police
A constituted body of officers representing the civil authority of government, empowered to maintain public order and safety, enforce the law, and prevent, detect, and investigate crime.
Other meanings
A department of local (usually municipal) government responsible for general law enforcement.
The staff of such a department or agency, particularly its officers; an individual police officer.
Word history
From Ancient Greek "πολιτεία".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “police” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.