Food for dad and the coppers (3)
I believe the answer is:
pap
'food' is the definition.
(pap is a kind of food)
'dad and the coppers' is the wordplay.
'dad' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean someone's father).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'the coppers' becomes 'p'.
'pa'+'p'='PAP'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for pap that I've seen before include "Bland soft food" , "mindless entertainment" , "Type of diet that doesn't require chewing" , "Dog with a camera" , "Mushy food for children or invalids" .)