The term “pigs” for police is an old, explicitly insulting slang that grew out of English criminal argot in the 1800s and was later supercharged by 1960s protest movements in the US and UK.

Quick Scoop

Where the slang comes from

  • In early modern English, “pig” was already a generic insult for someone seen as greedy, dirty, or morally low, not just the animal.
  • By the early 1800s in London criminal slang, “pig” was used specifically for certain officers, including Bow Street officers, and appears in period slang dictionaries.
  • The image behind it was that some officers were corrupt, taking bribes or “helping themselves” to illicit gains, like a pig taking more than its share.

How it became tied to cops

  • The term stuck around quietly through the 19th and early 20th century as underground or lower‑class slang for police.
  • In the 1960s, it exploded into mainstream political language, especially in the US during civil rights and anti‑Vietnam War protests.
  • Groups like the Black Panther Party and counterculture activists used “pigs” to underline their view of police as violent enforcers of an unjust system rather than neutral public servants.

Why people used it instead of regular cursing

  • In some civil‑rights contexts, activists describe “pig” as a way to express anger at police brutality without using obscene language that could get them arrested or further targeted.
  • The term functioned as a kind of coded insult: clearly demeaning, but not technically a swear word, making it tactically useful in confrontations.

How people see the word today

  • Many police and supporters see “pigs” as a dehumanizing, hateful slur that shuts down dialogue and tars all officers the same way.
  • Some activists still use it deliberately to emphasize that they see police as agents of state violence, not individuals deserving neutral or respectful labels.
  • Others on the left argue that dehumanizing language, including “pigs,” is counter‑productive even when aimed at powerful institutions.

Online and forum discussion vibes

  • On forums, there is recurring debate: some users insist “cops = pigs” is part of long‑standing protest culture (ACAB, anti‑police‑brutality spaces), while others push back, saying it’s needlessly dehumanizing or offensive to animal lovers and vegans.
  • Especially since 2020, the term shows up in memes, protest chants, and comment sections, but also in meta‑discussions about language, strategy, and whether insults help or hurt movements.

TL;DR: Cops are called “pigs” because “pig” was an older insult for greedy or vile people that 19th‑century criminals applied to police, then 1960s protest movements turned into a widely recognized anti‑police slur that is still debated today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.