Many of us enjoy watching high tension police thriller series, such as Line of Duty, which we’re following at the moment. To keep up with impossible to follow plots, who to trust and to understand police lingo and initials, you can follow social media groups obsessed with interested in your favourite programmes. But would you like your own boring everyday life to be like that?

Okay boss, CHIS leaving the house now.
Stand by everyone, moving on foot, approaching OSS, passing OSS… masking up, at the HGS now. Exiting GG, can you confirm UHW?
Armed response unit stand down, I repeat stand down. CHIS is unarmed.
CHIS reaching into back pack, could be a burner phone, can we get a trace…
Approaching ROG, can we get a check on a white van ABC 123D…
CHIS has crossed road, heading north, repeat heading north, has made contact with masked person, can’t identify.
Entering building S. unit 7 follow …
Can’t follow, security guard on door, don’t want to draw attention…
How long have they been in there now?
Fifteen, exiting now with UHW, looks like the real thing this time, heading south, ARU hold back, too many PONIs around.
Following CHIS south west, confirm unarmed, no further contacts made… approaching HB…

Line of Shopping Facebook chat room – guide to police terms
CHIS – Covert Human Independent Shopper
OSS – One Stop Shop
HGS – Hand Gel Station
GG – GreenGrocers
UHW – Unidentified Hand Weapon
ROG – redorangegreen – traffic lights
Building S – Sainsbury
ARU – Armed Response Unit
PONI – Persons of no Interest
HB – Home Base
Recorded phone conversation of CHIS suspect
I’m off to the shops.
( Muffled ) Yes wrapped please, they’re for my neighbour, she loves a nice bouquet.
Oh I thought we had spaghetti… and a bottle of wine? I’ll have to carry it, not much room in my back pack.
I’m baaack, whew, very busy at the shops and strange, lots of police around, I couldn’t see anything happening.
😂
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🙂 I wish my life was that exciting…
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I’m glad my life isn’t that exciting. 🙂
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🙂
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Janet, I’ve watched just a few of these shows and realise the jargon must be holding me back from viewing more! I love your take on it here, very funny!😀 Oh, the muffled voice thing is driving me mad … especially having to effectively shout personal details whilst at the doctors’ or chemist’s counter. Not ideal!
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Thanks Annika. I think that’s why they need Facebook chat rooms etc as they all try to work out what actually happened in each episode.
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Ha ha Ha! Wonderful melding of the two genres, life and fiction.
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😀 😀 😀
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These days everyone makes contact with masked persons. Love the acronyms!
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Yes Audrey, I have actually met people I know and not recognised them in a mask and with Covid hair style.
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Thanks for the translations. I’d be lost without them.
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Thanks for the chuckles! I’m with Liz … I’m glad my life isn’t that exciting!
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You’re welcome Jill, may your life continue to not be exciting!
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😊
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A clever take on the use of abbreviations and code-jargon, Janet. As I worked for the Met Police for almost 12 years, I can tell you it is actually much more involved than it seems even on shows like Line of Duty. As well as what you see on TV, there are numerous ‘number codes’ relating to offences that you have to learn.
(05 is a robbery, for example)
I have noticed that since I retired in 2012, it is also ‘evolving’. When I worked there, CHIS was not used, it was CI (confidential informant) back then. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks Pete, yes you might need to do a bit of homework if you want to help write the new series of Line of Duty!
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Haha, love it!… I also live a not so exciting life tomorrow before it gets too hot its kitchen spring cleaning cleaning 🙂 x
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Thanks Carol, stay safe with the spring cleaning!
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