# police (authority)

people of government that follow law

- Computed level: L11 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: social  ·  Arena: everyday

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [government](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-government.administrative), [law](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-law.rule)

**Through:** government orders people and law orders the rule they follow

**Novel properties:**
- collective authority
- coordinated enforcement
- public legitimacy

## Examples
- The New York City Police Department patrolled streets daily in 2023 under city charter and state law. *(institutions)*
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police enforced speed limits on Highway 401 in Ontario using radar in 2022. *(law)*
- Tokyo Metropolitan Police monitored subway stations during rush hour in 2021 under Japan's Police Act. *(urban)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-police.authority*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-police.authority.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*