# Is the term 'cop' considered "insulting" or negative to police officers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438 "2011-08-20T16:48:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MarylandGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@MarylandGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarylandGirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/61 "2013-08-09T00:16:34Z")
The term, COP, is not derogatory. We have somehow turned it into a negative term. It goes back to our origins in Europe. It means Constable On Patrol. In Europe, even today, they use the term Constables. Just a side bit of trivia: The term Sheriff was originally Shire Reeve in Europe. We were a bit lazy in our speech, and the Americans believed it was easier to pronounce Sheriff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/62 "2013-08-09T00:26:02Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > It means Constable On Patrol. False - [Does Cop = 'Constable on Patrol'? | Snopes.com](http://www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/cop.asp) And welcome to the boards. ---
**Author:** ![MarylandGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@MarylandGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarylandGirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/63 "2013-08-09T01:09:43Z")
Thank you for the welcome Telemark. I am a little confused about the Snopes. I was a criminal justice major at the University of Baltimore. They discussed terminology that is used in law today and where it came from. That was taught to us as well as in the textbooks. I definitely do not want to be argumentative. I’m only clarifying where my information came from. Now, my education on this goes back to 1991, so it is always possible that it has changed since then. I’m more comfortable with that acronym because Constable On Patrol is not negative. I do not want to disrespect police, so when I was taught that, I was quite happy with it. I don’t know if that is a bad thing or not. When I get time, I will try to research why they were teaching that and now saying otherwise. It’ll be interesting. Thanks for your post. I do love to research. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/64 "2013-08-09T01:24:03Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > I definitely do not want to be argumentative. I’m only clarifying where my information came from. Now, my education on this goes back to 1991, so it is always possible that it has changed since then. > > I’m more comfortable with that acronym because Constable On Patrol is not negative. I do not want to disrespect police, so when I was taught that, I was quite happy with it. I don’t know if that is a bad thing or not. When I get time, I will try to research why they were teaching that and now saying otherwise. You may find, as many of us have, that all sources of info are not created equal. Just because it is on the Internet does not mean it is true, in fact, often the opposite. Many sites copy other sites with nary a question; veracity is not important to them, hits and selling ads is. Snopes is one of the best for accuracy (other than Cecil, of course!) so it should be one of the first places you check if ever in doubt about something questionable or in the category of urban legend, which is their specialty. And SDMB has some of the smartest people on this here planet (plus a few dipsticks), so you ignore us at your peril! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/65 "2013-08-09T01:24:23Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > I’m more comfortable with that acronym because Constable On Patrol is not negative. In general, stories that involve acronyms from before the last century are almost always untrue. COP definitely doesn’t come from Constable On Patrol, as that idea came up long after the word cop was in use. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/66 "2013-08-09T02:51:07Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > Just a side bit of trivia: The term Sheriff was originally Shire Reeve in Europe. We were a bit lazy in our speech, and the Americans believed it was easier to pronounce Sheriff. > > 🙂 This is also false. “Sheriff” is not an Americanism. “Shire reeve” became “sheriff” long before any Americans entered the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/67 "2013-08-09T02:58:24Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > I am a little confused about the Snopes. I was a criminal justice major at the University of Baltimore. They discussed terminology that is used in law today and where it came from. That was taught to us as well as in the textbooks. > > I definitely do not want to be argumentative. I’m only clarifying where my information came from. Now, my education on this goes back to 1991, so it is always possible that it has changed since then. > > … > > When I get time, I will try to research why they were teaching that and now saying otherwise. Linguists have pretty much always known that this is a false etymology. The problem is that non-linguists love to tell cute stories about language, so they keep repeating false stories without checking. Pretty much every story you’ve seen in an internet forward about wood origins is wrong – port out starboard home … fornication under consent of the king … bells that could be rung from inside coffins … ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/68 "2013-08-09T03:26:03Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I’ve noticed that RCMP officers here in Canada tend to refer to each other as “members”, i.e. members of the RCMP. I don’t know about the ones in Canada, but the cops around here certainly are “members.” ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/69 "2013-08-09T03:35:05Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Pretty much every story you’ve seen in an internet forward about wood origins is wrong – port out starboard home … fornication under consent of the king … bells that could be rung from inside coffins … Yes. Really it comes from trees. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/70 "2013-08-09T03:50:46Z")
