UK police write 'slang dictionary' to better understand youth
Police in Surrey are learning slang in an effort to better engage with youth in their constituency.
Slang changes from generation to generation, but in general everyone understands each other, right? Well, the police in Surrey in the United Kingdom are not taking any chances at all and are taking steps to make sure they never misunderstand any of their younger constituents.
News of a "youth culture" class in which the police try to parse out different slang words hit social media and people are deeply amused. The ad hoc "slang dictionary" that the police wrote up includes some interesting definitions, such as the one next to UK rapper Stormzy's name: "not the weather; rapper from Croydon".
The list of words sparked a debate among people who couldn't believe the police were so out of touch with the youth that they had to have a workshop around the issue.
If police are spending time writing slang dictionaries, who is out there working on improving the community?