Glossary
Police Officer Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential police officer terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key police officer vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in police officer training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Beat
- The area an officer patrols.
- Body-worn camera
- A camera that records officer interactions.
- CAD
- Computer-aided dispatch: the system that assigns calls.
- Chain of custody
- Documentation tracking evidence handling.
- Community policing
- Partnering with residents to solve problems and prevent crime.
- Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)
- A model for responding to people in mental health crisis.
- De-escalation
- Techniques to reduce tension and the need for force.
- Field training officer (FTO)
- An experienced officer who trains new officers on patrol.
- Incident report
- The official written record of an event.
- Miranda warning
- Notice of rights before custodial interrogation.
- POST
- Peace Officer Standards and Training: the state agency that certifies officers.
- Probable cause
- A reasonable basis to believe a crime was committed, required for arrests and warrants.
- Reasonable suspicion
- Specific facts suggesting criminal activity, allowing a brief investigative stop.
- Use-of-force policy
- Agency rules governing when and how force may be used.
- Warrant
- A court order authorizing an arrest or search.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Police Officer practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Police Officer training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.