Language question (english)

[falkbeer]

I´ve got a question I´ve been thinking about for years. When I grew up american TV-crime dramas was very poupular (and still is!). I loved Kojak and Columbo and today CSI is one of my favourite shows.

My question is how the public adresses a police man in the US. In England you just call them a "policeman" or "policewoman", (or perhaps constable), but in the US they are referred to as "police officers". Here is my question. An ordinary policeman has no rank in his organization, he´s a private (using military teminology). A police captain is an officer. If an ordinary policeman is an officer who are then the privates?

[djm]

You can get in a lot of trouble asking a police officer about his privates.

djm

[cowtime]

As long as they do their job, I don't care what they are to be called.

[Steamwalker]

Customary way to address a police officer is simply "officer", regardless of rank. This is usually true whether they are police, sheriff or highway patrol although I imagine "sheriff" or "deputy" may be more common in rural areas.

[KatieBell]

In the US, an ordinary term would be to call him or her officer. "Yes, Officer." or "I was just talking to Officer O'Brien."

They aren't in the military, so they don't use military terminology. He or she is an officer, or official, of the city, state, etc. If the officer is of a higher rank, calling the person officer or of the rank (captain, detective, chief) either one is appropriate.

If you want to know who the peons are, it is the forensics people you see on CSI who have absolutely no bearing to the real-life forensics teams who never do investigative work like that. Or it is the Police Explorers, a group of kids interested in police work. Or the Neighborhood Crime Watch Granny who thinks she's an officer because she once went out on Citizen's Patrol.

[Walden]

My question is how the public adresses a police man in the US. In England you just call them a "policeman" or "policewoman", (or perhaps constable), but in the US they are referred to as "police officers". Here is my question. An ordinary policeman has no rank in his organization, he´s a private (using military teminology). A police captain is an officer. If an ordinary policeman is an officer who are then the privates?

We normally say policeman, in the part of the USA where I'm from. It varies by jurisdiction, whether there are privates in the police force. Newscasters and such use the term police officer as a euphemism for policeman or policewoman.

[CountryKitty]

Here in my part of the US, when we run into a policeman, we call him "Gerald", or "Bobby", or 'Mike".

Then again, this is a county so small we only have one stoplight.

[emmline]

"Officer" would be typical in the Mid-Atlantic.

[Tyler]

depends on what branch of law enforcement the person/s in question represent...

Highway Patroll/State Police= Trooper
Municipal/local/metro police agency= Officer
Sheriff's department/County police= Deputy

What the officers are called resides outside the actual internal ranking system for each of these agencies. It also depends on what type of ranking system the agency chooses to use, etc.
In some local municipalities, officers are not refered to by their rank until they reach the rank of lieutenant.

[izzarina]

A friend of mine got pulled over in some tiny little town in New England (I think he might have been driving a wee bit too fast, but I'm not sure now). The policeman swaggered up to his car, shone his flashlight in, and said:

"Joe Schmoe...Smalltown, PD"

like he was on Dragnet or something. It was really funny, especially because my friend lived in the town, and Officer Schmoe knew him personally.

Of course, the names and places have been changed to protect the innocent

As for what we call them....here in the North Country of upstate NY, we call them either by name (if it's a cop from town...the towns aren't all that big), or officer (usually if it's a Trooper you're dealing with).

[crookedtune]

Apprehended Speeder: "I'd be so appreciative if you wouldn't ticket me this one time, officer. I have always held the force in the highest regard, and every year I make a donation to the Policemens' Ball."

Law-Enforcement Professional: "I'm Highway Patrol, m'aam. We don't have balls."

[falkbeer]

Customary way to address a police officer is simply "officer", regardless of rank. This is usually true whether they are police, sheriff or highway patrol although I imagine "sheriff" or "deputy" may be more common in rural areas.

Yes, I know. But why are you reffering to someone as an "officer" when he or she doesn´t hold any rank (lieutenant, captain, etc).

The police foreces around the world clearly borrowed their structure from the military organiation which preceeded them.

[Denny]

sometimes it helps to grovel

[falkbeer]

depends on what branch of law enforcement the person/s in question represent...

Highway Patroll/State Police= Trooper
Municipal/local/metro police agency= Officer
Sheriff's department/County police= Deputy

What the officers are called resides outside the actual internal ranking system for each of these agencies. It also depends on what type of ranking system the agency chooses to use, etc.
In some local municipalities, officers are not refered to by their rank until they reach the rank of lieutenant.

That´s very confusing for a swede. Ofcourse I remember the sheriff from the old westerns I used to watch as kid. Here in Sweden we got just two police forces: the national police force (common cops!) and the secret police force (SÄPO, like the CIA, MI5 or KGB).

[Steamwalker]

In the police force, "officer" has a different meaning than in the military. You become a police officer after you undergo police training and pass. In this context, "officer" means "an agent or servant imparted with the ability, to some degree, to act on initiative."

I used to live in a neighboring city that had a police department. The city I live in now is policed by the sheriff's department. I recall the mayor in my former city threatened to fire the police department and bring in the sheriffs department to police the city. Here, (in San Diego County), a city may contract the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to police the city or a city may choose to manage their own police department.