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--- shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_city_gov [2015/09/02 23:55] – [Law Enforcement] Petike
+++ shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_city_gov [2020/02/09 21:38] (current) – [Source] timothyc
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 **Lord Mayor** - Elected civilian co-ruler of the city state, head of the municipal government (and its law enforcement). Colloquially "the Mayor". The current Lord Mayor of Melza is Latnan Oktimk, a bigfolk male.
-**Lord Baron** - Reigning, hereditary co-ruler of the city state, head of the Barony (the local monarchy/dynasty). Colloquially "the Baron". The current Lord Baron of Melza is Dortan Terlo (Dortan IV.) of House Terlo, a bigfolk male.
+**Lord Baron** - Reigning, hereditary co-ruler of the city state, head of the Barony (the local monarchy/dynasty). Colloquially "the Baron". The current Lord Baron of Melza is Dortan Terlo (Dortan IV.) of House Terlo, a bigfolk male. (For a list of past rulers, click [[thick_as_thieves_city_culture?&#past_rulers_of_the_barony|here]].)
 **Lord Commander** - Elected commander-in-chief of the city state's armed forces. The current Lord Commander of Melza is Unis Harelah, a rarach smallfolk male.
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 ==== Judicial Power ====
-TBA.
+Melza has a series of hierarchical civil courts. The main judicial institutions and most of the courts are centered in Melza itself or in the two smaller townships belonging to the Barony. Not all of the seven villages in the Barony have their own courts, but each gets a government-appointed judicial advisor that works as an employee for a village's mayor.
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 Melza's law enforcement has decent inventories of equipment, but lacks heavy weaponry or aircraft and only owns a few small auxilliary boats in addition to ground vehicles. Much of the police's equipment includes special tools and less-lethal incapacitating weaponry.
-Both the City Watch and the Frontiersman Corps have their headquarters in the Watch Wing of The Houses of Rule.
+Both the City Watch and the Frontiersmen Corps have their headquarters in the Watch Wing of The Houses of Rule.
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 //**Municipal Patrol and Security Bureau**// - This is the most populous and easily recognisable service branch of the Melzan police force. Ah, the good old patrolmen and patrolwomen of the Watch ! The true foot soldiers of The City's police. Whether you like it or not, as a thief, these men and women serving on the force will be the policemen and guards you'll be encountering most frequently (outside of private security guards). The equipment and uniforms of the Patrolmen, while unified, can have slight variations depending on their rank and the location they're serving in. Arms-wise, they tend to wear no armour or only lighter armour (e.g. leather armour, etc.) and generally wield one-handed swords, clubs, short bows, certain types of crossbows and pistols. Some of them occassionally carry a stun bomb, so it's not wise to rely too much on the notion that you can always outfool them and their weaponry while making your escape. Patrolmen can be dangerous and deadly to you due to their sheer numbers, and the fact that they often cooperate with colleagues from other Watch branches or with random citizens-bystanders that call on them for help. In short, don't underestimate the bobbies...
-//**Burglary and Theft Investigation Bureau**// - One of the two bigger "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. This is the bureau most dreaded by the professional thieves of Melza, for obvious reasons. When you're a thief, it doesn't pay off to leave much evidence behind, as this particular bureau of the The Watch has been becoming increasingly professional and scientific in its examination methods as of late. The "B&T", as people on the Watch like to call it, is staffed by civilian-clad detectives, crime scene investigators, experts on assessing the burglary methods used, and experts on assessing property damages. The bureau has its own minority of armed officers to accompany the detectives, and they can be every bit as risky to run into as the regular Patrolmen. Armaments of these individual armed officers are highly similar to those of their aforementioned colleagues. Due to the nature of homicide investigation, even the detectives tend to carry small personal defence weaponry from time to time.
