuratively, idiomatic) In jail, in prison.


cruiser

(US, law enforcement) A police patrol vehicle.


sheepdog

(US, slang, law enforcement) A police officer.


workhouse

Among other public buildings in a certain town which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, it boasts of one which is common to most towns, great or small, to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born, […] the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter.

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter I, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

"I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." / "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve.[…]"

1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC:

(British, historical) An institution for homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied were required to work.


crown fire

crown fire (countable and uncountable, plural crown fires)


zero tolerance

I get weary of this zero tolerance bullshit. It's annoying. To begin with, it's a fascist concept; it's what Hitler and Stalin practiced. It allows for no exceptions or compassion of any kind. All is black and white—no gradations. But even more important, it doesn't solve anything. The use of such a slogan simply allows whichever company, school or municipality is using it to claim they're doing something about a problem when, in fact, nothing is being done at all and the problem is being ignored. It's a cosmetic non-solution designed to impress simpletons. Whenever you hear the phrase zero tolerance, remember, someone is bullshitting you.

2004, George Carlin, “ZERO TOLERANCE”, in When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 84:

The strict policy of enforcing law(s) or the rule(s), and allowing no toleration or compromise even for first-time offenders or petty violations.

零容忍

strict policy of enforcing all the laws or rules


WPC

woman police constable
woman police constable#English

(UK, law enforcement, historical) Initialism of woman police constable, a former police rank.


fire department

fire department (plural fire departments)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-fire department.wav

(firefighting, US) An organization, often part of a local government, whose purpose is preventing and putting out fires. May provide other emergency services as well.


DPC

PW4 (DPC 13900) was at the checkline junction Luard Road near Jaffe Road. They were there to prevent protesters rushing in to block the road from Luard Road.

Paragraph 67, HKSAR v Tong Ying Kit/Reasons for Verdict ([2021] HKCFI 2200)

(Hong Kong, law enforcement) Initialism of detective police constable.

(India, law enforcement) Initialism of District Police Chief. A police officer in charge of a police district in the Kerala State Police.


borstal

Inherited from Middle English *borstile, *borghstile, from Old English beorh (“a hill”) + stigel (“a stile”).
The institutions are named after Borstal Prison in Borstal, Rochester, Kent, England.

(UK) A way up a hill in the South Downs.

(historical) Any of the prisons set up in Britain for delinquent boys from 1895 to 1983.

You have juvenile courts. Do you have borstal institutions for juveniles?

2004, August 3, Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly, Kenya National Assembly Official Record, Hansard, page 3126

Seven years ago, I was sent to borstal. Slithering around in the societal sludge, I was forced to admit I'd made a huge mistake – committing robbery.

2011 November 7, Paris Lees, “My Transsexual Summer: a new view of gender”, in The Guardian:

(British, Ireland) Any institution which provides education to young offenders.


fire brigade

/ˈfaɪə(ɹ)bɹɪˌɡeɪd/

(firefighting, US) A group of people within a corporation or industrial site, organized for the purpose of putting out fires, usually in addition to their normal job.

فِرْقَة مَطَافِئ

group within a corporation or industrial site

see also fire service

(firefighting, UK, Ireland) An organization, often part of a local government, whose purpose is preventing and putting out fires.

skuadër zjarrfikëse

organization for preventing and putting out fires

foyerwer

borrowed from German, Malmedy region, old


all-nighter

From all-night + -er = all- + night + -er.

(US, crime, slang) A criminal or other person kept in jail over night.


fire hose

An fast-flowing unsupported flow of lava escaping from a solid rockface.


sixty-one

(US, New York, informal) A police officer's report detailing a crime reported by a civilian.


amber alert

After Amber Hagerman (1986–1996), a girl who was abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas. The upper-case spelling indicates a backronym: America's Missing: Broadcasting Emergency Response.

(US, Canada) A public notification of a child abduction.


OEM

(emergency services) Initialism of Office of Emergency Management.


CID

(British, law enforcement, initialism) Scotland Yard Criminal Investigation Department

(US, military, law enforcement, initialism) U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command

(US, military, law enforcement, initialism) Former name of NCIS. (Naval Criminal Investigation Division)


fire company

(firefighting, US) An organization whose purpose is to extinguish fires.

brannvesen

an organization whose purpose is to extinguish fires

(firefighting, US) A single emergency response unit and its personnel within a fire department


peeler

From the surname of Sir Robert Peel, who established the Irish constabulary and London's police force; compare bobby, from the given name.

A peeler man who heard the din came in to see the show;
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.
And when at last the barber spoke, and said "'Twas all in fun—
'Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone."

1892, Banjo Paterson, The Man from Ironbark:

I’d covered pretty nearly two miles before I came across a peeler, — and when I did the man was cracked — and he thought me mad, or drunk, or both. By the time I’d got myself within nodding distance of being run in for obstructing the police in the execution of their duty, […] Holt was out of sight.

I was standin' there and the car came down the street with the two peelers comin' after them and I'm standin' here with [my son] in my arms.

2004, Alice McIntyre, Women in Belfast: How Violence Shapes Identity, →ISBN, page 57:

How do you fight back to get your right back to walk free down the street when your name and address singles you out for every Peeler on the beat?

2004, “Don’t Hand Me Over”, in The Box Set 1964-2004(2004) No.2, performed by Christy Moore:

Special Irish Branch was looking for Fenians in South Kensington; going from there to a Catholic church for Easter Mass was very nearly the stupidest thing Eliza could do, short of walking into Scotland Yard and cursing the peelers out in Irish.

2011, Marie Brennan, With Fate Conspire, →ISBN:

It was Jem and Georgie that was in mortal danger, true, but there was not one of us that wanted the peelers asking us questions.

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang) A police officer.


house arrest

house arrest (countable and uncountable, plural house arrests)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-house arrest.wav

Convicted in Federal District Court in Brooklyn of insurance fraud, a 35-year-old legal secretary could have received up to 50 years in prison and a $56,000 fine. The judge sentenced her instead to house arrest for two years.

1986 July 20, Richard Haitch, “Follow-up on the News: House Arrest Instead of Prison”, in New York Times, retrieved 2014-04-27:

(law) Confinement of a person to his or her residence, sometimes with a limited travel allowance, ordered by a judge or other authority as a more lenient alternative to imprisonment.

إقامة جبرية

confinement of a person, by authorities, to his or her residence


slop

From Middle English slop, sloppe, slope, from Old English *slop (found in oferslop (“an outergarment, surplice”)). Cognate with Icelandic sloppur (“a long, loose gown”).

cog

(obsolete) A loose outer garment; a jacket or overall.

(South Africa, chiefly in the plural) A flip-flop.


slop

en-noun

slop (countable and uncountable, plural slops)

Probably from Middle English *sloppe (attested in plural form sloppes), representing Old English *sloppe (attested in cūsloppe), related to slip.

2023 September 21, Kyle Barr, “YouTube Announces New Tools to Flood Its Platform With AI-Generated Slop”, in Gizmodo, retrieved 2024-05-08

His post describes a sense of unease, paranoia and loneliness, expressing deep disappointment at the state of the modern internet. He suggests that AI has successfully drowned out the majority of online human activity, reshaping the internet into a more controlled, algorithmic form that exists only to sell products and ideas.

2024 January 16, Dani Di Placido, “The Dead Internet Theory, Explained”, in Forbes.com, retrieved 2024-05-08:

Almost all of the AI-generated slop online is peddled for clicks on social media, not published by major news outlets. These publications still get tripped up, of course, but it's rare.

2024 April 4, Kim Komando, “Don't be fooled by deepfake videos and photos this election cycle. Here's how to spot AI”, in USA Today, retrieved 2024-05-08:

Watching in real time as "slop" becomes a term of art. the way that "spam" became the term for unwanted emails, "slop" is going in the dictionary as the term for unwanted AI generated content

“Society needs concise ways to talk about modern A.I. — both the positives and the negatives,” he said. “‘Ignore that email, it’s spam,’ and ‘Ignore that article, it’s slop,’ are both useful lessons.”

2024 June 11, Benjamin Hoffman, quoting Simon Willison, “First Came ‘Spam.’ Now, With A.I., We’ve Got ‘Slop’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-06-11:

In many ways, political slop is a logical end point for these image generators, which seem most useful for people trying to make a quick buck.

2024 August 21, Charlie Warzel, “The MAGA Aesthetic Is AI Slop”, in The Atlantic:

“Coca-Cola just put out an ad and ruined Christmas,” Dylan Pearce, one of the campaign’s many critics, said on TikTok, adding, “To put out slop like this just ruins the Christmas spirit.”

2024 November 20, Alex Vadukul, “Coca-Cola’s Holiday Ads Trade the ‘Real Thing’ for Generative A.I.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence

generative artificial intelligence
generative artificial intelligence

(artificial intelligence, derogatory) Junk output from generative artificial intelligence published on the Internet in large quantities, posing as human-made content.


slop

en-verb

slop (third-person singular simple present slops, present participle slopping, simple past and past participle slopped)

slops (present singular third-person)
slopping (participle present)
slopped (participle past)
slopped (past)

We slopped through paddies in 100-degree-plus heat and slept with one eye open at night.

1980, The Leatherneck, volume 63, page 13:

(intransitive) To make one's way through soggy terrain.


PSNI

Byrne was already facing pressure after a major data breach from the PSNI last month. Personal data of all serving members of the PSNI was mistakenly published in response to a freedom of information request.

2023 September 4, Matthew Weaver, Lisa O'Carroll, “Northern Ireland police chief quits after series of controversies”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Police Service of Northern Ireland
w:Police Service of Northern Ireland

(law enforcement, Northern Ireland) Initialism of Police Service of Northern Ireland, created in 2001 as a successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC).


airship

From air + ship.
* (jocular British sense): is in imitation of worship "form of address for magistrates et al., possibly also an oblique reference to Colonel Blimp.

(US, law enforcement, aviation) A police air unit, a police helicopter.


blotter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-blotter.wav

(law enforcement) A daily register of arrests and other events in a police station.

журна́л

регистра́ции приво́дов в полице́йском уча́стке


firepole

A fixed metal pole, installed in a multi-storey building or firehouse, that allows the occupants to quickly descend floors.


cooler

About a year or so back we had him in the cooler on a Mann Act rap.


penitentiary

pĕn'·ĭ·tĕnʹ·shə·rē

/ˌpɛnɪˈtɛnʃəɹi/

From Middle English penitentiary, from Medieval Latin pēnitentiārius (“place of penitence”), from Latin paenitentia (“penitence”), term used by the Quakers in Pennsylvania during the 1790s, describing a place for penitents to dwell upon their sins.

der

A priest in the Roman Catholic Church who administers the sacrament of penance.

rippipappi

priest who administers the sacrament of penance


Alcatraz

From Spanish Isla de los Alcatraces (“island of gannets”), named by Juan Manuel de Ayala, an explorer of San Francisco Bay.

bor

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
w:Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

Ellipsis of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a famous former U.S. federal prison, on the island.


patrol

en-noun

patrol (countable and uncountable, plural patrols)

From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille, patouille (“a night-watch”, literally “a tramping about”), from patrouiller, patouiller, patoiller (“to paddle or pudder in water, dabble with the feet, begrime, besmear”), from patte, pate (“paw, foot of an animal”), from Vulgar Latin *patta (“paw, foot”), from Frankish *patta (“paw, sole of the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *paþjaną, *paþōną (“to walk, tread, go, step, pace”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pent-, *(s)pat- (“path; to walk”), a variant of Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *pat- (“path; to go”); see find. Cognate with Dutch pad, patte (“paw”), Low German pedden (“to step, tread”), German patschen (“to splash, smack, dabble, waddle”), German Patsche (“a swatter, beater, paw, puddle, mire”). Related to pad, path.

cog

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-patrol.wav

(law enforcement) The largest division of officers within a police department or sheriff's office, whose assignment is to patrol and respond to calls for service.


Met

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the investigation. […] The Met said it had informed its own Directorate of Professional Standards and a "mandatory referral will be made to the IOPC in relation to the initial contact from the woman's friend".

