"The police" is a singular handle given to a group.(the policeっというと単数形で) If you just say"police" it's plural.(policeは複数形です) The same thing with government and " the government" (、governmentと the governmentは同じようなことです). Government can refer to the idea of government in general,(governmentは一般的に政府とのアイディアのことでもあるし複数形でもある) where saying "the government" refers to a specific entity. (The governmentを言うと一つの組織やグループのことですので単数形です)