THERE are various mainstream terms people use to describe the police force.
In the late 1960s, people began referring to cops as “12” depending on the state they were from, quickly catching on with popular culture.
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Why are police called 12?
“12” is a popular slang term for police officers most commonly used in southern states.
While there is no exact explanation as to how the term caught on, many theories suggest the origin of the term.
Many people in Atlanta refer to cops as 12 due to the police radio code “10-12,” which means that civilians are present in the area where police are going.
It is also a quick way to alert a group of people that cops are on their way.
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Some also say that the term 12 originates from the old school cop show titled Adam-12, in which the cops ride the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12.
The term "F*** 12" became popular in rap culture and has been featured in songs by artists like Gucci Mane, Quavo, and others.
In other instances of the phrase being used, it is sometimes referred to numerically as "1312", representing the ordering of the letters in the alphabet.
The phrase first appeared in England in the 1920s.
The term was abbreviated to "ACAB" by workers on strike in the 1940s.
According to one theory, the term is derived from the police radio code 10-12, which stands for "stand by" or "wait". This code was used in the 1960s and 1970s, and people started using the 12 slang to refer to cops. The term refers to the police presence in an area.
In some jurisdictions, police officers use radio codes to communicate. The code "10-12" is often used to signify that a law enforcement officer is present and in need of assistance. Over time, this code may have been shortened to "12" in everyday speech.
If you ask Urban Dictionary, many folks have different definitions for the slang term and where it originated. It's used in the streets to give a quick heads up to friends and or civilians that police have arrived or they are on their way.
“5-0” (pronounced five-oh) became a popular nickname after the television show Hawaii Five-O which aired from 1968 to 1980. “Five-o” referred to the Hawaiian police force in the show, based on Hawaii being the fiftieth state to join the union.
To send a message, radios also needed time to completely charge up, so a short syllable word such as “ten” made it easier for the transmitter to capture and send the shortened message. In 1955, the use of the 10 Codes became standard for police officers.
This was a 1960's hippy expression and it referred to hair or lack of it. Hippies had long hair whereas, by comparison, policemen had only fuzz. Hence the nickname.
The term originates from the 1960's-70's television show "Hawaii Five-0," about an elite force of police in the 50'th state, hence 5-0. On the show the cops would announce themselves, saying "police, five o!" And from there the term became widely adopted as a way to announce the presence of police.
But one of the most popular slang terms for the local police today is “popo”. The word has its origins in 1980s southern California, where T-shirts bearing “PO” (“police officer”) worn by cops on bicycles would, with officers riding in pairs, spell out “POPO”.
The gypsie slang for the police was Rozzer, comes from Ruzolo, or pig in the Romany tounge, which is another more modern English slang name for them too…. Nobody can say for sure, it's been around for about as long as the police have existed in the modern form but there is no definite origin of the term.
"Cop" is a slang term used in the sneaker community to describe the act of purchasing a new release. It is commonly used in the phrase "Cop or Drop?", which refers to the decision of whether or not to buy a particular sneaker. When someone says they are going to "cop" a sneaker, it means they are planning on buying it.
Old Bill became the nickname for the Met police following the Great War after the fashion for wearing moustaches that looked very like the soldier cartoon character Old Bill, by George Bairnsfather.
Anti Corruption Unit 12, often shortened to AC-12, is one of the professional standards department within Central Police. Due to budget cuts, the unit is subject to be merged with fellow anti corruption units, AC-3 and AC-9.
10-10A Off duty at home. 10-11 Identify this frequency. 10-12 Visitors are present (be discrete). 10-13 Advise weather and road conditions. 10-14 Citizen holding suspect.
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