Police

Police

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.

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Famous quotes containing the word police:

    We have passed the time of ... the laisser-faire [sic] school which believes that the government ought to do nothing but run a police force.
    William Howard Taft (1857–1930)

    To insure the adoration of a theorem for any length of time, faith is not enough, a police force is needed as well.
    Albert Camus (1913–1960)

    Scandal begins when the police put a stop to it.
    Karl Kraus (1874–1936)