NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Barry Friedman, the director of New York University's Policing Project, about the role of the police in modern society. What are police really for in this country?

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To police is to maintain law and order, but the word derives from polis—the Greek for “city,” or “polity”—by way of politia, the Latin for “citizenship,” and it entered English from the Middle French ...

Police officers routinely deal with people behaving at their worst. Frequent encounters with verbally abusive and sometimes physically combative citizens also come with the badge. Despite these ...

Police scanner apps allow you to listen to radio feeds, whether you're a hobbyist interested in police communications or want to learn about local police and crime in your neighborhood. Zeroing in on ...

In police departments around the country, officers are often sent out to start their shift with an admonition from their supervisor – something to the effect of, “Come back safe.” There’s no disputing ...