Okay, I want to get away from ridiculous cop jargon.?

I'm writing a story, a 1940's New York Mob/Cop deal.

I am seriously inadequate as far as police jargon goes- and I don't want to say "they took the perp back to home base" and look stupid. So....


1.For lack of a better word, what is the main police headquarters called? Just headquarters?

2.Where would Chiefs of Department, et. all work? Do they have assigned precincts, or are they stationary?

3.Officers meet before going on duty correct? If so, what is a better word than "squad room"?

4. If you are an officer of the law- describe your day, in brief.
I really want to be realistic, and would appreciate any insight. I'm just starting out, so if I sound stupid, have mercy.



Thank you!

1. We simply call it the "department", but headquarters is common also

2. The section chiefs all work in the office. In large cities, this may be a precinct, but in smaller ones, all the supervisors are in the same building.

3. Roll call

4. After getting a shift briefing and reading all the previous day's reports, you go on patrol. Your first priority is calls for service (the ones citizens call in and the dispatchers send you on). Your next priority is following up on any open cases. After that, you do any paperwork associated with the above. Finally, if you have time, you patrol the streets looking for traffic violations, or anything out of the ordinary.

1940's type police in "MOB areas" (New York, Boston, Chicago, etc) were bigger divisions than most... obviously. their professionalism was lax.. and their jargon may have been a bit more excessive and explicit than shown in the conservative 1940's movies. you know waht the stuff now is from the diffrnt explanations/answers, and you know to go watch a movie or 2 from the era. combine the two and theerrrreee u go

1. In the 'olden' days, the HQ was called "Downtown".

2. Police chief would be 'Downtown'. Depending on the agency, department heads would be in the same place or at the precinct they are assigned to.

3. Another term is 'briefing room' or 'locker room'.

4. I'd suggest that you find some old 40ish movies where the police were part of the movie... that might help.