Sometimes, a singular noun represents a group of people or a collection of things. Is family singular or plural? Is government plural or singular? How about crowd or flock? These types of nouns are known as collective nouns.
In American English, collective nouns typically take a singular verb. For example:
My family loves me a lot.
The American government is voting on this issue today.

There are two important exceptions that you’re likely to encounter in casual conversation: police and people.
Police and people always take a plural verb.
The Boston Police make weekly reports on the matter.
People are starting to wonder what’s going on.