The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 4 letter word KEYSTONE COPS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
K
E
Y
S
T
O
N
E
C
O
P
S
More clues leading to the result KEYSTONE COPS
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "The silent force" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the silent force = keystone cops.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.