The difference between 警察 and 警方? I read the following sentence:


  本月，一对中国姐妹在日本横滨遇害的事件引发了各界关注。据中国驻日本大使馆消息，案件发生后，日本警方以涉嫌非法拘禁罪逮捕一名30多岁的日本男子，7月21日下午，警方以涉嫌遗弃遗体罪再次逮捕该犯罪嫌疑人。目前警方已将最新进展通知遇害者亲属。


At first I didn’t know the word 警方 so I didn’t understand the meaning. Later I found it is police but then what is the difference from 警察? Can I just replace 警方 with 警察 and the sentence still conveys the same meaning?
方 has the meaning of 'side'

警察 can be the collective noun for the entire police force or a singular noun for one policeman.

警方 means '警察方面' (the police side). It can only be a collective noun.

More example:

中國 (China) - 中方 (the Chinese side/ The Chinese government)

日本 (Japan) - 日方 (The Japanese side/ The Japanese government)

中日雙方同意 (Both China's and Japan's government agree)


  In "警方以涉嫌遗弃遗体罪再次逮捕该犯罪嫌疑人。"  '警方' refers to 'the police (department)'