Originally Posted by Heli-phile
thought the police were civilian any way
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Quite illuminating to read your post.
Do the police not see themselves as civilians, if not civilians then what??
No. Although it's just a play on words really. They are not considered "Civilians", they are "Crown Servants" (or Public Servants if you like). They are "Citizens" though.
From the Oxford English Dictionary -
civilian
• noun - a person not in the armed services or the police force.
• adjective - relating to a civilian.
— ORIGIN Old French civilien, in the phrase droit civilien ‘civil law’