overpolicing

8.1

A situation where police enforce rules too much and harm a community

noun
/ˌoʊvərˈpiːlɪsɪŋ/

Literature

: sobrerregulación

The report highlighted the negative effects of overpolicing in low-income neighborhoods.

Examples

Residents have complained about overpolicing in their neighborhood.
Community leaders argued that overpolicing led to mistrust between residents and law enforcement.
Many activists are working to address the issue of overpolicing in schools and public spaces.
The community is suffering from overpolicing.
Many community leaders are speaking out against the overpolicing that contributes to fear and mistrust between residents and law enforcement.
The documentary highlighted the negative impacts of overpolicing on neighborhoods, where residents felt constantly surveilled and targeted.
Advocates argue that overpolicing leads to a breakdown in community relations and hampers cooperation with the police.

Synonyms

overcontrol

vsoverpolicing

7.1

Too much control that stops people from doing things on their own

is specific to law enforcement and negatively affects communities rather than general management

How Strict

repression

45 7.2

overpolicing

Literature

8.1

crackdown

Literature

73 5.6

police

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

overpolicing singular

overpolicings plural

Morphology

overpolicing = policing (transparent) = over + police + ing

The base 'policing' (police + -ing) denotes the activity of enforcing laws, and adding 'over-' yields the expected meaning 'excessive policing'.

Etymology

Overpolicing begins with over- ('too much') and the part policing from police, a word that originally meant 'city' and 'public order', so overpolicing is a handy way to remember 'too much' action by police or rule enforcers, which can hurt a community.