police and detectives
(Also see law)
accelerant police lab term for gasoline, kerosene, turpentine, or diesel fuel, any of which may be used in an arson fire.
A.C.U. anticrime unit.
A.D.A. assistant district attorney.
adipocere the waxy, soapy substance made up of fatty acids and insoluble salts that forms on a corpse, especially in a moist environment. Also known as grave wax.
A.K.A. also known as; alias.
alias any false name used by a criminal.
A.P.B. all points bulletin, issued to help locate a fleeing suspect.
at large of a criminal, yet to be apprehended.
automatism a crime performed unconsciously, as when sleepwalking. Defendants in rare cases have been found innocent by using such a defense.
bag 'em slang, to place a corpse into a body bag.
ballistics the study of firearms and bullets, used to identify weapons employed in a crime, the locations of the criminals when they fired them, etc.
banker a dealer or other street person who holds cash paid out for drugs.
baton a police officer's small club, carried on his or her person for defensive purposes. Also known as a nightstick or billy club.
beat the territory or neighborhood in which a police officer makes his or her patrol.
billy club see baton.
black powder method a method of revealing latent fingerprints. Glassware cleaner and black powder are used to enhance prints on adhesive tape.
blank lineup a police lineup in which an actual suspect in a crime is not included, a test used to determine the veracity or credibility of a witness.
bloodstain pattern analysis the study of the shapes, locations, and patterns of bloodstains to determine a victim's location; whether he or she was lying, seated, or standing when attacked; how much the victim struggled, and so on.
blotter at a police station, the computer register or database (formerly a book) in which arrests are recorded.
blowfly also known as a bluebottle or greenbottle, a metallic-colored fly characterized by its ability to quickly zero in on a decaying corpse, on which it lays eggs. Because the eggs develop into larvae in a predictable time span, their presence can be used to help determine time of death, often to within a day or two, or less.
bobby British colloquialism for a police officer.
book to record an arrest and register the person arrested.
book, the the rules and regulations of police procedure and law.
boost to shoplift.
bounty a reward offered for the successful capture of a criminal.
bounty hunter one who hunts and captures wanted criminals for posted rewards.
bucket the city jail.
bulletproof vest a vest made from Kevlar, a bulletproof mesh, often worn under a police uniform.
bunco-forgery a division in a police department that handles consumer fraud, bribery cases, computer database crimes, fraudulently printed checks, counterfeit money, forged airline tickets, theft of bank checks and check writing equipment, credit card fraud, forged prescriptions, pickpocketing, and similar crimes. The responsibilities of such a division may vary somewhat from department to department.
bust slang, to arrest.
bystander effect a psychological phenomenon in which the more bystanders there are to witness a crime the less likely anyone will step in to help the victim.
canary slang for an informer. C of D chief of detectives. C of O chief of operations.
chop shop a facility yard or garage where stolen cars are stripped of their parts by thieves.
citizen's arrest an arrest made by one who is not a police officer, a legal act by any U.S. citizen.
cognitive dissonance a form of psychological denial in which a criminal's attitudes and moral beliefs are inconsistent with his actions.
collar slang for an arrest. Also, to arrest.
commissioner the city official who oversees a police chief and police department.
composite drawing a drawing made by a police artist from details given by more than one witness.
computer forensics the analysis of a suspect's computer and its stored data to uncover a wide range of criminal behavior, from child pornography to computer hacking to terrorism.
coroner an elected public officer who is a pathologist and who determines the cause of death in cases in which foul play is suspected.
corpus delecti all of the evidence and facts surrounding a homicide.
corrosive fingerprint technique a new forensic technique used to reveal fingerprints on bomb fragments, bullet casings, or guns, even after the prints have been thoroughly washed or wiped off. The suspect fragment or item is coated in a special conductive powder, similar to photocopier powder, and electrically charged. The powder, attracted to the natural corrosion caused by the oils in fingerprints, forms around the corrosion, revealing print details.
crack to solve a case.
crackdown a tightening of police enforcement against a particular crime.
crime lab a laboratory that may work either within or independently of a police department to investigate and process toxics, explosives, narcotics, inflammables, unknown specimens, fingerprints, blood samples, urine, semen, saliva, hairs and fibers, DNA typing, tire impressions, footprints, firearms identification, document analysis, and so forth.
crime scene staging the altering of a crime scene by a criminal, in order to mislead investigators. A premeditated murder, for example, may be staged to look like a simple robbery gone wrong.
criminalist a crime lab specialist or technician.
criminology the study of all facets of crime.
S.U. crime scene unit.
dactylography the study of fingerprints as a means of criminal identification.
B. dead body.
defensive wounds wounds that appear on the hands, fingers, and arms of assault or murder victims who tried to fight off their assailants.
depersonalization a form of denial in which a murderer objectifies a victim in a variety of ways, including covering the victim's face or disfiguring it beyond recognition in order to remain detached.
detective a police officer who investigates crimes.
detention the holding of a criminal by the police.
division see precinct.
disorganized referring to criminal behavior that is largely unplanned, sloppy, and impulsive and leaves lots of evidence behind.
DNA database an archive of DNA profiles from serious criminals, used to provide matches when DNA evidence is left behind at crime scenes.
DNA fingerprinting the identification of a criminal by examination of DNA in blood, hair, semen, etc., left behind at the scene of a crime.
DOA dead on arrival.
dragnet a coordinated, all-out search for a criminal.
entrapment the luring of someone into an illegal act, disallowed by law.
facial identification system (FIS) computerized system for matching facial features and identifying criminals.