Crossword Genius

Find I have left policeman (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

detect

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'find' is the definition.
('detect' can be a synonym of 'find')

'i have left policeman' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'policeman' could be 'tec' (tec is a kind of policeman) and 'tec' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for detect that I've seen before include "Find out like Sherlock" , "Discover or catch like Sherlock" , "Discover, identify" , "Do what Morse did" , "Perceive - discover" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express and The Mirror.
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