Nutty artist following a policeman (5)
I believe the answer is:
copra
'nutty artist following a policeman' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'artist following a policeman' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'following' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a policeman' becomes 'cop' (slang term).
'ra' after 'cop' is 'COPRA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for copra that I've seen before include "Dried coconut kernels" , "What gives oil" , "Nutty product" , "Dried coconut kernel" , "bit of a nut" .)