I made this glossary to help people learn about some police terms.
alibi
noun
A claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place.
Example: Her alibi is water tight.
fr: alibi
badge
noun
A distinctive emblem worn as a mark of office, membership, achievement, licensed employment.
Example: A large gold key hung around his neck as his badge of office.
fr: badge
bulletproof vest
noun
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions.
Example: One was saved by a bulletproof vest after being struck in the abdomen.
fr: gilet pare-balles
canadian criminal code
noun
The Criminal Code is a law that codifies most criminal offenses and procedures in Canada. Its official longs titles are An Act respecting the criminal law, and it is sometimes abbreviated as Cr.C. in legal reports.
Example: However, the Criminal Code of Canada (CC) is lacking a key section which would align and reinforce these fundamental principles: a standalone hate crime section.
fr: code criminel canadien
crime scene
noun
The place where an offense has been committed and forensic evidence may be gathered.
Example: He established that without a sample from the crime scene a match could not be made.
fr: scène de crime
delinquency
noun
Minor crime, especially that committed by young people.
Example: Finally, studies also show those rejected children are prone to delinquency and adult criminality.
fr: délinquance
detective
noun
A person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.
Example: A common factor of crime and thrillers is to create a serial with a detective or the main character.
fr: détective
drug
noun
A medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body.
Example: Anomie has been linked to suicide, crime, delinquency, mental disorders, alcoholism and drug addiction.
fr: drogue
gun
noun
A weapon incorporating a metal tube from which bullets, shells, or other missiles are propelled by explosive force, typically making a characteristic loud, sharp noise.
Example: I forced myself to wipe the gun down and frantically stuff it into the back pocket of my jeans.
fr: arme à feu
handcuffs
noun
A pair of lockable linked metal rings for securing a prisoner's wrists.
Example: Losing control, Jack knocks Sarah unconscious, hancuffs her, and calls for help.
fr: menottes
hostage
noun
A person seized or held as security for the fulfillment of a condition.
Example: While the HOSTAGE is surprised, the kidnapper explains that this is the only outcome the hostage could have seen.
fr: otage
inmate
noun
A person confined to an institution such as a prison or hospital.
Example: He was attacked by a fellow inmate.
fr: détenu
judge
noun
A public official appointed to decide cases in a court of law.
Example: The judge delivered his verdict in June 1997.
fr: juge
killer
noun
A person or thing that kills.
Example: Police are still searching for the killer.
fr: tueur
knife
noun
An instrument composed of a blade fixed into a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon.
Example: But in most cases of battered women who kill, because of their physical disadvantage in relation to their partners, they use a knife or revolver or other weapons to protect themselves.
fr: couteau
pepper spray
noun
An aerosol spray containing oils derived from cayenne pepper, irritating to the eyes and respiratory passages and used as a disabling weapon.
Example: You ask your friend to buy a large stash of mace, pepper spray and stun guns next time he goes to USA 29.
fr: spray au poivre
police officer
noun
A police officer is a person whose job involves enforcing the law.
Example: I have also conducted interviews with both a police officer and a criminal solicitor and hope to use this evidence to provide an insight into the practical use of the right to silence within the trial process.
fr: officier de police
police uniform
noun
A uniform is a special set of clothes which some people, for example soldiers or the police, wear to work.
Example: In my part of the world the police uniform has considerable significance.
fr: uniforme de police
prison
noun
A building in which people are legally held as a punishment for a crime they have committed or while awaiting trial.
Example: The experiment took place in a constructed prison in the department of Psychology.
fr: prison
thief
noun
A person who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or violence.
Example: If the thief is blamed and punished, this should be enough to change his character so that he does not steal in the future.
