by TomL
I never liked the slang word Cop. In my early youth till 14 years old I lived in a bad neighborhood. Crime was rampant, including next door, across the street, and for a six block radius. The people around our family used the word cop with much hatred. So I did not like the slang word cop and for that was not well liked by most of the neighbor kids my age. Where the word cop begin? The slang word ‘cop’ derives from the phrase ‘constable on patrol.’
Information from the internet:
A police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by a state to enforce the law, to protect people and property, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their powers include the power of arrest and the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. The police force is usually a public sector service, funded through taxes.
Law enforcement is only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Police forces have become ubiquitous and indispensable in modern societies, though some are involved to varying degrees in corruption, police brutality and the enforcement of authoritarian rule.
Alternative names for a police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, civil guard or civic guard. Members may be referred to as police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards. The word police is most universal and can be seen in many non-English speaking countries.
As police are often interacting with individuals, slang terms are numerous. Many slang terms for police officers are decades or centuries old with lost etymology. One of the oldest, “cop”, has largely lost its slang connotations and become a common colloquial term used both by the public and police officers to refer to their profession.
Publishers Note:
In my mind the word Cop is showing disrespect to Law Enforcement Officers. It’s a slang word. The Police Officers are here to protect you from criminals. The Police Officers are here to stop and catch the bad guys then hand them over to the courts to pass judgement. Over the years their job has many more rules of engagement. That is where the great controversy starts.
So I say do what the Police Officer says and if you have a complaint, don’t settle it on the street. Take it to the court systems who interpret the law.
Show them respect, make your case and listen to the courts. You may not agree but the Law is the Law that we have to live by.
