Ploddledygook

Some Scottish police constables have tabled a motion at their annual conference calling for a reduction in police jargon, as they say the public makes fun of the way police officers speak. No-one goes anywhere - they proceed in an easterly direction; people don't get out of cars - they exit vehicles.The police also use too many acronyms eg SPOC, single point of contact.

The reason why newspaper headline writers have called this jargon 'ploddledygook' is that it is a play on the word gobbledygook (can also be spelt gobbledegook) and the word 'plod' which is a slang word for police. Read more here.

Comments

[Fran]

I think they should be allowed to carry on talking like this, just so that we can retain the word 'ploddledygook' in our language. I love it.

[Laura Payne]

I love the word too - can't resist some good word play.

P.S. Your blog is one of my favorites and I just gave you an award on my blog.

[Tom Heehler]

What's even more interesting to me is the reason police officers think they need to speak this way.

Many cops are verbally challenged to begin with, and I suspect this is their way of casting themselves as professionals.

Tom Heehler

[Harrison Bergeron]

Police jargon?! Great Scott, it only took one episode of Gil Mayo for me to realize DI and DS were Detective Inspector and Detective Sargeant, terms which are obviously peculiar to the UK.

With the exception of Soco I don't see much that isn't matched on this side of the water.

An RTA is an MVA (motor vehicle accident), although TA (traffic accident) is commonly used also.

A POI is a point of impact, a DB is a dead body, and so on.

Two way radio communication has to be kept brief and yet descriptive, but as was pointed out, the legalese of the courts also plays a role.

Every profession has it's jargon and slang, and IMHO he won't find much support among his peers in regards to acronyms.

But when it comes to being forced to use terms imposed externally such as was cited - having to refer to a control room as “Citizen Focus Command" - that has nothing to do with job jargon and just bloody simple minded breaucratic double speak.