Download Police Video
With Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Wesley Ruggles, John Rand. Charlie is released from prison and immediately swindled by a fake parson. A fellow ex-convict convinces Charlie to help burglarize a house...
For other uses, see Police (disambiguation).
"Department of Police" redirects here. For other uses, see Department of Police (disambiguation).
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (February 2010)
This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (December 2009)
Thai Traffic Police in Surin, Thailand
German State Police officer in Hamburg, with the rank of Polizeihauptmeister mit Zulage (Confirmed Police Sergeant Major).
The famous "black and white" LAPD police cruiser
Metropolitan police BMW 3 series in London
Romanian Police BMW 550i response car.
Polish Police's Anti-Riot Detachment, filming a gathering. The film could later be presented during a trial as evidence, or used in police training. A water cannon is seen in the background.
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie and military police are military units charged with civil policing.
Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Some parts of the world may suffer from police corruption.
Alternative names for police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, civil guard or civic guard. Members may be referred to as police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards. Police of the Soviet-era Eastern Europe were (or are, in some cases, as in Belarus) called the militsiya. The Irish police are called the Garda SГochГЎna ("guardians of the peace"); a police officer is called a garda. As police are often in conflict with individuals, slang terms are numerous. Many slang terms for police officers are decades or centuries old with lost etymology.
