Don't declare weapon to police (5)
I believe the answer is:
baton
'police' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't understand how they can define each other.
'don't declare weapon to' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'to' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ban' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for baton that I've seen before include "one watched by players" , "It's used by a conductor and a policeman" , "Club, stick" , "Conductor's rod" , "Relay runner's stick" .)