Thin Blue Line Editorial Style Sheet (internal publications and documents) Academy Capitalize when referring to the Los Angeles Police Academy. acronyms As a general rule, use acronyms as indicated by the author. When possible, spell out acronym on first reference, followed by acronym in brackets; i.e., Air Support Division (ASD). Acronym alone may be used beginning with the second reference. ads Ensure that all ads are appropriate for the content on the page. airship One word, lowercase. Area Lowercase when referring to a section or division of the LAPD, unless using area in the title of a formal name of a section or division within a bureau. Use area for the following: Central Bureau South Bureau Valley Bureau West Bureau Central Area Hollenbeck Area Newton Area Northeast Area Rampart Area West Valley Area Topanga Area 77th Street Area Harbor Area Southeast Area Southwest Area Devonshire Area Foothill Area Mission Area North Hollywood Area Van Nuys Area Hollywood Area Olympic Area Pacific Area West Los Angeles Area Wilshire Area article order Articles should appear in the following order: Board of Directors: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, then other directors in alphabetical order by last name, followed by General Counsel, Assistant General Counsel (Legally Liz) and Warning Bells. (As much as possible, keep Legally Liz and Warning Bells on their own separate pages. Only as a last resort should they appear on the same page; if so, lay them out vertically.) Political Frontline (including Legislative Corner and Hot List) Law Library (including One-Minute Briefs, if available) Beyond the Badge Letters (including In Memoriam and End of Watch) Commendable Copper Capers FYI (including Los Angeles Police Historical Society, Department s View, Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation, Support Groups sidebar, Poet s Corner, Eagle & Badge Blotter, cartoons and other misc. items) Veterans Corner 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 1
Editorial masthead Editorial page Blog page (posts should appear in order from newest to oldest, comments should appear in order from oldest to newest, with replies to comments appearing directly below original comment) Center Divisional Reports (can appear in any order), including Chaplain s Corner Health & Wellness Watch Sports Beat Retirement News and Announcements (fliers in chronological order by date) Panel attorneys Classifieds Note that content for all sections may not be available for every issue. birth announcements Spell out pounds, ounces and inches. Board, Board of Directors Always capped (LAPPL only). Other boards should be lowercase. books All book titles should be italicized. bylines For Directors articles, rank should precede name. Do not include the word by. Use uppercase for both first and last names. Example: Detective TYLER IZEN, President For divisional reports and most other articles (e.g., FYI, sports, retirement), use the word by in lowercase. Ranks are optional. For divisionals, full name of division should follow on second line. Example: by Cathy Hardy Metropolitan Division captain, Capt., Capts. specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) Pay-grade numbers (I, II, III) may be dropped for clarity or readability, especially when referring to people who hold the same rank but have different numbers attached to that rank. Chief of Police, Chief Always capitalize the title, whether it precedes a name or not, in reference to LAPD chiefs past and present. 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 2
Chief s article Title should appear as: Department s View by Chief Charlie Beck City Capitalize when referring to Los Angeles city government; i.e., Officials from the City said they would approve the motion. Lowercase when referring to Los Angeles as a location and in titles such as city administrative officer, city attorney, etc. City Attorney s Office city administrative officer Abbreviated CAO. City Council Capitalize when referring to the L.A. City Council. comma style Do not use serial comma. commander, Cmdr. specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) commanding officer, C.O. specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) CompStat Abbreviated format for Computer Statistic policing councilmember CRASH Unit dates Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. when used with a specific date (e.g., Feb. 12, 2012). Spell out names of months when used alone, or with year alone (e.g., February 2012). deferred comp Lowercase delegate Not capped 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 3
