police actions
Official force deployments
Police actions are military operations conducted without a formal declaration of war, typically framed as enforcement of international order rather than warfare.
The term gained currency during the Korean War, which the United States officially called a police action rather than a war.
The phrase can sound like a euphemism, downplaying the scale or severity of armed conflict.
Separately, police actions may refer simply to activities carried out by law enforcement: The mayor defended recent police actions during the protests.
Sudden armed incursion
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- offensiveCausing displeasure or attack-oriented
- incursionHostile territorial penetration
- patrolRegular surveillance route
checkpoint · cordon · sweep · occupation · counterinsurgency · peacekeeping · intervention · special forces
Violent public disturbance
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- curfewMandated return time
- teargasChemical causing forced weeping
crowd control · dispersal · kettling · baton charge · water cannon · rubber bullets · mass arrest · civil disobedience
raid
Sudden armed incursion
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
- offensiveCausing displeasure or attack-oriented
- incursionHostile territorial penetration
patrol · checkpoint · cordon · sweep · occupation · counterinsurgency · peacekeeping · intervention · special forces · ambush
riot
Violent public disturbance
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- demonstrationPublic display of opinion
- curfewMandated return time
teargas · crowd control · dispersal · kettling · baton charge · water cannon · rubber bullets · mass arrest · civil disobedience · crackdown
police actionsvigilante justice
Unauthorized punishment by civilians
vigilantism · mob justice · lynch mob · lynch mobs · taking the law into one's own hands
police actionscriminal acts
Law-breaking behavior
lawbreaking · evading arrest · civil disobedience · criminal enterprise
police actionsstanding by
Ready to act
non-intervention · inaction · looking the other way · turning a blind eye · standing down
police, action, actions, policed, polices, policing, policeman, policemen, policewoman