Police Slang & Terminology
This term refers to a police officer's daily log or record of activities during their shift.
Answer: What is a blotter (or log)?
This famous warning, originating from a 1966 Supreme Court case, must be read to suspects before custodial interrogation.
What are Miranda Rights?
These unique friction ridge patterns on human fingers are categorized into loops, whorls, and arches.
What are fingerprints?
This Department of Justice agency is the primary federal investigative body and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Answer: What is the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)?
Formed in 1823 to protect the Texas frontier, this is the oldest statewide law enforcement agency in the U.S.
Answer: What are the Texas Rangers?
in police radio code, "Code 4" translates to this reassuring message
Answer: What is "Everything is fine / No further assistance needed"?
This Amendment protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures.
the Fourth Amendment?
This chemical is sprayed at crime scenes to detect trace amounts of blood by glowing blue under a dark light.
Answer: What is Luminol?
These elite tactical units are called in by local police departments for high-risk operations, barricaded suspects, or hostage situations.
Answer: What is a SWAT team (Special Weapons and Tactics)?
He is widely considered the "Father of Modern Policing" after establishing the London Metropolitan Police Force in 1829.
Answer: Who is Sir Robert Peel?
This slang term for a police car originally came from the black-and-white paint schemes used by many departments.
What is a "Black and White" (or "Cruiser")?
This two-word legal doctrine prevents police from using evidence in court that was obtained through an illegal search.
What is the Exclusionary Rule (or "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree")?
This critical document tracks every single person who handles a piece of evidence from the crime scene to the courtroom.
Answer: What is the Chain of Custody?
This agency is responsible for protecting the President, but it was originally created in 1865 to suppress counterfeit currency.
Answer: What is the Secret Service
Because of Sir Robert Peel, British police officers are commonly referred to by this nickname.
What are Bobbies?
If an officer is looking for a "BOLO," they are keeping an eye out for a suspect or vehicle using this four-word acronym.
BE ON THE LOOK OUT
To get a search warrant, an officer must demonstrate this standard of proof to a judge.
What is The Probable Cause?
This subfield of forensics involves the study of bullets, firearms, and tool marks.
Answer: What is Ballistics?
This is the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States, created by the Judiciary Act of 1789.
Answer: What are the U.S. Marshals?
This federal enforcement era from 1920 to 1933 gave rise to infamous gangsters like Al Capone and federal agents like Eliot Ness.
Answer: What is Prohibition
Derived from the Latin word for "to follow," this legal term refers to a group of citizens deputized by a sheriff to help enforce the law.
Answer: What is a posse (posse comitatus)?
Established in Terry v. Ohio, this lower standard of proof allows an officer to briefly detain and frisk a person for weapons.
Answer: What is The Reasonable Suspicion?
Known as the "Body Farm," the Anthropological Research Facility in Tennessee studies this specific biological process to help investigators determine the time of death.
Answer: What is human decomposition?
Police departments use "K-9" units for tracking and detection. The letters "K-9" are a homophone for this word.
Answer: What is Canine?
n 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells became the first officially recognized, uniformed female police officer in the U.S., hired by this West Coast city.
Answer: What is Los Angeles (LAPD)?