+//**Burglary and Theft Investigation Bureau**// - One of the two bigger "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. This is the bureau most dreaded by the professional thieves of Melza, for obvious reasons. When you're a thief, it doesn't pay off to leave much evidence behind, as this particular bureau of the The Watch has been becoming increasingly professional and scientific in its examination methods as of late. The "B&T", as people on the Watch like to call it, is staffed by civilian-clad detectives, crime scene investigators, experts on assessing the burglary methods used, and experts on assessing property damages. The bureau has its own minority of armed officers to accompany the detectives, and they can be every bit as risky to run into as the regular Patrolmen. Armaments of these individual armed officers are highly similar to those of their aforementioned colleagues. Due to the nature of burglary investigation, even the detectives tend to carry small personal defence weaponry from time to time.
 //**Homicide Investigation Bureau**// - One of the two bigger "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. It's staffed by the aforementioned civilian-clad detectives, coroners, murder scene investigators, medical examiners, and several groups of lab rats focusing on particular areas of (primitive) forensic research. The bureau has its own minority of armed officers to accompany the detectives, and they can be every bit as risky to run into as the regular Patrolmen. Armaments of these individual armed officers are highly similar to those of their aforementioned colleagues. Due to the nature of homicide investigation, even the detectives tend to carry small personal defence weaponry from time to time. In recent years, the bureau has started using increasingly modern methods of murder investigation, including looking for a suspect's finger prints on the victim or the potential murder weapon. This has certainly not made the life of the criminals and serial killers in Melza any easier - getting a matching finger print is enough to condemn them to jail. Unless you've decided to become a killer and you were foolish enough to leave plenty of traces behind, you needn't worry too much about the homicide investigators. Unless you provoke the armed officers or even detectives to chase you or get into a scrap with you, you should be fine.
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 //**Commerce Inspection and Smuggling Prevention Bureau**// - One of the three smaller "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. The "CISP" is the bureau that specialises in dealing with economic criminality, from anything smuggling-related to "white collar" crime. (Not that they're all that successful combating the latter in particular, with corruption and cronyism being what it is.) Outside of investigating, the employees also engage in customs work, though in an amount that is secondary to the customs policemen working for Melza's gendarmerie, the Frontiersmen Corps. Due to the frequent overlap of cases between the CISP bureau and the customs employees of the gendarmerie, of the seven City Watch branches, the CISP bureau cooperates the most with said other law enforcement service. Thieves dabbling in smuggling, fencing loot, the running of front companies, etc., should be on the lookout from the CISP investigators and the watchmen assigned to accompany them. Along with the burglary bureau, this is possibly the branch one can anger the easiest if he or she is not careful.
-//**Transport and Traffic Bureau**// - One of the three smaller, mostly "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. Its employees oversee the transport safety and abiding of transport regulations within the state and The City in particular. In one of the few examples of The Watch having jurisdiction outside of Melza, instead of The Frontiersman Corps, there is Railway Policing Department within the bureau. All trains within the Barony's borders, whether the national train franchise or privately operated companies, are staffed by uniformed coppers of the department, acting as railway policemen. Reflecting some interservice rivalry, the "T&T Bureau" is often mocked by the other branches of The Watch for supposedly being "the place with the easy jobs". Naturally, Traffic Watchmen get annoyed by the old cliché and will spare no time in trying to set the record straight in front of civilian strangers. The branch of The Watch that the "T&T"-s cooperate the most with (and generally get along the best with) is the CISP Bureau. Though some of the old jokes about "T&T-s having it easy" still abound, there is a sense of camaraderie between their employees. Armaments of individual T&T watchmen are highly similar to those of the average Patrolmen.
+//**Transport and Traffic Bureau**// - One of the three smaller, mostly "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. Its employees oversee the transport safety and abiding of transport regulations within the state and The City in particular. In one of the few examples of The Watch having jurisdiction outside of Melza, instead of The Frontiersmen Corps, there is Railway Policing Department within the bureau. All trains within the Barony's borders, whether the national train franchise or privately operated companies, are staffed by uniformed coppers of the department, acting as railway policemen. Reflecting some interservice rivalry, the "T&T Bureau" is often mocked by the other branches of The Watch for supposedly being "the place with the easy jobs". Naturally, Traffic Watchmen get annoyed by the old cliché and will spare no time in trying to set the record straight in front of civilian strangers. The branch of The Watch that the "T&T"-s cooperate the most with (and generally get along the best with) is the CISP Bureau. Though some of the old jokes about "T&T-s having it easy" still abound, there is a sense of camaraderie between their employees. Armaments of individual T&T watchmen are highly similar to those of the average Patrolmen.
