Cryptic crossword clue
Critical intervention, the police initially stopping criminal activity 10

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word NITPICKING

I've seen this crossword clue in The Sunday Telegraph
N
I
T
P
I
C
K
I
N
G

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Critical" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case critical = nitpicking.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does NITPICKING mean?

NITPICKING noun
  1. The painstaking process of removing nits (lice eggs) from someone's hair.
  2. (by extension) A process of finding or pointing out tiny details or errors, particularly if the pointed-out details seem insignificant or irrelevant to all but the finder.

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