In Australian
police slang, toecutter refers to members of the internal Ethical Standards Division (including such groups as the former Office of
Police Integrity in
Victoria).
In underworld slang, it refers to a criminal who preys on other criminals, using threats and extreme violence to obtain money:
'...the old toecutter activity, where you'd find out who'd done armed robbery, and you'd go around and give them the old Avon lady ring on the doorbell while they're sitting there counting out the money and take more than your fair share. And if they didn't they'd suffer the consequences.' Greg Davies, Secretary of the Victorian
Police Association, interviewed on 'Tough Nuts:
Australia's Hardest Criminals'.
The most famous Australian toecutter is the late
Mark Brandon '
Chopper' Read
The term has spread more generally throughout the community, and in workplaces is used to refer to individuals involved in assessing other employees, such as performance managers.
It is believed that the term originates in Northern Ireland, used at one time to refer to the Royal Ulster Constabulary and their torture techniques. There is no evidence Australian criminal toecutters actually cut off the
toes of their victims with bolt cutters, as is commonly believed: this would seem to be a myth, probably manufactured by the toecutters themselves.