Department Always capitalize when referring to the LAPD. deputy chief Abbreviate to Dep. Chief where appropriate (e.g., in captions). Only capitalize if preceding a name. detail/unit Don t capitalize unless in the title of a formal name of a detail or unit; i.e., Bicycle Coordination Unit, Underwater Dive Unit. Lowercase in all other instances; i.e., bike detail and gang detail. detective, Det., Dets., DI, DII specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) Pay-grade numbers (I, II, III) may be dropped for clarity or readability, especially when referring to people who hold the same rank but have different numbers attached to that rank. Director Always capped when referring to LAPPL Directors. Do not abbreviate. Director photos Update the year in badge with every January issue. Do not change photos unless instructed by LAPPL Board. Directors articles Only grammatical changes and style guide adherence. Any changes need to be tracked and sent to LAPPL for approval. Directors articles should include email addresses and phone numbers at end of article. Do not break email addresses; if needed, reverse the order of the phone number and email address and break the phone number. District Attorney s Office divisional reports Just grammatical and style guide changes; leave article in author s words unless incomprehensible or over-the-top (cursing, too much slang, run-on or fragmented sentences). Copy should not exceed 600 words, and photos should be no larger than 3x5 inches in size, unless otherwise directed. divisions Use lowercase for general reference; use uppercase when used with name of division, e.g., Central Traffic Division. DP(s) Deployment Period(s); e.g., DP 6 Eagle & Badge Foundation Website: EagleandBadgeFoundation.com 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 4
eastside Not capped unless part of a name or title editor s notes Use italics for all editor s notes. email No hyphen in email. However, hyphen still applies to e-commerce, e-book, e-reader and e-business. email addresses Use boldface for all email addresses. Capitalize first letter of first and last names in director email addresses (e.g., KristiEckard@lappl.org). Avoid breaking email addresses between lines. emphasizing words Use italics to place emphasis on content. Should be used sparingly. For secondary emphasis, bold sparingly, when requested by director. field training officer (FTO) Capitalize only when it precedes a name. Abbreviation is acceptable in all sections, in photo captions and in lists, unless otherwise specified. footbeat An assignment for an officer. Do not capitalize. Inside This Issue Always include the End of Watch. Inspector General K-9 Canine unit L.A. Los Angeles. Use periods. LAFD Los Angeles Fire Department. Do not use periods. LAPD Los Angeles Police Department. Do not use periods. League, Los Angeles Police Protective League, LAPPL An independent organization whose mission is to protect, promote, and improve the working conditions, legal rights, compensation and benefits of Los Angeles police officers. The group that publishes the Thin Blue Line. Capitalize League (LAPPL only). 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 5
League Members First mention of all League members names should be boldfaced in all sections (including Beyond the Badge). Do not bold ranks. Do not bold the names of captains, upper management, reserve officers who aren t members and civilian LAPD employees. When in doubt, leave bolding issues to LAPPL. legal cases When referencing legal cases, use italics. The word versus should be abbreviated to v. (Example: The famous Smith v. Jones litigation set a precedent used even today.) Letters to the Editor Print as submitted (some edits made prior to submissions on LAPPL side). Let LAPPL editorial know if there is anything egregious that they missed. lieutenant, Lt. I, Lt. II specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) Pay-grade numbers (I, II, III) may be dropped for clarity or readability, especially when referring to people who hold the same rank but have different numbers attached to that rank. lists No preferred format. Ensure that format is consistent within article. Los Angeles, L.A. the Los Angeles Times The is not part of the name; lowercase it and do not italicize. magazines All magazine titles should be italicized. masthead Must run within first five pages of every issue. military time Do not use colon between hours and minutes; e.g., 1800 hours. Mini Mounties A public service program initiated by Mounted Platoon officers. motor officer Capitalize only if motor officer appears in front of name, otherwise lowercase. Abbreviation (Motor Ofcr.) is acceptable in all sections, in photo captions and in lists, unless otherwise specified. (See titles.) 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 6
newspapers All newspaper titles should be italicized. nicknames Flag potentially controversial nicknames to LAPPL. northside Not capped unless part of a name or title obs Slang for observation arrest(s). Should be lowercase. online Do not hyphenate. ordinals Do not superscript; e.g., 77th Street Area PAC, PACs Political Action Committee(s) page count Do not exceed 68 pages without LAPPL Board approval. Part I crime, Part II crime Use Roman numerals. pay grades Roman numerals. Use a space between the rank and the number for Det. I, PO II, etc. No space for single-letter codes such as DI, PII, etc. PI, PII, PIIIs PI = just out of academy, probationary officer; PII = regular officer standing; PIII = senior officer. Do not use hyphen or Arabic numeral (as in P-1). percentages Use percent, not %. The % sign may be used in charts. phone numbers (XXX) XXX-XXXX photo captions Not all photos require captions. Use sentence case. Abbreviate all ranks. Use a period whenever the caption is a complete sentence or contains more than one sentence/phrase, at least one of which requires end punctuation. Otherwise, no end punctuation. Italicize URLs in captions. Do not bold members names in captions. 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 7
