Police

[G-CPTN]

I (thought that I) replied to a thread by Bobjork with a photograph including a Police vehicle remarking about the similarity of the word 'Police' in various languages - Polis, Politi, Polizei, Politie, Polizia.
I cannot find that thread now (it showed Fire appliances attending a smoke incident on an underground train).
It seems (according to Wiki ;-) that the word derives via French from the Latin politia ("civil administration"), which itself derives from the ancient Greek πόλις ("city").
And the first police force comparable to present-day police was established in 1667 under King Louis XIV in France, although modern police usually trace their origins to the 1800 establishment of the Marine Police in London, the Glasgow Police, and the Napoleonic police of Paris - which is, in itself, strange when the French use the word Gendarme (which, I pointed out to my French-speaking son, is, effectively Gens d'armes - or men of arms).
So the explanation itself deepens the mystery (at least for me).

[Western SMT]

A member of a law-enforcement agency can be called -
Officer, patrolman, patrolwoman, peace officer, police, policeman, police officer, policewoman, cop, the law, the old bill, copper, flatfoot, fuzz, heat, bluecoat, finest, pigs, filth, bobby, constable, peeler.
An unusual one used in Glasgow was the 'stashie', because they stash you away for no reason if you live in a rough area.

There has to be others

[Mr Scammell]

Known as the Bizzies in Liverpool.

[coastie]

Let's not forget the good old term "Rozzer"!!

Oh and of course, "Wooden Top" as in the pilot name for the well known TV series "The Bill"!

"Dibble" is another one!

Aka "Sweeney" after another TV cop programme.

[JamesPB]

As an ex-police officer myself (13 years with the London Met) I can tell you that the first police force recognised as a fully trained and organised, full time salaried public police force was in fact the Met police in London fromed in 1829. Other "forces" before that, including the London River Police and the Bow Street Runners, were either partially privately run and financed e.g. the London River Police was financed by ship owners and shipping companies and was by today's standards a security firm rather than a police force, AND/OR they were untrained part-timers operating often only at night and in a specific area e.g. Bow Street Runners, who were in fact the Court's officers not police officers as such.

[JamesPB]

Oh and there are several in house terms for police officers amongst each other, to recognise each other in public without giving the game away, usually in the form of specific phrases.
But I'm not going to let on here

The most common one used by cops every day in the UK hasn't even been used on any police progs on TV yet. But it's used all the time.

Probably because it's such a common everyday word, that everyone of you uses everyday that no one has detected that it also means copper/police force between police officers when in dangerous/embarassing/incriminating out of uniform circumstances

[G-CPTN]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Police_Force
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Street_Runners

[JamesPB]

My sources are far more reliable than Wikipedia

1. History of Police produced Hendon Police College
2. The Queens Peace by David Ascoli 1979
3. My own police history lessons at Hendon

Anyone can write anything they want on Wikipedia without it being challenged.
For the record I've never heard anyone refer to the London River police as the first police force.

And if you read that article on wiki about the Bow Street Runners you'll see that it supports exactly what I wrote.

[coastie]

That's a name I haven't heard in years, Bow Street Runners! Sounds like a name of a group!!

[G-CPTN]

Then there were the Peelers:-
http://www.learnhistory.org.uk/cpp/met.htm
http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK...RobertPeel.htm