Telecom Lingo
This three-letter acronym stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, allowing phone calls over data networks.
What is VoIP?
A formal written order issued by a court directing a law enforcement officer to perform a specific act, such as making an arrest.
What is a warrant?
A broadcast sent out to all neighboring police units describing a fleeing suspect or vehicle.
What is an APB (All Points Bulletin)?
Unauthorized entry into a computer system to steal data, named after a historical phone-network manipulation hobby.
What is hacking (or cracking)?
This federal agency was established in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation before getting its current name in 1935.
What is the FBI?
This standard mobile network generation immediately preceded 5G.
What is 4G (Fourth Generation)?
The constitutional right that protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
What is the Fourth Amendment?
This radio procedure requires the receiving operator to repeat back key parts of a message to confirm it was understood.
What is read-back (or acknowledgement)?
A digital trail of electronic data left behind by users on internet services, phones, or computers.
What is a digital footprint?
This famous emergency telephone number (911) was first put into service in Haleyville, Alabama, in what decade?
What is the 1960s (1968)?
The term for the maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given amount of time.
What is bandwidth?
The legal standard of proof required for a police officer to make an arrest, lower than "beyond a reasonable doubt" but higher than a hunch.
What is probable cause?
The phonetic alphabet word used by dispatchers to represent the letter "S" to avoid confusion over radio static.
What is Sierra?
The practice of tricking users into revealing sensitive data via deceptive emails or text messages.
What is phishing?
Nicknamed "G-Men," federal agents from this bureau captured famous Depression-era outlaws like John Dillinger.
What is the Bureau of Investigation / FBI?
This unique 15-digit international code identifies a specific cellular device on a mobile network.
What is an IMEI number?
Latin term meaning "in good faith," often used to describe honest intent without knowledge of fraud.
What is bona fide?
In standard emergency radio communication, this numerical code universally means "officer needs immediate assistance" or "officer down."
What is Code 10-33? (could also be 10/99 or 10/39)
The process of scrambling plaintext data into an unreadable format using a key.
What is encryption?
Sir Robert Peel is credited with founding this famous modern police force in 1829, whose members are nicknamed "Bobbies."
What is the London Metropolitan Police?
This protocol translates human-readable domain names (like FBI.gov) into numerical IP addresses.
What is DNS (Domain Name System)?
A sworn written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, used as evidence in court.
What is an affidavit?
The specific frequency band historically used by police and emergency services before shifting to digital trunked systems.
What is VHF / UHF (Very High Frequency / Ultra High Frequency)?
A type of malicious software that locks or encrypts a victim's data until a ransom is paid.
What is ransomware?
The first municipal police department in the United States was established in 1838 in this major East Coast city.
What is Boston?