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Police vs. Cops — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Police and Cops

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Definitions

Police

The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and the use of force legitimized by the state via the monopoly on violence.

Cops

A police officer.

Police

A body of government employees trained in methods of law enforcement and crime prevention and detection and authorized to maintain the peace, safety, and order of the community.

Cops

One that regulates certain behaviors or actions
"Faced with the world recession of the early 1980s, ... the World Bank ... became a stern economic taskmaster and cop" (Richard J. Barnet).

Police

A body of persons with a similar organization and function
Campus police. Also called police force.
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Cops

A cone-shaped or cylindrical roll of yarn or thread wound on a spindle.

Police

(Archaic) Regulation and control of the affairs of a community, especially with respect to maintenance of order, law, health, morals, safety, and other matters affecting the public welfare.

Cops

Chiefly British A summit or crest, as of a hill.

Police

(Informal) A group that admonishes, cautions, or reminds
Grammar police.
Fashion police.

Cops

To get hold of; gain or win
A show that copped four awards.
Copped a ticket to the game.
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Police

The cleaning of a military base or other military area
Police of the barracks must be completed before inspection.

Cops

To perceive by one of the senses
"copped a quick look at the gentleman ... on the right" (Gail Sheehy).

Police

The soldiers assigned to a specified maintenance duty.

Cops

To take unlawfully or without permission; steal.

Police

To regulate, control, or keep in order with a law enforcement agency or other official group.

Cops

The connecting crook of a harrow.

Police

To impose one's viewpoint or beliefs regarding, especially in an authoritarian way
Policing others' comments by implementing speech codes.

Police

To critique in a presumptuous or arrogant manner
Policed the grammar of everyone who commented on the blog post.

Police

To make (a military area, for example) neat in appearance
Policed the barracks.

Police

A public agency charged with enforcing laws and maintaining public order, usually being granted special privileges to do so, particularly
Call the police!

Police

A department of local (usually municipal) government responsible for general law enforcement.
The Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction across most of Chicago but focuses on the unincorporated area and tasks like prisoner transport, leaving the rest to the Chicago Police Department.

Police

(UK) A branch of the Home Office responsible for general law enforcement within a specific territory.

Police

Any of the formally enacted law enforcement agencies at various levels of government.

Police

The staff of such a department or agency, particularly its officers; an individual police officer.

Police

People who try to enforce norms or standards as if granted authority similar to the police.
Who called the fashion police?

Police

Cleanup of a military facility, as a formal duty.

Police

Synonym of administration, the regulation of a community or society.

Police

(obsolete) policy.

Police

(obsolete) polity, civilization, a regulated community.

Police

(transitive) To enforce the law and keep order among (a group).
Extra security was hired to police the crowd at the big game.

Police

To clean up an area.

Police

To enforce norms or standards upon.
To police a person's identity

Police

A judicial and executive system, for the government of a city, town, or district, for the preservation of rights, order, cleanliness, health, etc., and for the enforcement of the laws and prevention of crime; the administration of the laws and regulations of a city, incorporated town, or borough.

Police

That which concerns the order of the community; the internal regulation of a state.

Police

The organized body of civil officers in a city, town, or district, whose particular duties are the preservation of good order, the prevention and detection of crime, and the enforcement of the laws.

Police

Military police, the body of soldiers detailed to preserve civil order and attend to sanitary arrangements in a camp or garrison.

Police

The cleaning of a camp or garrison, or the state a camp as to cleanliness.

Police

To keep in order by police.

Police

To make clean; as, to police a camp.

Police

The force of policemen and officers;
The law came looking for him

Police

Maintain the security of by carrying out a control

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