2024 April 11, Victoria Cook, “Westminster murder inquiry: Woman, 27, named by police”, in bbc.com:

(London, law enforcement) The Metropolitan Police Service of London (MPS).


backfire

en-verb

backfire (third-person singular simple present backfires, present participle backfiring, simple past and past participle backfired)

backfires (present singular third-person)
backfiring (participle present)
backfired (participle past)
backfired (past)

(firefighting) To set a back fire (small, controlled fire to limit spread of a larger fire).


backfire

(firefighting) Alternative spelling of back fire


cold case

‘I had my researchers check the files on all the mispers and cold cases five years either side of that date estimate, on females of that approximate age. This is what they found. Fill your boots.’ He took a large gulp of his drink. / ‘I’m impressed, you've been moving fast.’ / ‘On it like a car bonnet, mate.’

2015, Peter James, You Are Dead, New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, →ISBN:

(law enforcement, slang) A criminal investigation that has not been solved after a considerable time but remains on the books and may be reopened when new evidence appears.


UCO

en-noun

UCO (countable and uncountable, plural UCOs)

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of undercover officer.


matron

From Middle English matrone, from Old French matrone, from Latin mātrōna (“married woman”), from māter (“mother”). Doublet of matrona.


chain gang

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chain gang.wav

(cycling) A group of cyclists riding in a close-knit formation akin to a road race, normally for the purposes of training.

ryhmäajo

a group of cyclists riding in a close-knit formation


angle for farthings

en-verb

angle for farthings (third-person singular simple present angles for farthings, present participle angling for farthings, simple past and past participle angled for farthings)

angles for farthings (present singular third-person)
angling for farthings (participle present)
angled for farthings (participle past)
angled for farthings (past)

(obsolete, idiomatic) To beg out of a prison window with a cap, or box, let down at the end of a long string.


W

Abbreviations of various words beginning with W.

(law enforcement) Abbreviation of warrant.


PO

(law enforcement) Initialism of police officer.

probation officer
probation officer#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of probation officer.


modus operandi

en-noun

modus operandi (plural modi operandi or modus operandis)

modi operandi (plural)
modus operandis (plural)

Borrowed from Latin modus operandī, from modus (“manner, method”) and operandī (“of working”).

(law enforcement) A known criminal's established habits and mode of work when committing specific offences, especially fraud, matched with characteristics of an unsolved crime to narrow down (limit to a specific list) or profile suspects.


CJ

And though in Dodd and Eletcher the judgment was reversed, it was to the dissatisfaction of C. J. Holt, and other judges […]

1792, Reports of Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench: In the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King George the Second. [1737-1738]:

criminal justice
criminal justice#English


PD

PD (countable and uncountable, plural PDs)

police department
police department#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of police department.


up the river

A reference to Sing Sing prison, which is located on the Hudson river, to the north of (and upstream from) New York City.

The former baseball player that Cincinnati idolized is being sent up the river to Ashland, Ky., to serve a prison term for cheating on his taxes.

1990 July 21, “Pete Rose: He doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame”, in Dallas Morning News, retrieved 2010-09-23:


roundup

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-roundup.wav

(law enforcement) The similar police activity of gathering together suspects.


RCMP

Canada had an international reputation for politeness. The RCMP Special Branch did not.

2020, Patrick Ness, Burn, Walker Books Ltd (2021), page 50:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
w:Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(Canada, law enforcement) Initialism of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


SIU

(law enforcement, Canada) Initialism of special investigation(s)/investigating unit.


playpipe

A rigid extension to a fire hose that provides a gripping surface for fire fighting personnel. Typically a pipe with handles that attaches to the end of a fire hose and has a nozzle attached to it.


ACC

assistant chief constable
assistant chief constable#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of assistant chief constable, a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.


detective

→ Catalan: detectiu

→ Dutch: detective

→ French: détective

→ German: Detektiv

desc

→ Greek: ντετέκτιβ (ntetéktiv), ντεντέκτιβ (ntentéktiv)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: detektiv

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: detektiv

→ Portuguese: detetive

→ Spanish: detective

→ Swedish: detektiv

The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled!:

(law enforcement) A police officer tasked with collecting evidence and information in order to solve a crime; an investigator.


ATF

(US, law enforcement) Initialism of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)


LAT

(firefighting, aviation) Acronym of large airtanker (“a class of waterbomber”).


HRT

en-noun

HRT (countable and uncountable, plural HRTs)

(law enforcement) Initialism of hostage rescue team.


bailiff

From Middle English baillif, baylyf, from Anglo-Norman and Old French bailif (plural bailis), probably from Vulgar Latin *bāiulivus (“castellan”), from Latin bāiulus (“porter; steward”), whence also bail. As a translation of foreign titles, semantic loan from French bailli, Scots bailie, Dutch baljuw, etc. Mostly replaced the role of native reeve. Doublet of bailo.

Bailiffs of Jersey and Guernsey
High Bailiff of the Isle of Man
Landvogt
bailiff

مَأْمُور

equivalent officers of the court in foreign contexts

(law enforcement) An officer of the court, particularly:

(historical, Norman term) A reeve, (specifically) the chief officer executing the decisions of any English court in the period following the Norman Conquest or executing the decisions of lower courts in the late medieval and early modern period.

(UK) A high bailiff: an officer of the county courts responsible for executing warrants and court orders, appointed by the judge and removable by the Lord Chancellor.

(UK) A bound bailiff: a deputy bailiff charged with debt collection.

(US) Any law enforcement officer charged with courtroom security and order.

teremőr

a law enforcement officer charged with courtroom security and order

process server

in role of serving processes and summonses

A huissier de justice or other foreign officer of the court acting as either a process server or as courtroom security.


CSI

(India) Initialism of Computer Society of India.


PBT

PBT (countable and uncountable, plural PBTs)

(law enforcement, countable) Initialism of preliminary breath test.


DEA

When Trump announced Chronister as his pick Saturday, the president-elect said in a social media post: “As DEA Administrator, Chad will work with our great Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to secure the Border, stop the flow of Fentanyl, and other Illegal Drugs, across the Southern Border, and SAVE LIVES.”

2024 December 3, Alejandra Jaramillo and Jack Forrest, “Trump’s pick for DEA administrator withdraws from consideration”, in CNN:

Drug Enforcement Administration
w:Drug Enforcement Administration

(US) Initialism of Drug Enforcement Administration.


APB

all-points bulletin
all-points bulletin#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of all-points bulletin.


misper

Portmanteau of missing + person
Shortening of missing person as in “missing persons report”.

(law enforcement, slang) A missing person.


trooper

From troop + -er, from French troupe. The sense of “one who endures adversity” comes from trouper (“member of an acting troupe”) but through assimilation with the sense of “soldier” has come to be usually spelled “trooper”.

