# The English word 'Police' in common usage worldwide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270 "2008-12-22T03:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pailman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@pailman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pailman)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270/21 "2008-12-25T07:08:44Z")
I registered just to chime in on this subject. In Soviet Russia (… and present-day Russia), the police was called and continues to be called the militsiya (милиция) from the word militia. [Wikipedia article!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militsiya) However, the word for police still exists (полиция). The use is similar to the use of the terms astronaut and cosmonaut. They mean the same thing, but refer to authorities from a different part of the world. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270/22 "2008-12-25T12:18:46Z")
> [@](#): > > In Soviet Russia (… and present-day Russia), the police was called and continues to be called the militsiya (милиция) from the word militia. Wikipedia article! > > However, the word for police still exists (полиция). The use is similar to the use of the terms astronaut and cosmonaut. They mean the same thing, but refer to authorities from a different part of the world. I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that полиция is used in Russia to refer to police in other countries, but not those in Russia itself, or are the милиция and the полиция two distinct types of law enforcement agency within Russia, like the police and the gendarmes in France, or the city police and the sheriffs (and marshalls, and FBI, and…) in America? ---
**Author:** ![pailman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@pailman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pailman)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270/23 "2008-12-25T22:43:01Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am not sure I understand. Are you saying that полиция is used in Russia to refer to police in other countries, but not those in Russia itself, or are the милиция and the полиция two distinct types of law enforcement agency within Russia, like the police and the gendarmes in France, or the city police and the sheriffs (and marshalls, and FBI, and…) in America? The first point is correct: милиция exists within Russia, and полиция is referred to forces in other countries. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270/24 "2008-12-25T23:18:33Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I haven’t noticed this in any of the countries I’ve been to. I have, OTOH, noticed stop signs, using the English word STOP, in non-English speaking countries. The result was that “stop” was one of the few English words my students in Bulgaria were guaranteed to know. But the police cars just said “полиция” on them. I was shocked (SHOCKED!) to see “STOP” signs in France. France, of all places… > [@Sage Rat](#): > > ``` > Going through Google Japan Images it would appear that about 50% of Japanese police cars do say "Police" in English characters. > > ``` In Japan, it’s very common for official signs to be labeled in both Japanese and English. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-english-word-police-in-common-usage-worldwide/478270.md?page=1)