Slang term for "police"

Question

I need a slang term in Spanish for the police .

I found the greatest slang terms and vulgar words in a class for Spanish for Law Enforcement. It's been a year or so It was with SpanishOnPatrol.com. One gets to cuss like a sailor in this one, the words come from all over central and latin america - LingoHut, Apr 27, 2010

I love the SpanishOnPatrol.com suggestion. Interesting stuff, and I can actually see where that might be useful in my future. - DJ_Huero, Feb 12, 2013

Answer 1

HI Mbog, welcome to the forum

Now for slang you have to give us the exact place

In Spain (Julian, I never heard your words:bug

los grises (the uniform )

La pasma

un madero

guripas,

bofia,

In Argentina:

Yuta (both the Police and individual policemen)

Rati (policeman)

Gorra (policeman, also other authority figures such as a boss)

Cobani (policeman - only used by very, very marginal speakers, such as inmates)

In Uruguay:

cana, fem. para la institución, masc. para los individuos.

milico, el personal.

botón, el personal (por los botones brillantes del uniforme).n

"Mataperros";many, many years ago police officers on the beat were supposed to terminate stray dogs on the spot,

Panamá:

Tombo/Tongo= Policia

En los Estados Unidos una de las jergas es "popo"

En Bolivia

"paco"

Nice collection, Heidita! "Tombo" and "Paco" are also used in Venezuela. - Gekkosan, Apr 26, 2010

Ha, ha, popo...that's American English street slang...guess it caught on in our Hispanic communities, too. I saw it on a sign of an abandoned bar in a poor area near my own...it said, "No loitering. Popo will be called." - webdunce, Dec 7, 2011

Answer 2

In Mexico City, traffic cops are Los Tamarindos (because of the color of their uniforms). Judicial police are Los Judis.

Answer 3

Argentina: azul zorros vigilante yuta cana gorra bigote rati

Bolivia: paco cana

Brasil - Portunhol: os homi tira

Chile: pacos amigo en su camino paco rati

Colombia: sapo gendarme ley chupa los tombos, la tomba aguacate tomba tombo

Costa Rica: paco paca tombos la tomba la ley leyla tombo

Ecuador: paco chapa

El Salvador: chepa antimotin chonte tira cuilio cuilia chota la jura julia

Guatemala: tira chonte jura

Honduras: chepos zopilote chepo jura chepa chafa la poli la chonta la jura chepito chota quilio

Mexico: tira azules cuico poli chintos la chota puerco perro gendarme pituco chota tecolote juda la placa pitufo policarpio la tira migra

Nicaragua: pesca jura tombo

Panama: tongo

Paraguay: tahachi (tajashí) cana

Peru: raya tombo

Puerto Rico: jara los perros,agua

España: madero guindilla pasma pitufo come cocos guripa poli bofia la plas

Uruguay: milico cana

Venezuela: pacos tombo matute Cuba: mona fiana

From localspanish dot com

Answer 4

La jura

La chota

Los tamarindos

I cant think of any more. There are more, but I cant think of them.

Answer 5

En Argentina Azules

http://www.localismos.com/t/408/Azules.html

Answer 6

May sound too simple, but I was reading a book by a Spanish author that simply used the word "poli" for policía. I assumed it was similar to "cops".

I've definitely heard poli in Spain. - sinmeta, Feb 2, 2013

In Spain that's what they call them. - JoyceM, Feb 12, 2013

Definitely poli in Spain. - sinmeta, Feb 12, 2013

Answer 7

Puerco (derogatory) slang from Mexico.

I have been called this but never from a native Spanish speaker!

In England the term Smurf is often used, color of the uniform!

Answer 8

An additional term I've heard used by Puerto Ricans and I didn't notice listened above, used to refer to law enforcement in general would be "la hada". Of course it's not the most common and probably a more street term than anything, but I've even seen it in a book so it must be understood by a mass of some sort.