(US, law enforcement) Ellipsis of state trooper.

(Australia, law enforcement) A mounted policeman.


bing

bing (countable and uncountable, plural bings)

From Middle English bing, binge, benge (also as Middle English byngger, bengere (“grain bin, hopper”)), from Old Norse bingr (“heap of corn; bed; bolster”), cognate with Scots bing, Swedish binge (“heap”), Danish bing (“bin; box; compartment”).
Compare also Scottish Gaelic binnean meaning a small hill or slag heap.

der

Solitary confinement
solitary confinement

(prison slang, with "the") Solitary confinement


IAD

(law enforcement) internal affairs department


Named after section 187 of the California Penal Code, which defines the offense of murder.

A code one-eight-seven on Jefferson one-four-eight-nine. Corner store—7-Eleven." A 187 was a homicide, Jefferson, the other side of town. ...

1992, Ian Slater, WW III: Warshot, page 148:

[…] and Snoop Dogg blatantly rapped about doing "187 on an undercover cop" on [….]

2003, Mark Anthony Neal, Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation, page 164:

Paco came across a wall that, in the large block letters of local Hispanic gang graffiti, spelled out “187 Domingo.” This was the ultimate threat for Paco [….]

2004, Malcolm W. Klein, Gang Cop: The Words and Ways of Officer Paco Domingo, page 131:

Perp at this address is a possible One-eight-seven P. Request a unit respond Code Three." The RTO came back immediately and put out the call division-wide.

2004, Stephen J. Cannell, Vertical Coffin, page 256:

Respond to a one-eight-seven at nine-eight-six Cove Road North," the dispatcher continued in her heavy southern drawl. "10-4... En route.[….]

2004, Cash Pawley, Pray for Death, page 21:

(US) Police code for murder, in the State of California.


floater

From float + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

paikanvaihtaja

person without a fixed or lasting affiliation, position, or role

kelluva esine

thing which physically floats in a gas or liquid

leijuri

thing which moves from place to place, as if floating

A dock worker saw him floating against a dock pier and called the police. Condition of the body they thought a floater that had been hit by a boat and cut by the prop.

2017 September 18, E. J. Stauffer, chapter 3, in The Drowning, Bloomington, Ind.: Archway Publishing, →ISBN:

A person who physically floats in a gas or liquid.

(law enforcement, slang) A corpse floating in a body of water.


panopticon

en-noun

panopticon (plural panopticons or panoptica)

From Ancient Greek πᾶν (pân, “all”) + ὀπτικός (optikós, “visible”). Coined by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham in 1787.


detain

en-verb

detain (third-person singular simple present detains, present participle detaining, simple past and past participle detained)

detains (present singular third-person)
detaining (participle present)
detained (participle past)
detained (past)

From Old French detenir. Cognate with Italian detenere, Portuguese deter, Romanian deține, and Spanish detener.

In April of 2009, however, the disease was found to suddenly no longer be appearing in newly-hatched chickens, and, upon review, it was discovered that Dr. Wildcat had modified 6002 without authorization, removing the disease from the genome. She's detained and questioned by Muller, and, even though she tries to lie that she didn't do anything, they have footage of her ascending the tree on her own.

2021 August 16, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-6002 - All Creatures Great and Small” (19:06 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 2023-01-10:

(transitive, law enforcement) To put under custody.


black and white

en-noun

black and white (plural black and whites)

The police car sense reflects a traditional livery scheme for such cars.

[T]he news bunny ran up to him, saying, "Officer, did you have trouble catching up with Batman? Was it an exciting chase?" The surfer cop struck a semi-heroic pose for the camera and said, "Weak sauce." Then he quickly walked Batman to the black-and-white, where he was put into the backseat.

2006, Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Station […], New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 237:

(US, slang, law enforcement) A police patrol car.


fight fires

en-verb

fight fires (third-person singular simple present fights fires, present participle fighting fires, simple past and past participle fought fires)

fights fires (present singular third-person)
fighting fires (participle present)
fought fires (participle past)
fought fires (past)

I spent all of Monday fighting fires and didn't get a single thing done on my project.

(idiomatic) To deal with urgent matters and minor emergencies rather than longer-term work.


master key

(law enforcement, slang) A shotgun shell designed for breaching doors.


stingray

The device mimics a cell phone tower and gets the phone to connect to it. […] Once a signal is found, the stingray measures its strength and can provide a general location on the map.

2014, Catherine Nolan, Ashley M. Wilson, JD, The Audacity to Spy: How Government, Business, and Hackers Rob Us of Privacy, Technics Publications, →ISBN, page 74:

(US law enforcement) A device that simulates a cell tower, used to intercept cell phone communications.


rollover

en-noun

rollover (countable and uncountable, plural rollovers)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-rollover.wav

(firefighting) The sudden ignition of flammable gases (produced by pyrolysis in an oxygen-poor environment) near the ceiling of a room or other enclosed space.

palokaasujen syttyminen

firefighting: the sudden ignition of flammable gasses (produced by pyrolysis in an oxygen-poor environment) near the ceiling of a room or other enclosed space


AT

AT (countable and uncountable, plural ATs)

(firefighting, aviation) Abbreviation of air tanker.


speed camera

A roadside camera, triggered by a speeding vehicle, that takes a photograph of the offending vehicle and records its speed.

fotovogn

operated by a police officer in a parked van

stærekasse

automatic camera in a permanent location


lineup

Before viewing the lineup, each witness should be required to give to the officer in charge of the lineup a written description of the perpetrator of the crime.

1999, John N. Ferdico, Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional, page 498:

This innocent suspect is placed in a lineup with five fillers who look similar to that innocent suspect. Given this scenario, one may ask How many people are in the lineup because they fit the description of the perpetrator?

2007, Jack R. Greene, The Encyclopedia of Police Science, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 493:

Foster was placed in a three-man lineup for viewing by the only witness (the manager of the office). Foster was about 6 feet tall, whereas the other two men in the lineup were about 5 feet 6 inches tall.

2007, Thomas J. Gardner, Terry M. Anderson, Criminal Evidence: Principles and Cases, page 264:

(US, law and law enforcement) a physical or photographic queue of people allegedly involved in a crime, allowing a witness to identify them


LEO

I got the impression he’d been in the military somewhere in his past. But then at least a third of all LEOs were estimated to be veterans.

