Need You Dead

Glossary

AD — Attention Drawn. Typically how an urgent radio message is prefaced to alert officers that they are about to receive details of a vehicle or person that is of police interest. Also used to describe that such a circulation has been or will be made.

ANPR — Automatic Number Plate Recognition. Roadside or mobile cameras which automatically capture the registration number of all cars that pass. It can be used to historically track which cars went past a certain camera and can also trigger alerts for cars which are stolen, have no insurance or have an alert attached to them.

ARV — Armed Response Vehicle.

BHIMS — Brighton and Hove Independent Mediation Service. Local specialists in community and workplace mediation, conflict resolution and training. They help resolve disputes between neighbours or residents, families in conflict, tenants and landlords and for businesses.

CAA — Civil Aviation Authority. The statutory corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the United Kingdom.

CAD — Computer Aided Dispatch. The system where all calls from the public are logged and, if they require police attendance, the live time record of who is attending, how it is developing and what the outcome is.

CID — Criminal Investigation Department. Usually refers to the divisional detectives rather than the specialist squads.

CIM — Critical Incident Manager. Usually a Chief Inspector who takes control of critical incidents when they are assessed as being beyond the scope of Ops-1, either due to their seriousness or the complexity of the volume of other demands on Ops-1.

Commanders

Gold (or strategic) Commander — The gold commander sets the strategy and assumes and retains overall strategic command for the operation or incident.

Silver (or tactical) Commander — The silver commander commands and coordinates the overall tactical response in compliance with Gold’s strategy, and is the tactical commander of the incident.

Bronze (or operational) Commander — The bronze commander is responsible for the command of a group of resources, and carries out functional or geographical responsibilities to deliver the requirements set by Silver in their tactical plan.

CPS — Crown Prosecution Service. The public agency that conducts criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.

CSI — was SOCO — Crime Scene Investigators (Scenes of Crime Officers). They are the people who attend crime scenes to search for fingerprints, DNA samples etc.

CSA — Command Secretarial Assistant. A secretary to senior officers.

DSI — Death or Serious Injury. The most serious category of road-traffic crash or criteria for incidents that may require post-incident procedures.

DV — Domestic Violence. Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive and/or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged sixteen or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

DVLA — Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority. The government agency that registers motor vehicles and issues driving licences. An important source of intelligence in many enquiries.

Europol — The European Union law enforcement agency. Assists police and other enforcement bodies in EU member states in their fight against serious international organized crime and terrorism.

FLO — Family Liaison Officer. The trained and dedicated officer deployed to work with a bereaved family to provide support, information and to identify lines of enquiry.

FLUM — Flash Unsolicited Message. A direct short message sent between computer screens, mainly in the control room, to alert other controllers or supervisors to either a significant incident or an important update on an ongoing incident. It flashes up, alerting the recipient to its content immediately.

GBH — Grievous Bodily Harm. Serious physical injury deliberately inflicted on a person by another.

Gold Group — a senior group of police, local community, politicians and other stakeholders drawn together to manage the impact of a critical incident.

Golf 99 — The call sign for the divisional duty inspector who is expected to take ground command of critical incidents, working usually in partnership with Ops-1 for the CIM.

GPS — Global Positioning System. A satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of twenty-four satellites placed into orbit, which allows precise locations of a GPS-enabled device to be identified.

HOLMES — Home Office Large Major Enquiry System. The national computer database used on all murders. It provides a repository of all messages, actions, decisions and statements, allowing the analysis of intelligence and the tracking and auditing of the whole enquiry. Can enable enquiries to be linked across force areas where necessary.

HTCU — High Tech Crime Unit. Now renamed Digital Forensics. The body which examines and investigates computers and other digital advisors. Part of SCC.

IDVA — Independent Domestic Violence Advisor. Specially trained advocates who work to enhance the safety of domestic violence victims and that of their children. IDVAs normally work with their clients from the point of crisis to assess the level of risk, discuss the range of suitable options and develop safety plans.

IFA — Independent Financial Advisor.

Intel Cell — Intelligence cell. A dedicated team of officers and staff who provide the intelligence research and analysis to a major crime or incident.

Interpol — International law enforcement agency. It has 190 member states and assists in cross-border investigations, especially involving terrorism, cybercrime and organized and emerging crime.

