The Population Police are a specialized arm of the government police force that is tasked with upholding the Population Law. This entails finding shadow children, punishing the children’s parents, and dealing with the children. (Though the novel doesn’t specify what this entails, it’s implied that the children are likely killed.)
Population Police Quotes in Among the Hidden
The Among the Hidden quotes below are all either spoken by Population Police or refer to Population Police. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 27
Quotes
“They shot her,” Jen’s father said. “They shot all of them. All forty kids at the rally, gunned down right in front of the president’s house. The blood flowed into his rosebushes. But they had the sidewalks scrubbed before the tourists came, so nobody would know.”
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Chapter 28
Quotes
“I only work at Population Police headquarters. I don’t agree with what they do. I try to sabotage them as much as I can. Jen never understood, either—sometimes you have to work from inside enemy lines.”
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Population Police Term Timeline in Among the Hidden
The timeline below shows where the term Population Police appears in Among the Hidden. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
Mark knocks at the door and shouts, “ Population Police !” Luke snaps that that isn’t funny, but Mark bounds up the stairs to Luke’s...
(full context)
Chapter 14
...asks who Luke is and why the security guards can’t get him, Luke says, “ Population Police .” The girl lets Luke go.
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Chapter 15
...forever and never complain. Maybe this girl is just trying to distract him until the Population Police arrive. Seeing how anxious he is, the girl suggests they start over. Luke introduces himself,...
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Chapter 17
...forged shopping pass that says she’s her mom’s niece. She could still die if the Population Police found her, but her mom clearly thinks shopping is more important than Jen’s life. Luke...
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...check one of Luke’s prints against the national database. Luke wants to ask if the Population Police can find him now, but he barely understands what Jen is even describing.
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Chapter 18
...but his can’t. In response, Jen says her parents can’t totally protect her from the Population Police . That’s why they have to hold the rally, so that everyone can live their...
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Chapter 22
...the president’s house. Leading Luke to the couch, Jen explains that she hacked into the Population Police database and switched some officers’ schedules around; there will be more officers off that day...
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...up late at night, Luke asks what happens at the rally if someone calls the Population Police . Again, Jen isn’t worried; she insists the Population Police won’t harm a crowd of...
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Chapter 27
...has bad news: by logging into the chat room, Luke set off alarms at the Population Police headquarters. He’s managed to cover up that he’s Jen’s dad, but they will know the...
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Chapter 28
...gently puts it on the desk. Then, Jen’s dad says he doesn’t agree with the Population Police , so he works there to sabotage them from within. He explains some things that...
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...died. Just as Jen’s dad offers to get Luke a fake ID by tomorrow, the Population Police knock at the door.
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Chapter 29
...the closet, listening to Jen’s dad mutter for the computer to turn on and the Population Police break the door down. Jen’s dad confronts the police in the hallway and makes it...
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...and covers Luke’s mouth. He holds a paper up on which he’s written that the Population Police are gone and Luke is safe, but Luke can’t talk. When Luke nods, Jen’s dad...
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Jen’s dad writes that he bribed the Population Police with fur coats in the closet. Luke is aghast; why would anyone want a coat...
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...ID. When Luke asks if he’s safe without one, Jen’s dad says he probably is—the Population Police are after him, not Luke. But it’s still safer to get an ID. Luke asks...
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