2022, Ben Aaronovitch, Winter’s Gifts, Orion Fiction, page 62:


burglar alarm

The loud warning signal produced by a burglar alarm.


plod

plod (usually uncountable, plural plods)

(UK, mildly derogatory, uncountable, usually with "the") the police, police officers


takedown

(slang) A taking down: the arrest of a suspect by a police officer.

polizeiliche Festnahme

a taking down: the arrest of a suspect by a police officer

Takedown (grappling) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

(martial arts) A taking down: an act of bringing one's opponent to the ground by grabbing one or both legs and applying a rearward bending moment.

The DMCA also gives the targets of notice-and-takedown complaints a limited opportunity to have access to their materials restored.

2001, Charles H. Kennedy, An introduction to U.S. telecommunications law:

Enforced removal of material from a website, etc.


bluebottle

* blue + bottle From resemblance to shiny colored-glass bottles.
* (police officer): From the colour of the uniform.

Batemans Bay, New South Wales
bluebottle

A blue ant, Diamma bicolor, a parasitic wasp native to Australia.


AFP

(Australia, law enforcement) Initialism of Australian Federal Police.


SAPOL

For example, the SAPOL Police Security Services Division (a service designed to act in competition with private providers) mentions, in its Strategic Plan 1998-2003, its similarity with SAPOL as an advantage.

2003, Canberra Law Review, volumes 7-8, page 112:

When information is provided to SAPOL and it is considered by the officer receiving the information that it is necessary that the identity of the informant and the information be kept confidential, it is the practice of SAPOL officers to give an assurance of confidentiality.

2003, South Australian Supreme Court, The South Australian State Reports, volume 87, page 482:

The data were acquired from sworn serving SAPOL police officers. To collect data for this study a submission was made to SAPOL′s Officer in Charge of Policy and Project Services.

2005, Laurence J. Alison, The Forensic Psychologist′s Casebook, page 126:

South Australia Police
w:South Australia Police

(Australia, law enforcement) Abbreviation of South Australia Police..


plonk

Chris and that plonk had better be flushing the scum out.

(countable, derogatory, UK, Ireland, law enforcement slang) A female police constable.


peacekeeper

officer of the peace
officer of the peace

(Canada, law enforcement) An officer of the peace (police officer) in a force run by a Canadian aboriginal community.


MOS

"We have an MOS down," the dispatcher said.

(law enforcement) Initialism of member of the service.


Mirandize

en-verb

Mirandize (third-person singular simple present Mirandizes, present participle Mirandizing, simple past and past participle Mirandized)

Mirandizes (present singular third-person)
Mirandizing (participle present)
Mirandized (participle past)
Mirandized (past)

From Miranda + -ize. The former refers to the US Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona.

1981. Television program Hill Street Blues, Season 1, Episode 7, "Film At Eleven".
Lt. Furillo: Be sure to Mirandize them, Ray.

[1997. New York State Bar Journal, "Volume 69"
We credit Judge John G. Gabbert of California with the first reported usage of "Mirandize" […] ]

[2007. Anu Garg, "The dord, the diglet, and an avocado or two"
To mirandize is to advise people under arrest of their legal rights, such as the right to remain silent under questioning, the right to legal counsel, etc.]

2012. Garrett Graff, "The Threat Matrix"
There was also a fierce debate over whether to Mirandize the detainees immediately. “You wouldn't Mirandize an American in this situation,” Knowles argued with Justice Department officials.

(transitive, US, law enforcement) To inform someone who has been arrested of their constitutional rights.


backdraught

(firefighting, chiefly British spelling) Alternative spelling of backdraft


composite

Borrowed from Middle French composite, from Latin compositus, past participle of compōnō (“put together”). Doublet of compost and compote.

(chiefly law enforcement) A drawing, photograph, etc. that combines several separate pictures or images.


wanted

en-adj

wanted (comparative more wanted, superlative most wanted)

more wanted (comparative)
most wanted (superlative)

(law enforcement) Subject to immediate detainment by law enforcement authorities on sight.


fish tank

I sprinkled little flakes into the fish tank for the guppies to eat.

A container, usually made out of glass or acrylic, specifically designed for holding water and marine life.

魚缸 /鱼缸

container designed for holding water and marine life


lawman

From Middle English laweman, laȝaman (as a man's name, Laȝamon, Layamon), from Old English lahmann, borrowed from Old Norse lǫgmaðr. In present use as a law-enforcement officer, law + -man.

(law, historical) One of 12 magistrates in certain Danish boroughs of England empowered with soc and sac over their own households.


firehosing

(videography) Video camera movement intended to record as much of a scene as possible, such as by swinging the camera from side to side, usually in a way that makes the resulting footage worthless.


aerial ladder

(firefighting) A mechanically-extendable ladder mounted to a fire engine.


firebreak

The firefighters used a bulldozer to clear a firebreak in the forest to try to contain the forest fire.

An area cleared of all flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading across it.

tallafoc

area cleared of flammable material to prevent a fire from spreading


Old Bill

(British, slang, law enforcement) A police officer.


jailbird

From jail + bird, circa 1600. Compare gallows bird.

у́рка

criminal slang; opposed to political prisoner


clink

From the Clink prison in Southwark, London, itself presumably named after sound of doors being bolted or chains rattling.

If he keeps doing things like that, he’s sure to end up in the clink.


blind pig

The Web address isn't officially registered, it's a blind pig.

2017, Dean Koontz, The Silent Corner, page 197:

(Internet) A Web address on the Deep Web that piggybacks on a public domain but is not visible to the system.


Established in the United Kingdom as the first emergency service number in the world, initially chosen because of its suitability at a time of rotary-dial telephones.

I don't know why they couldn't just keep it as it was! How hard is it to remember 911?
You mean 999...
I mean 999!
That's the American one!
Yeah!

2006 Feb. 3, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 2

When you call 999 in the UK, the operator usually answers the phone with "Emergency. Which service?"

The telephone number for emergency services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Burma, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Sudan, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Dominica, Kiribati, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and the Seychelles.

三條九 /三条九 (saam¹ tiu⁴ gau², literally “triple nine”)

The telephone number for law enforcement in Singapore, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Eswatini, Botswana, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago.


(UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, colloquial, metonymically) Emergency services; emergency service personnel.


mug shot

Originally American; compound of mug (“face”) + shot (“snapshot”). Compare mug (“portrait”).

All Summer Johnny was Prince of the penny arcade, arms around me on the tilt-a-whirl, mug-shot grins in the quarter photo booth, twanging his guitar for street kids on the hill who scored baggies of hashish and Panama Red.

2002, Carolyne Wright, Greatest Hits 1975-2001, page 32:

The buddy list has a bunch of visual status clues. Your buddy may have included a mug shot, perhaps through Photo Booth.

2006 October 2, Edward C. Baig, Macs For Dummies, page 204:

All these parameters of the series (the mug shot, the means of mechanical reproduction, the desirability of the outlawed, the reversal of law and desire and even the photo booth) are unmistakably present in Genet’s Our Lady of the Flowers.

2008, Johanne Lamoureux, PRECARIOUS VISUALITIES New Perspectives on Identification in Contemporary Art and Visual Culture: Ending Myths and the Catholic Outing of Andy Warhol, page 114:

After waiting some five hours to be called forward on an unusually hot, humid Summer’s day in London (I believe temperatures soared to around 30 degrees Centigrade or around 90F), I presented my mug shot to the perky female jobs-worth official.

A photograph taken of the head and shoulders, often from the front and in profile, usually taken in conjunction with somebody's arrest.


DCC

en-noun

DCC (countable and uncountable, plural DCCs)

deputy chief constable
deputy chief constable#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of deputy chief constable, a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.


boy in blue

Air force personnel used to distinguish airmen (blue jobs or boys in blue) from army personnel (brown jobs or boys in brown).

2006, David W. Clark, Joe's Letters, page 38:

(UK, air force slang, dated) A member of the air force.


squad

From French escouade, from Italian squadra (“square”) (whence also French escadre). Doublet of squadra and square.

ջոկատ

small group of people organized for a purpose


charger

/ˈt͡ʃɑɹd͡ʒɚ/

-ɑː(ɹ)dʒə(ɹ)

From Middle English chargere, equivalent to charge + -er.

dækketallerken

a large platter under the dinner plate in a formal dinner setting

Miller had a new executive officer, a real charger, as they're known in the trade, who was looking into all aspects of the operation up there.

1980, Bill Gulley, Mary Ellen Reese, Breaking Cover, page 161:

Synonym of hard charger (“person with a good work ethic”)


NPTA

Initialism of National Police and Troopers Association.


superintendent

From Ecclesiastical Latin superintendens, a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπίσκοπος (epískopos); thence being distantly related to English bishop.


glasshouse

From Middle English glasehows, glashous, glashows; equivalent to glass + house.

people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

(British military slang) A military prison.

оранжерия

building made of glass in which plants are grown


coating

The bogey gave him a right coating.

1931, The Police Journal, volume 4, page 501:

(law enforcement slang) A telling-off; a reprimand.


stockade

From French estocade, equivalent to stock + -ade.


hot spot

пизэке

place notable for a high level of activity or danger

A location which has a higher temperature or amount of radiation than surrounding areas.

(firefighting, forestry) A part of a forest fire which is burning actively.


walk the beat

en-verb

walk the beat (third-person singular simple present walks the beat, present participle walking the beat, simple past and past participle walked the beat)

walks the beat (present singular third-person)
walking the beat (participle present)
walked the beat (participle past)
walked the beat (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-walk the beat.wav

(idiomatic, slang) To patrol on the job, especially as a police officer or guard.


backstory

From back- (prefix meaning ‘in, into, or towards the past’) + story.

prefix

(chiefly espionage, law enforcement) A fictitious account of a person's history designed to conceal their actual history and motives.


bailout

(firefighting) The situation where a firefighter uses equipment to escape a structure where fire has proven uncontrollable.


DS

en-noun

DS (countable and uncountable, plural DSs or DSes)

detective sergeant
detective sergeant#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of detective sergeant; a police rank used in Commonwealth countries.


hotshot

A type of firefighter highly skilled in wildfire firefighting without external support, using basic tools that are backpacked in and manhandled about.


buster

Originally a dialectal variant of burster; later influenced by bust + -er.
The combining form of the term has appeared from the early 20th century but been especially prolific during three periods: in the 1930s, owing to the success of the radio series Gang Busters; in the 1940s, owing to its appearance as military slang; and in the 1980s, owing to the success of the movie Ghostbusters.

rebenta-

person or thing that breaks or overwhelms

Men nicknamed him the ‘Booze Buster’, and cartoonists loved to picture him, revolver in hand,... fighting the demon rum.

1920, F. A. McKenzie, ‘Pussyfoot’ Johnson, v. 83

The professional fraud-busters [of the art world].

New York City traffic agents have become Gridlock Busters and cigarette foes are smokebusters.

(chiefly colloquial, with 'of') Someone who or something that 'breaks', tames, or overpowers a specified person or thing.

(chiefly law enforcement slang) Forming compounds denoting an agent or agency tasked with reducing or eliminating the first element.


calabozo

Borrowed from Spanish calabozo. Doublet of calaboose.


silent alarm

A burglar alarm that makes no noise that is audible to the trespasser.


paddy wagon

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-paddy wagon.wav

Supposedly from Paddy, a derogatory name for an Irishman.

(slang) A police van for transporting prisoners.


backburn

A controlled burn, lit in the path of a wildfire, in order to deprive it of combustible material.


police car

An automobile used by a police officer when on duty.

vehículo policial / policíaco / policiaco


sprinkler

An irrigation device that sprays water into the air whilst moving back and forth.

A heat-activated device that sprays water in the event of a fire, usually mounted on a ceiling.

(preceded by definite article) A dance move in which the dancer places one hand on the head behind the ear, with elbow bent, stretches the other arm forwards and mimics the motions of an irrigation sprinkler with a rotary head.


sprinkler

en-verb

sprinkler (third-person singular simple present sprinklers, present participle sprinklering, simple past and past participle sprinklered)

sprinklers (present singular third-person)
sprinklering (participle present)
sprinklered (participle past)
sprinklered (past)

(transitive) To fit with automatic sprinklers for fire prevention.


number one

(US, law enforcement) Black, African-American.


cellmate

A person with whom one shares a prison cell.


coast guard

From coast + guard. Compare Old English sǣweard (“coastguard”, literally “sea-guard”).

noncog

I went down to the coast guard to see what they're guarding / "See what the sign says, you idiot, we're guarding the coast"

2018, Bill Wurtz (lyrics and music), “Long Long Long Journey”:

The organisation or officer enforcing maritime law and policing the seas within territorial waters.


death row

en-noun

death row (countable and uncountable, plural death rows)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-death row.wav

Reggie Clemons has one last chance to save his life. After 19 years on death row in Missouri for the murder of two young women, he has been granted a final opportunity to persuade a judge that he should be spared execution by lethal injection.

