[Still Thinking]

PPO? I can only imagine what these abbreviations mean and I don't think it's complimentary.

I assumed it was Probabtionary Police Officers or Probationary Period Officers.

(My tagline is oddly appropriate for this story, and not in the way it's usually meant.)

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

assumed it was Probabtionary Police Officers or Probationary Period Officers.

A logical assumption. But the wording of the article made it seem like only the female occifers were called PPOs. ("Those female officers -- called PPOs in cop parlance...")