:: Operation Nomenclature ::

Have you ever wondered who dreams up the silly names for Police investigations? You know, like Operation Ramsbottom, Operation Dangleberry or Operation Biffin-Bridge? No I haven't either, but I was very intrigued to find out that the coppers don't all sit in a room and think up the names themselves. Which is a real shame isn't it!?

Bobby 1: Right let's call it 'Operation We Are Gonna Nick You'.
Bobby 2: Nah mate, 'Operation Druggy Scumbag'!
Bobby 3: What about 'Operation Anyone Fancy A Pint'?

Instead, all of the titles come from a pre-approved list.

The list includes names of exotic birds and towns on the South Coast of the UK. Operation Boscombe anyone?


"You pick one off the list," said Bob Cox, the retired head of press with the Metropolitan Police, in a recent interview for the BBC. "The aim is to choose names that are completely neutral so they will hopefully be totally unrelated to the case."

This guy here has bizzarely compiled a list of the names and what that particular operation covered. A very strange thing to create, but quite an intersting read.