photo credits italicize Platoons B Platoon, C Platoon, etc. Police Commission, Police Commissioner(s), Board of Police Commissioners, Commission Serves as the head of the LAPD, functioning like a corporate board of directors, setting policies for the department and overseeing its operations. There are five civilian commissioners who are appointed by the mayor. The Chief of Police functions like the CEO of the Commission. Capitalize all derivatives and do not abbreviate commissioner when used as a title. police departments No periods when referred to as an acronym; periods when used with name spelled out: e.g., Las Vegas P.D. (or LVPD), Oakland P.D. (or OPD) police officer (PO), officer, Ofcr., Ofcrs. specified. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) Pay-grade numbers (I, II, III) may be dropped for clarity or readability, especially when referring to people who hold the same rank but have different numbers attached to that rank. police service representative (PSR) Cap if it precedes a name. Lowercase if not. Abbreviation is acceptable in all sections, in photo captions and in lists, unless otherwise specified. POST California Commission on Police Officers Standards and Training. Sets standards for training and certifies police officers. quoted materials The source (and date, if appropriate) of quoted material must be given. The quoted passage should begin and end with quotation marks. In lengthy passages, text may be offset by a slight indentation on each side of the column. radio codes Code 3, Code 4, etc. radio telephone operator (RTO) In Communications Division. Cap if it precedes a name. Lowercase if not. Abbreviation is acceptable in all sections, in photo captions and in lists, unless otherwise specified. Sam Browne A wide belt, usually leather, which is supported by a strap going diagonally over the right shoulder. It is most often seen as part of a military or police uniform. 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 8
senior lead officer (SLO) Only capitalize if preceding a name. Lowercase if not. Abbreviation is acceptable in all sections, in photo captions and in lists, unless otherwise specified. sergeant, Sgt., Sgts. specified.. Only capitalize if preceding a name. (See titles.) Pay-grade numbers (I, II, III) may be dropped for clarity or readability, especially when referring to people who hold the same rank but have different numbers attached to that rank. serial numbers Use the # preceding serial numbers. Place in parentheses. We do not run badge numbers. shroud A horizontal black line is placed over the badge in the masthead on the cover for special In Memoriam covers to show that an officer has been killed. Do not run contest banners for memorial covers. Sierra Blue retirement group List in Dates to Remember as Sierra Blue Northern Nevada. southside Not capped unless part of a name or title. spaces between sentences Only one space between sentences. Don t leave it to designer to close up. sports teams Lowercase when referring to general team descriptions; e.g., bench press team, hockey team. Uppercase when referring to a specific team name (i.e., Centurions). states Use AP state abbreviations in conjunction with the name of a city, town, village or military base. Spell out otherwise. station Do not capitalize when referring to an LAPD station; e.g., Topanga station. subheads Use sentence case. suspects Do not list suspect s name or include photo unless it s a historical reference. TBL, Thin Blue Line Do not italicize the in title and don t need to use the in all references, e.g., the Thin Blue Line or TBL. 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 9
titles Capitalize formal tiles (and LAPD civilian job titles) used directly before an individual s name; i.e., District Attorney Jackie Lacey, Officer Joseph. Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an individual s name. Lowercase and spell out titles in construction that set them off from a name by commas. See Chief of Police and Director for exceptions. When the title comes on its own, in isolation from a name, or is offset by commas, it should be lowercased; i.e., As a police officer, Dave Joseph thinks it will make things better. Rewriting the sentence can reintroduce capitalization if required; i.e., Officer Dave Joseph thinks it will make things better. Most titles are abbreviated (e.g., Ofcr., Det., Lt. ) when used as such, with certain exceptions (e.g., commissioner and Director ). TRISTAR Twitter addresses Use boldface for all Twitter addresses. Italicize (but don t bold) Twitter addresses that appear in captions. uniforms Class A uniform, Class B uniform U.S. United States. Use periods. Use of Force Review Division and Board LAPD does not hyphenate use of force. versus Abbreviate to v. (see Legal cases). watch morning watch, evening watch, etc., but Watch 1, Watch 2, etc. website addresses Use boldface for all website addresses. Italicize (but don t bold) website addresses that appear in captions. Note format of the following websites: LAPD.com. EagleandBadgeFoundation.org, PublicSafetyFirst.com. LAPDonline.com. Avoid breaking URLs between lines, or if it is necessary, be sure to break them at a logical point (such as at a backslash or period), so no hyphens are introduced that are not part of the address. westside Not capped unless part of a name or title. workers compensation 10/7/2013 Approved by Kristi Eckard and Melissa Afable 10