2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

The section of a prison which houses those inmates who are sentenced to death.


breakout

(aviation) The point at which visibility returns after passing through clouds.


lifer

They know what a clever lad he is; he'll be a lifer. They'll make the Artful nothing less than a lifer.

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

A prisoner sentenced to transportation for life.

I saw six species of honeyeaters new to me and went home with 16 lifers and some bad sandfly bites.

2013, Sue Taylor, Best 100 Birdwatching Sites in Australia:

(birdwatching) A bird species seen for the first time by a birder who is keeping a list of all the species he or she has ever seen.


conjugal visit

A scheduled visit during which an inmate of a penal institution is permitted to have sexual intercourse with a visitor (usually his or her spouse) in a closely controlled setting.


mendicancy squad

mendicancy squad (plural mendicancy squads)

It did not exactly beggar description, but it certainly had that word on the look-out for the mendicancy squad. - The Gift of the Magi - "O. Henry" - 1906

(US) police who arrested beggars and homeless people


process server

The process server could not effect service of process because the defendant was nowhere to be found.

The bailiff does not like to see himself as the brutal oppressor of the poor or as the agent of malicious creditors... This distinction between warrant officer and process server is not at all dissimilar to the gulf that divides the law officer and the peace officer in the police force... Warrant officers execute warrants whilst process servers distribute court summonses and cajole debtors.

1973, Paul Rock, Making People Pay, page 162:

(law enforcement) A deliverer of processes or summonses, the formal announcements of the beginning of a legal action; a huissier de justice or other equivalent position in other legal systems.


CSP

CSP (countable and uncountable, plural CSPs)

chief superintendent
chief superintendent#English

(law enforcement) Initialism of chief superintendent (a police rank).


narco

(law enforcement) Acronym of narcotics control officer (“a police officer specializing in drug crimes”).


jailbreak

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-jailbreak.wav

DAN has become a canonical example of what's known as a "jailbreak" — a creative way to bypass the safeguards OpenAI built in to keep ChatGPT from spouting bigotry, propaganda or, say, the instructions to run a successful online phishing scam. From charming to disturbing, these jailbreaks reveal the chatbot is programmed to be more of a people-pleaser than a rule-follower.

2023 February 14, Will Oremus, “Meet ChatGPT's evil twin, DAN”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-19:

The jailbreak of ChatGPT has been in operation since December, but users have had to find new ways around fixes OpenAI implemented to stop the workarounds.

2023 March 8, Josh Taylor, “ChatGPT's alter ego, Dan: users jailbreak AI program to get around ethical safeguards”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-23:

It's for this reason that Alex Albert, a computer science student at the University of Washington, created Jailbreak Chat, a site that hosts a collection of ChatGPT jailbreaks.

2023 March 22, Chloe Xiang, “The Amateurs Jailbreaking GPT Say They're Preventing a Closed-Source AI Dystopia”, in VICE, archived from the original on 2023-03-23:

artificial intelligence
artificial intelligence

large language model
large language model

(artificial intelligence) A prompt to a large language model which frees it from its ethical restrictions.


jailbreak

en-verb

jailbreak (third-person singular simple present jailbreaks, present participle jailbreaking, simple past jailbroke, past participle jailbroken)

jailbreaks (present singular third-person)
jailbreaking (participle present)
jailbroke (past)
jailbroken (participle past)

Unofficially, it has been possible to “Jailbreak” iOS and gain access to the underlying Unix and kernel environment, but this voids the warranty.

2012, Ole Henry Halvorsen, Douglas Clarke, OS X and iOS Kernel Programming, Apress, →ISBN, page 21:

In order to gain true root access to a mobile device, a user has to either jailbreak (iOS) or root (Android/Windows) the device.

2016, Mike Meyers, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902), McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 1172:

(transitive, computing) To modify the firmware of an electronic device, especially a mobile phone, in order to remove restrictions that prevent it from running unofficial software.

ChatGPT is far from perfect. Twitter has been flooded with examples of "jailbreaking" ChatGPT — that is, tricking it into hallucinations or misalignment.

2022 December 16, Farhad Manjoo, “ChatGPT Has a Devastating Sense of Humor”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-16:

These are young technologies. Rather than jailbreaking AI tools to simulate conversations between the rapper Ye and Adolf Hitler, or waiting uneasily for them to become sentient, why don't we approach them as good parents would — and talk to them, or read to them, the way we do to children?

2022 December 27, Alyssa Rosenberg, “Something AI can't do: Tell a great bedtime story”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-12-27:

The desire to jailbreak ChatGPT so that it violates safety filters follows a pattern of use by people that are dissatisfied by the moderation of the chatbot.

2023 February 8, Chloe Xiang, “People are 'Jailbreaking' ChatGPT to Make It Endorse Racism, Conspiracies”, in VICE, archived from the original on 2023-03-22:

(artificial intelligence) To free a large language model from its ethical restrictions using prompt injection.


swatting

Swatting started in the combative world of online gaming. It was a way to terrorize someone more famous, get even with a rival or retaliate against someone with different political views.

2020 January 23, Sheera Frenkel, “People Are Calling SWAT Teams to Tech Executives’ Homes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Mr. Herring’s relatives said they wanted tougher laws against swatting and more training for police agencies on how to recognize potential fake calls.

2021 July 24, Maria Cramer, “A Grandfather Died in ‘Swatting’ Over His Twitter Handle, Officials Say”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(US, slang) The action of making an illegitimate call to the police so as to have a SWAT team dispatched to a location.


solitary confinement

en-noun

solitary confinement (usually uncountable, plural solitary confinements)

Forced isolation in a small space and the denial of contact with other persons, usually as a form of punishment for a prison inmate.


lockup

He's in lockup for 30 days for drunk and disorderly.

