to sound an alarm; to report sth to the police
报 (bào) · 7 strokes
Simplified form of 報. Depicts a person being subdued (𠬝) by shackles (㚔). Based on the original meaning "punish". The meaning later shifted to "revenge", "recompense", "report", and "announce".
警 (jǐng) · 19 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 言 represents the meaning and 敬 represents the sound.