Police

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Police are agents or agencies authorized to use force and other coercive measures in order to effect public order. The term is normally used to refer to agents of a specific polity employed to exercise the police power of that polity and to enforce its laws within a defined territorial jurisdication. Almost every nation has a police force or police forces which it uses to implement its own laws. In some nations, especially those with an autocratic form of government, police functions are performed in whole or in part by the military.

Police do not exist entirely to enforce criminal laws but also to provide services and to maintain order. This often includes tasks as simple as directing traffic, giving directions or finding the rightful owners of lost valuables. A police force might alternatively be referred to as a constabulary, a gendarmie, a law enforcement agency, a guard or one of any of a number of names. Members might be officers, constables, guards, troopers, rangers or any one of an equally wide range of terms.