Wondering What CHIS Means? Here Are All The Line of Duty Terms Explained

The hit TV show Line of Duty returned to the BBC last night for an explosive premiere to its sixth season. It's been a very long two years since Martin Compston (DS Steve Arnott), Vicky McClure (DI Kate Fleming) and Adrian Dunbar (Superintendent Ted Hastings) were together on our screens, and the action-packed episode did

The hit TV show Line of Duty returned to the BBC last night for an explosive premiere to its sixth season. It's been a very long two years since Martin Compston (DS Steve Arnott), Vicky McClure (DI Kate Fleming) and Adrian Dunbar (Superintendent Ted Hastings) were together on our screens, and the action-packed episode did not disappoint.

It did, however, leave many viewers a little confused, and many even complained to the BBC about not being able to keep up with the police acronyms.

One abbreviation in particular left everyone completely baffled. The term CHIS was used a lot throughout the episode, especially by new character Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) who was investigating the murder of journalist Gail Vella alongside DI Fleming, who has left the anti-corruption unit which is still headed up by Hastings alongside Arnott.

"Google searches for #chis went through the roof in the last hour... once everyone had got over the initial #jizz confusion #LineofDuty", tweeted one viewer, highlighting how the nation misheard the acronym for something, umm, very different.

After thousands of confused tweets from fans, Line of Duty's official Twitter account confirmed that CHIS stands for Covert Human Intelligence Sources, before a BBC voiceover confirmed the meaning after the episode ended.

But CHIS isn't the only term Line of Duty fans have had to Google before, and many Twitter users were sharing a handy cheat-sheet last night, explaining every single abbreviation:

  • AC-12: Anti-Corruption Unit 12

  • AFO: Authorised Firearms Officer

  • ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

  • ARVs: Armed Response Vehicles

  • CHIS: Covert Human Intelligence Source

  • DIR: Digital Interview Recording

  • FI: Forensic Investigator

  • IOPC: Independent Office for Police Conduct

  • IR: Incident Report

  • MOPI: Management of Police Information

  • OCG: Organised Crime Group

  • PACE: Police and Criminal Evidence Act

  • REG 15: Regulation 15 Notice of Misconduct

  • RIPA: Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

  • RTC: Road Traffic Collision

  • SFC: Strategic Firearms Commander

  • TFC: Tactical Firearms Officer

  • UCO: Undercover Operative

So, there you go, your very own Line of Duty police jargon cheat sheet. Best have this on hand for the rest of the series.

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