IPCC — Independent Police Complaints Commission. The body that oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales and sets the standards by which the police should handle complaints. Its decisions are made entirely independently of the police and government.

ISA — Individual Savings Account.

ITU — Intensive Therapy Unit. The ward in a hospital where the sickest patients and those requiring the most specialist care are treated.

The Keep — the central records office for Brighton and Hove City and East Sussex County Councils.

Letter of Request — the formal request sent by one country’s prosecution service to another asking for permission for the police to carry out enquiries and investigations within the other’s territory.

LST — Local Support Team. The standing unit of officers who provide public order, search and low-level surveillance tactics on a division.

MDT — Mobile Data Terminal. The in-car computer that officers use to access the CAD and other police databases.

MetCU — Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Image Circulation Unit.

MIR-1 — Major Incident Room 1. One of the large rooms in the Major Incident Suite where most of the investigation team work and brief.

Misper — short for ‘missing person’.

Murder Investigation Manual — the College of Policing Authorized Professional Practice document that provides structure, advice and guidance for the investigation of murder.

MO — Modus Operandi (method of operation). The manner by which the offender has committed the offence. Often this can reveal unique features which allow crimes to be linked or suspects to be identified.

NPAS 15 — the call sign for the helicopter that provides air support to Sussex Police.

NPT — Neighbourhood Policing Team. A team of officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who are dedicated to a particular geographical area, primarily to reduce crime and improve people’s feelings of safety.

Ops-1 — the call sign of the Force Control Duty Inspector, who has oversight and command of all critical incidents in the initial stages.

PCSO — Police Community Support Officer. These are uniformed neighbourhood officers who work in communities but do not have police powers such as arrest, search, use of force etc.

PIM — Post Incident Manager. A senior officer who is trained and deployed to facilitate, manage and assure the integrity of the post-incident procedures and to ensure that officers’ needs are addressed in a manner which does not compromise the investigation. Post-incident procedures are carried out following an incident where a firearm has been discharged, which has or may have resulted in death or serious injury, revealed failings in command or caused danger to officers or the public. Also used following incidents involving some other form of contact with the police whereby a member of the public suffers death or serious injury.

POLACC — Police Accident. A crash involving a police vehicle.

POLSA — Police Search Advisor. A trained and accredited officer who provides advice on where to search for something or someone, and how, in any given circumstance. Will often supervise the teams used in such searches.

PPE — Personal Protective Equipment. Police-issued equipment used to protect officers or to allow them to control suspects. For example, body armour, handcuffs, baton, pepper spray.

PSD — Professional Standards Department. The internal department that investigates allegations of police misconduct, whether from the public or identified within. Separate from the IPCC but works closely with them.

RISE — freedom from domestic abuse charity. Provide support to victims of domestic violence and their children through an IDVA and other services.

RPM dial — Revolutions Per Minute displayed on a dial found in motor vehicles.

RPU — Roads Policing Unit. The new name for the Traffic Division.

RTC — Road Traffic Collision (commonly known as an ‘accident’ by the public, but this term is not used as it implies no one is at fault when usually someone is).

RV Point — Rendezvous Point. The designated location where emergency services meet prior to deploying to the scene of a crime or major incident. Used when it would be too dangerous or unwieldy for everyone to arrive at the scene at the same time in an uncoordinated way.

SCC — Specialist Crime Command. The new name for CID HQ. The department that provides the specialist crime services such as major crime and public protection, and acts as the professional lead for detectives across the force.

SIO — Senior Investigating Officer. Usually a Detective Chief Inspector who is in overall charge of the investigation of a major crime such as murder, kidnap or rape.

SNAFU — Situation Normal, All Fucked Up. This is a military slang expression with the F standing for ‘Fucked’ or ‘Fouled’.

SSU — Specialist Search Unit. The team who provide expert search skills such as searching underwater or in confined places or at height, as well as locations where a high degree of search expertise is required, such as large or complex crime scenes.

TFU — Tactical Firearms Unit. The small, permanently armed department of the police that responds to firearms incidents. They often deploy in ARVs, and also have other specialist capabilities.

TPAC — Tactical Pursuit and Containment. Describes a range of methods for managing and terminating police pursuits, including boxing-in the target vehicle using police cars and, where necessary, causing it to stop by use of controlled collision.

UC — Undercover Officer.