The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word DRAGNET
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
D
R
A
G
N
E
T
More clues leading to the result DRAGNET
- Move slowly north and in Rouen hunt for suspect
- Newspaper interrupting key web operation by police
- On return, keep catching fish — in this?
- Police search for suspect in flowering garden close to Parliament
- Deploying this initially, police range in it?
- Police search rock garden, then chicken shed
- Granted, at sea one may hit rock bottom
- Curse about engineer briefly coming up in police hunt
- Fisherman might have one freely granted
- Search for ‘cross-dressing’ on web
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Police search" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case police search = dragnet.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 DRAGNET mean?
DRAGNET noun- A net dragged across the bottom of a body of water.
- (law enforcement) Heightened efforts by law-enforcement personnel to capture suspects.
- To drag a net across the bottom of a body of water.
- (law enforcement) To make heightened efforts to catch a suspect.