ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Every Line of Duty Acronym And Abbreviation, Explained

Every Line of Duty Acronym And Abbreviation, Explained

Every bit of confusing Line of Duty jargon, explained

Andy Vandervell

Andy Vandervell

What is a CHIS? Who is MIT? Can I get a CPS with my OCG order, please?

With the season six Line of Duty finale fast approaching, arm yourself like an AFO (that's an Authorised Firearms Office) with this jargon busting guide to help you follow the action.

Essential Line of Duty acronyms and jargon

Let's kick off with some of the most common ones. No Line of Duty fan can survive without knowing these ones.

AC-12 - Anti-Corruption Unit 12: Our guys. They're in the business of knicking bent coppers, don't you know? There are other units, including AC-3, which is commanded by none other than Patricia Carmichael, aka the most passive aggressive character in TV history.

OCG - Organised Crime Group: You knew this one, right? Take a shot for every mention and you'll be done in 10 minutes.

DIR - Digital Interview Recorder: Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Reg 15 - Regulation 15 Notice: A notice used by AC-12 to inform officers they're being investigated.

Sitrep - Situation Report: "Give me a Sitrep!"

CPS - Crime Prosecution Service: Public barristers who prosecute cases. Officers must seek the approval of the CPS before they charge anyone with a crime.

MIT - Murder Investigation Team: The acronym used to refer to the team investigating the Gail Vella murder.

I.R - Incident Report: Something we hear often during interviews.

Fahrenheit: This is a shoot to kill order. When you hear this, it's about to get real.

Status zero: A radio code that means an officer requires immediate assistance.

Police Ranks

As we all know, all accused police officers have the right to be interviewed by an officer of at least one rank senior. This list is ordered by most senior to junior. Note: officers who have completed detective exams have a 'D' in the rank, standing for Detective.

CC - Chief Constable: This rank answers only to the Police and Crime Commissioner, a civilian. In Line of Duty season 6, Philip Osborne is the Chief Constable and a prime suspect for the mysterious fourth man, H.

DCC - Detective Chief Constable: Reports to the Chief Constable. Andrea Wise is the current DCC in Line of Duty.

ACC - Assistant Chief Constable: Derek Hilton from season four was an ACC, but there are no major characters of this rank featured in season six.

DCS - Detective Chief Superintendent: Everyone's love to hate character, Patricia Carmichael, is a DCS. That makes her senior to our boy Ted.

DSU - Detective Superintendent: Dodgy / useful idiot Ian Buckells is a DSU and everyone's favourite meme generator, Ted Hastings, is also a Superintendent but isn't a detective.

DCI - Detective Chief Inspector: Roz Huntley (season four) and Tony Gates (season one) were both DCIs.

DI - Detective Inspector: Our heroes Kate Fleming and Steve Arnott are DIs.

DS - Detective Sergeant: Until recently, Steve Arnott was a DS until Ted gave him an 'acting' promotion.

DC - Detective Constable: Chloe Bishop, the dedicated and resourceful officer who joined AC-12 in season six, is a DC. Kate Fleming started as a DC in season one.

PC - Police Constable: The most junior rank of full time police. OCG plant Ryan Pilkington was a PC.

In addition to these official ranks, there are a number of roles which have their own acronyms:

  • SIO - Senior Investigating Officer
  • UCO - Undercover Officer
  • PCSO - Police Community Support Officer
  • FME - Forensic Medical Examiner
  • FLO - Family Liaison Officer
  • FI - Forensic Investigator

Armed Police

"Armed Police!" is a regular refrain during the show. Here are some of the acronyms related to armed officers.

SFC - Strategic Firearms Command: This is the unit that commands armed police officers, which featured heavily in the third season of the series.

TFC - Tactical Firearms Commander: The name given to a commanding officer in Strategic Firearms Command.

AFO - Authorised Firearms Officer: Any police officer who is authorised to carry firearms.

ARU - Armed Response Unit: A team of AFOs who respond to incidents or are assigned as protection in operations.

ARV - Armed Response Vehicle: It's a van, guys. No need to get fancy about it.

Other Line of Duty acronyms

ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

AM: Active Message

B&E: Breaking & Entering

CIS: Crime Information System

CHIS: Covert Human Intelligence Source

COM: Covert operations manager

MOPI: Management of police information

PACE: Police and Criminal Evidence Act

PNC: Police National Computer

RIPA: Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

RTC: Road Traffic Collision

TA: Tactical Advisor

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: BBC, TV & Film, Line of Duty