Green’s Dictionary of Slang

plod n.²

a police officer, usu. male.

1975		C. Dexter Last Bus to Woodstock 173: ‘Mister Plod,’ said Morse.
1985		A. Payne ‘Minder on the Orient Express’ Minder [TV script] 34: Oh my Gawd, plod.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 378: ‘I was on the way back to Brisbane with the plod’.
1986		F. Taylor Auf Wiedersehen Pet Two 134: You might find the Anti-Terrorist Squad on your tail as well as the ordinary Plods.
1996		K. Lette Mad Cows 11: Stop fartin’ about and call the fuckin’ Plod.
1998		G. Burn Happy Like Murderers 84: The next night there would be a plod pounding the pavement waiting for her after work. [...] Hello, Mr Plod. Cunt.
2000		J.J. Connolly Layer Cake 49: She’s off wandering round the local villages naked [...] and the local plod are having to bring her home. [Ibid.] 85: Mister Plod can’t cope.
2007		Metro (London) 13 Apr. 11: Please don’t leave it [i.e. drugs] lying around for any unexpected plods arriving.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 61: These ain’t everyday plod. They’re clever geezers.
2018		C. Hammer Scrublands [ebook] ‘[T]he plods suspect that at least one line has been written after the fact’.
2020		G. Disher Consolation 93: Hope the local plods pull you over.
2023		R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 363: I fancied the plod had turned the place over.

In derivatives

ploddish (adj.)

typical of the police.

2007

N. ‘Razor’ Smith Raiders 105: I had to admit that he did look a bit ploddish.

In compounds

plod-shop (n.)

a police station.

2023

R. Milward Man-Eating Typewriter 383: [R]otting away in a plod-shop dungeon.