 Do we use the with police from EspressoEnglish.net? A student asked me this question. Sometimes I see police, and sometimes I see the police. What's the difference? This is an interesting question. Use the police when referring to the institution or organization. For example, the store has been robbed. Call the police. My son wants to join the police when he grows up. In both of these examples, we're talking about the institution of police. Call the police, meaning the local police station. Or, my son wants to join the police when he grows up, meaning the organization of police officers. Now, the word police without the can be used to refer to an unspecified number of individual officers. For example, police searched the area for evidence. In this case, we have a number of police officers. We don't say how many, it's just a general group. An unspecified number. Police searched the area for evidence. Or, another example, he was killed in a shootout with police. Again, police is referring to an unspecified number of individual officers. But actually, in these sentences, it's also okay to use the. So you could say, the police searched the area for evidence. In this case, we understand that the police is referring to the local police force. He was killed in a shootout with the police. So here's the rule. When talking about the institution or the organization, always use the police. When talking about a group of officers, you can use police or the police. Both are okay. One final point. Never say a police to talk about an individual member of the police. Instead, say a policeman if it's a man or a police woman if it's a woman. You can also say a police officer. This is a very common term that can be used for a policeman or a police woman. If you'd like to get corrections on your English, you can do that inside my advanced English grammar course. The course contains 45 lessons that will help you master the details of the English language. And each lesson includes a writing task that you can send me for feedback. Click on the link in the video or in the description for more information.