List of Police-related Slang Terms - B

B

Babylon

Jamaican, establishment systems, often applied to the police. Derived from the Rastafari movement.

Bacon

US, police officers. Derived from pigs; often used in the structure "I smell bacon" to ridicule and deride the presence of an officer when even barely out of earshot.

Bacon sandwich, or Jam sandwich

UK, a traffic car, from the colour-scheme, which used to be white with a longitudinal red, or red and yellow, stripe on each side.

Bait

UK, either the police or doing something that will get one caught.

Barney

US, police officer. Named after Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show.

Batsi

Greece, (sing. Batsos, in Greek: Μπάτσος), derogatory, the most common slang word for Greek police officers. The term comes from the word batsa ("slap"), derived from the widespread police brutality (and the according mentality), often used on minors, by giving them slaps, in order to intimidate and frighten them, and shown especially when they used to serve oppressive and authoritarian governments in the recent past. "Batsos" is a common term given to police officers, who presumably have inferiority complexes, and try to hide them "behind the uniform" and by using violence. The most common anti-police motto is: Batsi, gourounia, dolofoni (cops, pigs, killers), shout en masse in many demonstrations.

Battle Taxi

UK (Liverpool), police van or minibus used to carry a number of officers to the scene of an incident and a similar vehicle used to carry prisoners.

Batty Squad Bike

UK (London), derogatory, police motorcyclists.

The Bay

US, slang term for Eastern Long Islanders. Derived from the Bay Constable and it is used when someone thinks it's a cop, but it's just the Constable.

Bear

US, police officer. Short for Smokey Bear, in reference to the hats worn by some law enforcement officers similar to the ranger hat worn by Smokey Bear. "Bear bait" is a reference to speeders, who may draw the attention of the police and allow slightly slower traffic to exceed the speed limit in their wake. "Bear in the Air" is a police aircraft. "Bear in a plain brown wrapper" is an unmarked patrol car.. "Care Bear" isa patrol officer in the vicinity of a construction zone with lights on to encourage motorist to slow down. "Full Grown Bear" is a state patrol officer exclusively, where the term bear can refer to any police officer.

Bängen

Swedish, the police. Originally an old Swedish word for devil, from Romani beng with the same meaning.

Boxer briefs

Greek, a police car. It originates from a joke that refers to the police car as such, since "it carries two testicles inside", in reference to the police officers.

The Big Big Big Big

Halifax, Nova Scotia, an over-inflated sense of power.

Big Blue Machine

Ontario, Ontario Provincial Police or any other large regional police service assuming policing duties and taking on the staff and resources of smaller police services. The OPP and other services thus extend the ribbing in various jokes derived from the fictional Borg of Star Trek.

Bill

see Old Bill "The Bill" is the title of two decades of TV soap opera in the UK, based in a fictional London borough.

Bizzies

Common Liverpool slang term for the police, it was invented as the police were always too "busy" to help. Also that the police are seen as "busy-bodies" i.e. that they ask too many questions.

Black and White

US, usually refers to a police car, but also extends to the police themselves.

Black Rat

a slang term for a (UK) traffic officer. Based on the idea that traffic officers will happily prosecute other officers if caught breaking the law. Similarly to the way a black rat will eat its own young.

Blue Heelers

Related to a breed of dog, the Australian Cattle Dog, this term was used for the Australian police drama series Blue Heelers, but it has little if any historical or current broader usage.

Blue Meanies

This is a 1960s hippie slang term for the police, it was used in the Beatles film the Yellow Submarine, although many viewers may not have realized its significance. First used during the Free Speech Movement about the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

Bluebottle

UK, an archaic derogatory term for policeman that may have derived from Cockney rhyming slang and from the action of police when responding to a serious incident, as "swarming like Bluebottles", or blowflies. ("Bottle" is an abbreviation of "bottle and glass", which is rhyming slang for "arse", as in the phrase; "lost your bottle", for having lost one's nerve). (See also Bottles).

Blue steel

a robotic police aid (usually a bomb disarming or disposal robot), or a police-issue side arm. Often used by officers

Blålys

Norwegian term, meaning Blue lights, referring to the blue emergency light on police cars

Bobby

UK, derived from the British Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel (Bobby being a nickname for Robert) the founder of the Metropolitan Police. Occurs in fixed phrases e.g. "bobby on the beat", "village bobby". Commonly used as a name of an officer in a helmet walking the streets. Special Constables are sometimes referred to as "Hobby Bobbies".

Boys

Used in Baltimore, MD to refer to police officers.

Boys in blue

in reference to the blue uniform.

Booze bus

Australian Slang for police vehicle used for catching drunk drivers.

Bull

An American term usually used to refer to railroad police but may also indicate regular police officers. Also used in German ("Bulle") as a widespread insult for the police officer, sometimes in conjunction with the German word for pig "Bullenschwein".

Bulle

A German slang term for a police officer. More commonly used in its plural form "die Bullen" meaning the police. See "Bull" above.

Bully, Bullymen or Bullyman

Old aboriginal slang for the state police in Queensland Australia.

Buttons

US, used in a black neighborhood, referring to more-traditional police uniforms with brass buttons.

Boton

Uruguay and Argentina. As in several other countries, police uniforms had big badges and buttons.

Bronze

Australian reference

Byling

Old Swedish slang for patrolling officers. The word is of uncertain origins and rarely used nowadays.