Why is the term "pigs" used when referring to the police?

Question

Why is the term "pigs" used when referring to the police?

Answer 1

Cause they always squeal.

Answer 2

Because many (NOT ALL) police officers are the lowest of all scum.  They LIE, regularly committ perjury, coerce, intimidate you, LIE, twist the truth around, put words in your mouth, LIE, harass, use racial profiling, and otherwise make life miserable for many law abiding citizens.

Answer 3

http://medialab.ifc.com/film_detail.jsp?...

Answer 4

Back in the late 60's, law officers enforced illegal drug use and the "participants" coined the phrase, "pigs".  They also used "heat", "fuzz", and "the man", to identify police.

Answer 5

the first letter starts with a p and pigs are just degrading

Answer 6

That is a very out dated term!

Been watching to much 70's TV.

Answer 7

because thugs are against farm animals

Answer 8

A surprising number of slang terms of all sorts from the 19th century faded and then reappeared in the 20th. This is one of them. You're not going to pin down a clear evolution of "pig." You can't figure out where most of the 19th century terms came from either. There was the same sort of popular mania for inventing slang in the 19th century, and a lot of the terms didn't last any longer than terms from the 1960's did. No one knows if the 19th century term was the basis for the 1960's usage or if they both arose spontaneously. Probably, like many terms intended to be derogatory references, it was to depersonalize the target, and I suppose they thought it made more sense than "horses" or "chickadees."

In the 19th century, they also used rashers (reference to bacon), bizzies (too busy to help or busybodies), crushers (probably started with the British Naval police), Johnny Hopper (cockney rhyming with copper), and Ducks and Geese (another cockney rhyme for  Police . Those didn't return. They also invented "copper." There are multiple guesses about why. My favorite is the Australian term, "blue heelers." Probably because of the uniform color and a reference to the Australian Cattle Dog's annoying habit of going repeatedly for your heels.

Answer 9

It is a very, very old term, predating the last century, and probably from Victorian times,( although the earliest written records show this in print in Victorias times, it may have been in common currency in the spoken word, for various members of law enforcement since the days of the "Bow Street Runners" ),  and the earliest Police force, it was not originally used as an offensive term, and was derived from the fact, that like pigs "they rooted around, until they got what they were after", it is only lately, that it has become, a form of abuse, oddly enough, hardened or professional; criminals are not generally disrespectful of the Force, they simply see them as a part and parcel of the life they have chosen to lead, all part of the game. ( like Norman Stanley Fletcher, as Ronnie Barker has, (as),  the judge say, at the outset of "Porridge", from the BBC, " N.S.Fletcher, you are an habitual criminal, who views arrest as an occupational hazard" ) so too did many of that era...

It has led to the old phrase "it's a fair cop guv", (governor),  as silly as this seems nowadays, the Victorian criminal, was proud of their manners and did not like to be involved in violence as a matter of course, they would try to avoid arrest, at the scene of a crime but if caught "bang to rights" , would give themselves up,  often in many cases after agreeing with a policeman, that the arrest would take place, at home, rather than on the job, ( they felt that , as a matter of pride, it would be embasrrassing if they were caught at their trade, but felt it less so, to have been tracked down by a detective, ( particularly a famous one, even to the extent of bragging about it to their friends, on  the "inside" ),  and they, oddly enough, kept their word, on this matter.

     Sadly, many were less professional, in their habits, or were less in control of their character, and a less gentle ( despite what many belive to the contrary) society, passed away by the 1930's, it was gone forever, and the only story that I know of, relating to this behaviour, was by, E.M.Hornung, "Raffles the Gentleman thief" where this is alluded to, as "proper behaviour",

Oddly enough, the first place it was likely to have been used, is not in England where many believe there was the first Police force, but in Scotland, (Glasgow ), where the first ever Police force in the world, began...

The terms nowadays for the Police force,  ( in vernacvular language ), are rather more disrespectful, and in some cases not repeatable in an open forum, it is hard to discern whether T.C.Mits ( The Celebrated Man In The Street ) is less enamoured of the Force, because of the sense of injustice he feels about society, or because of the sense of personal resentment of treatment generally meted out for a continuously increasing number of laws,  M.Thatcher 1,900 new laws, Tony Blair 2,300 new laws,G Brown 2,680 new laws,  ( and he is going to hang on, for another 2 years !)

Hope this helps clarify what many seem to misunderstand, about the origin of this word, and it's usage change over the years...

Answer 10

It was first meant for abuse of Private Investigator's but people then started using it on other officers