A dream about a police officer/the police

The confrontation with the police is never pleasant – even if we are only witnesses to something. The police are dealing with legal matters, and regardless of whether we are suspected of committing a crime or just the victims, we would prefer to avoid them.

The police in our dreams may appear in various contexts. Sometimes we are escaping from the police pursuit, because we are aware of the crime we committed, sometimes we are stopped at a highway because of speeding, sometimes we are interviewed by the police and we have to explain ourselves where we were, what we were doing, etc, sometimes they save us. We can also be attacked by a police officer, or be a policeman ourselves.

How to interpret a dream about a police officer/the police?

Dreams about the police usually appear at puberty, when teenagers have a lot of bans and forbiddings from their parents, teachers, supervisors, etc, and they react with a protest.

Police officers are the representatives of the authority, and they appear in our dreams in this context as well. They may symbolize our fathers, but also the internal censorship we put on ourselves. So maybe the dream about the police is a sign that we should rethink our psychic relation to authority – regardless of whether it is external or internal – and think what we could do with this situation. If we got caught in the dream, it means that we are feeling guilty of doing something, or some emotions.

We should also think whether the characters of police officers in our dream are familiar to us – whether we know them or associate with some situations from our life, problems or conceptions? It is also important how we behave towards them – if we are apologetic and willing to cooperate, we probably respect the authority which they represent. And the opposite – if we are defying to be arrested, our protest means that we are trying to get control over our real life. Maybe there is somebody who is trying to impose his conditions to us? Maybe some situation is forcing our particular behavior, which we do not like?

How would Freud interpret a dream about a police officer/the police?

According to Freud, committing a crime in a dream is the expression of our hidden desires and wishes. Analyzing the case of his friend, who was dreaming about the police who arrived to his house, because he had killed his children, the psychiatrist realized that the dream was the expression of worry about unwanted pregnancy of the married woman, whom he had an affair with.

How would Jung interpret a dream about a police officer/the police?

In Jung’s opinion, dreams about committing a crime express the dark side of our personality, are the expression of the Shade, which is the source of our creativeness. Without accepting it, the correct psychical and spiritual development is not possible, that is why we should not be afraid to explore it.

In a woman’s dream, a police officer may be the symbol of Animus – the masculine lively element, which is often assigned the abilities of logical thinking and judging.