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Topic: POLICE

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agent baton beat bobby book commander commissioner composite constable constabulary cop copper cruiser detective dragnet frisk gendarme highway patrol homicide informant inspector Interpol investigation lawman manor MI5 nab nail narc nick officer operation patrol pig police police department police force policeman police officer police station precinct quell question raid(n) raid(v) rank rap sheet riot police roadblock Scotland Yard search warrant sheriff shield snout special agent squad supergrass superintendent trooper warrant WPC

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Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: Late Latin politia 'government', from polites; POLITIC

police

1 noun
     
po‧lice1 S1 W1 [plural]
1BO the people who work for an official organization whose job is to catch criminals and make sure that people obey the law:
Police surrounded the courthouse.
Several police were injured during the rioting.
Armed police stormed the building.
2

the police

BO the official organization whose job is to catch criminals and make sure that people obey the law:
Did you report the robbery to the police?
He was arrested by the police for dangerous driving.
! Police is a plural noun. Do not say 'a police'. Say a police officer, a policeman, or a policewoman: The police were called. | A police officer came. ➔ military police, secret policeWORD FOCUS: police WORD FOCUS: police
people in the police force: police officer, policeman, policewoman, detective, cop informal
the building where the police work: police station
what the police do: investigate crimes, find/collect evidence, arrest people who they think are guilty of a crime, question/interrogate people about crimes, hold/detain people in custody, charge people with crimes, release people if they are innocent
  
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