security police

American  

noun

1. a police force responsible for maintaining order at a specific locale or under specific circumstances, as at an airport or factory.

2. a police force concerned with detecting and preventing enemy espionage.

3. secret police.

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Etymology

Origin of security police

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Russia's Supreme Court in 2021 upheld a Yeltsin-era presidential decree that kept information about Soviet security police secret, preventing potential exposure of those responsible for executions.

From Barron's

Homeland Security police forces have been given a green light to roll through the streets of America’s cities and towns like a conquering army.

From Salon

Department of Homeland Security police officers had asked protesters to keep vehicle paths clear earlier in the morning, but their commands over a loudspeaker were often drowned out by protesters’ chants.

From Los Angeles Times

The inquiry also heard about a number of failings or near misses in the way security, police, paramedics and the media responded to the attack.

From BBC

“They rolled up once or twice and threatened to close us down, arrest us — the usual bully tactics of security police anywhere in the world,” Fugard said.

From Los Angeles Times