Maybe it’s all in the delivery: “You’re a good cop” as opposed to “You motherfucking cop!” ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/71 "2013-08-09T05:44:54Z")
I stick with ‘Sir’ until I become friends and they the tell me to call them \_\_\_\_\_ . ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/72 "2013-08-09T06:32:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This is also false. “Sheriff” is not an Americanism. “Shire reeve” became “sheriff” long before any Americans entered the picture. There’s a history of “sheriff” [**here**](http://www.hcky.org/hcso/History/origin_of_sheriff.htm) that includes this: > [@](#): > > When English settlers came to the new world, the office of Sheriff traveled with them. > > The first American counties were established in Virgina in 1634 and one of these counties elected a Sheriff in 1651. As I mentioned in another thread, there still remains in rural parts of Canada the office of reeve (though it’s fast being replaced with its urban counterpart, mayor). ---
**Author:** ![MarylandGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@MarylandGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarylandGirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/73 "2013-08-09T09:27:09Z")
It’s pretty funny that I was gone for only four to six hours (I think) and this topic exploded. I agree that people take words from different languages and then claim it to be history and truth. You learn something new everyday. I never call a COP to his face because of the negative connotation that goes with it. I use either officer, or policeman. This was definitely entertaining conversation though! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/74 "2013-08-09T10:19:28Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > . . . Now, my education on this goes back to 1991, so it is always possible that it has changed since then. . . . . Well, there was that Internet thing that Al Gore invented, that made searching for this kind of stuff a lot easier, which we didn’t have in 1991. 😛 But back to the OP: I’ve heard that Jack Webb changed changed his introduction to Dragnet in the 1960s version from “I’m a cop” to “I carry a badge” because some officers objected to being called “cops.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/75 "2013-08-09T11:11:49Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > But back to the OP: I’ve heard that Jack Webb changed changed his introduction to Dragnet in the 1960s version from “I’m a cop” to “I carry a badge” because some officers objected to being called “cops.” [Ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14162578#post14162578) ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/76 "2013-08-09T13:10:34Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > It’s pretty funny that I was gone for only four to six hours (I think) and this topic exploded. I agree that people take words from different languages and then claim it to be history and truth. > > You learn something new everyday. I never call a COP to his face because of the negative connotation that goes with it. I use either officer, or policeman. > > This was definitely entertaining conversation though! > :eek: Hey, no need to :eek:! I think it’s been an interesting discussion. And I’ve definitely had textbooks and classes that contained incorrect information on word/phrase etymologies, so I know how that is. It feels extra annoying, because they’re supposed to be the sources that debunk those things, not spread them! Not only that, but you made the thread pop up and I got to read a hilarious Simpsons quote I had forgotten about (“it’s the cops!” “worse, the police cops!”). I hope you stick around the boards! You seem pretty damn cool. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/77 "2013-08-09T13:45:43Z")
> [@MarylandGirl](#): > > I was a criminal justice major at the University of Baltimore. That was my Major also, it was an interesting Course. We learned about the Bertillon System of Identification, the 3 types of fingerprints and of course the basic foundation of S&S, Terry v. Ohio. One teacher told a story of how a defendant beat a ticket rap because the Officer was not wearing his hat, not so now, by case law. Oh, we also learned about the term Shire-Reeve. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/78 "2013-08-09T13:46:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [Ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14162578#post14162578) :smack: ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/79 "2013-08-09T13:47:06Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [Ahem](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14162578#post14162578) Come on. How is he possibly supposed to remember something you said two years ago? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438/80 "2013-08-09T14:14:39Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Come on. How is he possibly supposed to remember something you said two years ago? I constantly refer back to my annotated notebooks, don’t you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-cop-considered-insulting-or-negative-to-police-officers/593438.md?page=5)