What is "twoc"

vb. 1 (context British slang English) To take a car without the owner's consent. 2 (context Geordie slang English) To steal.

TWOC (pronounced "twock") is an acronym standing for Taking Without Owner's Consent. Synonyms used by police in the UK include UTMV: Unauthorised Taking of a Motor Vehicle, and TADA or TDA: Taking and Driving Away. TWOC derives from the wording of section 12 of the Theft Act 1968 and it has become the term used by the police in England and Wales to describe any unauthorised use of a car or other conveyance that does not constitute theft. TADA or TDA is specifically a criminal offence under section 178 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 that applies only to Scotland. Since the taking need not involve an intention to permanently deprive the owner of the car, it is easier to prove than theft (this having an element of with the intention to permanently deprive the owner of their goods). The term came to prominence with a sharp rise in car crime in the early 1990s.

In police slang usage, twoc became a verb, with twocking and twockers (also spelled twoccing and twoccers) used respectively to describe car theft and those who perpetrate it: these usages subsequently filtered into general British slang.