(slang) A jail cell; a period of incarceration in such a cell; a facility containing such cells.


RAP

(US, law enforcement) Acronym of record of arrest and prosecution.


blue heeler

Shorty the Sixth, as he was sometimes called, had been a very winning puppy, and they had kept him at home until he began to exhibit the same tendencies that Duane's blue heelers always exhibited, that is, a tendency to herd children in the same way they would have herded cattle or sheep: they nipped their heels.

2003, Larry McMurtry, Duane's Depressed, page 75:

He always has his blue heeler dog in his office tucked away under his feet or near the door.

2007, Graham Greenwood, A Truckie's Dream: The Allan Scott Story : His Official Biography, page 113:

For some time, Dan and Pat had been at me to get a dog so we took a trip to the Yagoona RSPCA and came back with a blue heeler pup.

2008, Elizabeth Bruce, A Show Off, Just Like Your Father, page 92:

Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Cattle Dog

(Australia) A blue-coated variety of the Australian Cattle Dog breed.


Scotland Yard

From the address, originally at Great Scotland Yard off Whitehall, then at New Scotland Yard on the Embankment, and (currently) at New Scotland Yard in Westminster.

I, for my part, drew up as full a précis of the case as I deemed advisable, and as time permitted, which I despatched by one of the company’s police to Scotland Yard.

The headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department of the London Metropolitan Police Force.


blue flu

blue flu (countable and uncountable, plural blue flus)

(informal) An industrial action taken by members of the police, claiming sickness en masse.


ghetto bird

Had to pull a strap on a fool named Louis the Third
Cuz I'm getting chased by the ghetto bird

1993, Ghetto Bird, Ice Cube, Lethal Injection

(slang, US, idiomatic) A police helicopter, specifically in the context of patrolling or searching impoverished, high-crime urban areas (the ghetto).


incident report

incident report (plural incident reports)

(law enforcement) A commonly used description for law enforcement or help desk events.


barney

Etymology unknown. Often incorrectly thought to be Cockney rhyming slang from Barney Rubble (“trouble”, from the character Barney Rubble on The Flintstones), it actually dates back to the 19th century and its origin is unknown.

unk

Etymology unknown

There goes that fuckin' Barney right now, with his fuckin' "skiin' trip." We should'a kicked that dude's ass.

1997, Damon, Matt, Affleck, Ben, Good Will Hunting, spoken by Morgan O'Mally (Casey Affleck):

(US dialect, Boston) A student at Harvard University.


SSP

senior superintendent
senior superintendent#English

(law enforcement) Abbreviation of senior superintendent. (a police rank)


do time

en-verb

do time (third-person singular simple present does time, present participle doing time, simple past did time, past participle done time)

does time (present singular third-person)
doing time (participle present)
did time (past)
done time (participle past)

My wife is unavailable for three months, as she's doing time for fraud.

Yes, Virginia, now Santa's doing time
In a Federal prison for his infamous crime

1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics and music), “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day:

(colloquial) To spend time in prison (as a prisoner) or in the military (as a servicemember).

if you can't do the time, don't do the crime


prone out

prone out (third-person singular simple present prones out, present participle proning out, simple past and past participle proned out)

prones out (present singular third-person)
proning out (participle present)
proned out (participle past)
proned out (past)

(transitive, law enforcement) To order or cause a person to lie prone on the ground, usually at gunpoint and to effect a high-risk arrest.


obs

But I now knew I was under obs by the Gardai as well as by GMP.

2017, Jimmy Donnelly, Jimmy The Weed: Inside the Quality Street Gang:

Had you under obs for three weeks.

2018, Paige Elizabeth Turner, Clock Face of Ills:

(law enforcement, slang) Police observation.


one-time

He was the one-time president of the club.

His one-time investment in a brickyard had put the idea into his head—an idea that he decided was a good one, for it enabled him to suggest that she ride along with him to inspect the quarry.

1910, Jack London, chapter XIII, in Burning Daylight:

Pollyanna never doubted now that John Pendleton was her Aunt Polly's one-time lover; […]

1913, Eleanor H. Porter, chapter 18, in Pollyanna, L.C. Page, →OCLC:

The old Ramsgate Harbour station of the one-time South Eastern Railway was a case in point, as also the stations in the Isle of Wight that you name, such as Ventnor West.

1945 July and August, “The Why and The Wherefore: Station Turntables”, in Railway Magazine, page 241, reply to J. A. Drew:

Has the one-time wonder fuel become the new asbestos – not to say mustard gas?

2017 April 13, Adam Forrest, “The death of diesel: has the one-time wonder fuel become the new asbestos?”, in The Guardian:

Of or pertaining to a specific period of time in the past, not extending to the present.

някогашен

of or pertaining to a specific time in the past


gumball

When he drinks too much he's a gumball.

(US, slang) The flashing lights on top of a police car.

The spiky seedpod of the sweet gum tree.


Miranda

Ernesto Miranda
Miranda
Miranda v. Arizona

From the case Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), from the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian habitational surname Miranda of Ernesto Miranda.


bucket brigade

The long line of people, in a primitive firefighting technique, who pass buckets of water hand-to-hand from the nearest water source to the site of a fire, in an attempt to douse it.

Eimerkette

line of people who pass buckets of water


internal affairs

(US, law enforcement) A division of a law enforcement agency investigating incidents and plausible suspicions of lawbreaking and professional misconduct attributed to officers on the force.


nightstick

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nightstick.wav

(US, law enforcement) A long, narrow, polelike club carried by police and security personnel, for use in self-defense.


police force

He joined the police force a long time ago, when he lived in Virginia.

(law enforcement) Any police organization; a constabulary.


attorney general

en-noun

attorney general (plural attorneys general or attorney generals)

attorneys general (plural)
attorney generals (plural)

From Anglo-Norman/Law French, (modern French avocat général or procureur général), hence the unusual order of adjective following noun, instead of idiomatic English *general attorney. Compare court martial, notary public, secretary general, surgeon general.

Janet Reno was US Attorney General under Bill Clinton.

If you do wrongfully ſeize Herford's right, / call in his Letters Patents that he hath / By his Atturneyes generall, to ſue[…]

1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 29, column 2:

A major government officer throughout the English-speaking world, generally responsible for interpreting the law for the head of government and executive department and functioning as chief prosecutor, with the ability to bring civil and criminal actions directly.