secret police

American  

noun

1. a police force that functions as the enforcement arm of a government's political policies and whose activities, which often include surveillance, intimidation, and physical violence as a means of suppressing dissent, are usually concealed from the public.

---

secret police British  

noun

1. a police force that operates relatively secretly to check subversion or political dissent

---

Etymology

Origin of secret police

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

secret police

And critics claimed the company’s “Service Department,” designed to see that workers remained “sober and industrious,” was nothing more than a secret police force.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

From 2014 to 2018, Mr. González López headed the secret police.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026

Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, refuted descriptions of ICE as a secret police force.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2025

That doesn’t cover everyone, but it’s a pretty broad blow to the secret police: It means uniformed, on-duty agents are legally obligated to have identification at all times.

From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2025

RANKIN: That is the Russian Communist secret police?

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau