PNC: police national computer
PSNI: Police Service of Northern Ireland
Prat: idiot, can be used affectionately
Premier League: top English soccer division
Proms: annual concerts held at the Albert Hall
Public analyst: scientists who perform chemical analysis for public protection purposes
RAF: Royal Air Force
Rag: newspaper
Ram-raiding: robbery where a vehicle is rammed through a shop window
Randy: horny
Recce: reconnaissance
Red Adair: famous oil well firefighter
Resus: resuscitation room
Right state: messy
Ring: telephone (verb)
Roadworks: repairs done to roads
Rozzers: police
RSPB: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
RTC: road traffic collision
RV: rendezvous point
Rugger: rugby (posh American football)
Sarge: sergeant
SCO19: Specialist Crime and Operations Specialist Firearms Command
Scrote: low life
Section: to have someone committed to a mental hospital under UK mental health laws
Semi: semi-detached house, a house with another house joined to it on one side only
Shedload: a large amount
Shop: store
Shout the odds: talk in a loud bossy way
Sickie: day off work pretending to be ill
Sixth-form college: where students study A levels
SIO: senior investigating officer
Skell: a homeless person, aka ‘tramp’ (insulting)
Skip: a large open container used for building waste
Slapper: used to label somebody as overtly sexual, typically a younger woman, aka ‘skank’ (insulting)
Smackhead: heroin addict (insulting)
Snout: police informer
SOCO: scene-of-crime officer
Sod: an annoying person
Solicitor: lawyer
Sparky: electrician
Spook: spy
Spuds: potatoes
Squaddie: a soldier of low rank
Stunner: beautiful woman
Super: superintendent (police rank)
Surveyor: someone who examines land and buildings professionally
Sweeting: endearment, like sweetheart
Tabloid: newspaper, typically known for a sensationalist style of journalism
Tea: dinner (Northern English)
Tea towel: drying cloth
Till: cash register
Tip: a mess, e.g. ‘This room is a tip’, or a local garbage dump
Tipsy: a bit drunk
Top oneself: commit suicide
Torch: flashlight
Tutor: university teacher
Tower block: tall building containing apartments (usually social housing)
Upmarket: affluent or fancy
Wacky baccy: cannabis
Wally: silly person (can be used affectionately)
War Cry: Salvation Army magazine
Wash: the washing machine
Water board: company supplying water to an area
White van man: typical working-class man who drives a small truck
WI: Women’s Institute, organization of women in the UK for social/cultural activity
Widow’s weeds: black clothes worn by a widow in mourning
Wilco: will comply, i.e. ‘yes’
Wrinklies: old people
Yellowbelly: native of Lincolnshire (not to be confused with yellow-belly, meaning a coward)
Yob: a rude or aggressive youth or person
Yorkie: type of chocolate bar