They police gambling and prostitution crossword clue
10 Down · WSJ Crossword, September 24, 2026 · 10 letters
Explanation
The answer to “They police gambling and prostitution” is VICESQUADS. It appears as 10 Down in the Wall Street Journal crossword of September 24, 2026, a Thursday puzzle titled “Madame X” by Mike Shenk, and it fills 10 squares running top to bottom from row 1, column 13 of the 15×15 grid.
The clue is a straightforward definition, so the answer is a direct synonym or a factual match for the words as written. The entry begins with V and ends with S, and contains 4 vowels and 6 consonants. If you are working from the crossings, two or three confirmed letters from the Across entries should be enough to lock it in. Thursday puzzles lean harder on misdirection, so expect the rest of this grid to be pitched at the same level.
Past appearances
VICESQUADS has not appeared as an answer in any other WSJ puzzle in our index, which runs from May 2026 onward. It will be listed here the next time it turns up.