 //**Ethnic and Species Relations Bureau**// - One of the three smaller "plainclothes" branches of the Watch. It is the youngest, newest branch of Melzan police. After a decades and centuries long history of recurring rioting and squabbles among specific groups of a species, racial, ethnic or religious nature (especially in some notorious or troubled parts of Melza), City Hall decided it's high time to form a specially trained branch of The Watch for the sake of mitigating and preventing such occurences. The "ESR Bureau" and its "Essers" were born. Of all the policemen serving in The Watch, the Essers are arguably the most plainclothes of all, given their role as negotiators and semi-psychologists. They are deeply knowledgeable about local issues and how to diffuse them (usually peacefully, if possible). You can count on them to "know the lay of the land" in terms of social and cultural contexts.
-//**The Flying Squad**// - Part of "The Watch Specials" branch of the City Watch, where they form their own department. They're a form of up-gunned policemen, created to deal with crime scenarios requiring rapid crisis response. "The Squaddies" were originally organised as a slightly better armed group of plainclothes detectives, sent out to investigate higher risk warrant services or conduct police raids. Over a number of years, it became increasingly obvious to the municipal government and the leadership of the City Watch that the average death toll of a Flying Squad employee is ridiculously high. Thus, it was decided that the department's employees will be greatly re-equipped and retrained, in order to better handle armed scuffles with particularly dangerous criminals. Unlike their Patrolmen counterparts, the Squaddies are quite armour-clad (usually in medium armour) and truly "bring out the big guns". They are the most heavily armed policemen in the Watch, toting civilian versions of military-grade firearms, bladed weapons and polearms. They also carry stun bombs and stun mines as standard issue. From a thief's perspective, though there is generally little reason to worry about them being called in, it is nevertheless a possible outcome - especially if you blow a heist attempt in a high-security public institution. Beware, Squaddies have a tendency of following a "shoot to kill" policy. Flying Squad members occassionally include dog handlers, adding to a pilferer's plight if he underestimates the situation.
+//**The Watch Specials**// - Not a bureau of the Watch in the classic sense, but they are run quite similarly. In terms of duties, they are the most varied of all eight of the Watch’s services. These policemen and detectives are called upon whenever there is a need for more out-of-the-ordinary missions and procedures. Anything from resolving riots and kidnappings, sniffing out criminals on the run, or even thwarting the abuse of the latest technologies for criminal purposes. The departments (or more precisely, units) of the The Watch Specials are:
-//**Unrest Quellers**// - Popular name for what amounts to the City Watch's riot police squads. Part of "The Watch Specials" branch, where they form their own department. Melzan society tends to be generally quiet all year round, but from time to time, a good old bit of riot or public unrest erupts. The City Watch usually responds in kind. As one would expect, the gear of the average Queller consists of fairly heavy protective armour (the heaviest in the Watch, in fact), riot shields and various melee weaponry (clubs, batons and even maces being the most common, polearms a close second). While the Quellers are no strangers to a ruthless baton charge if one is required and ordered, to their credit, they usually try to focus on merely breaking up a riot or pushing the least reasonable group of rioters aside of the rest of the crowds. Some of Melza's humanitarian-minded personalities have been campaigning as of late to have the old-fashioned batons of the Quellers replaced with ones made of rubber (a recently discovered technological marvel). However, the municipal government and Watch leadership have ignored the proposal for now. Unless you're the type of thief that likes partaking in street unrest or angry public protests, you don't need to worry about these particular policemen.
+//**a.) The Flying Squad**// - They're a form of up-gunned policemen, created to deal with crime scenarios requiring rapid crisis response. "The Squaddies" were originally organised as a slightly better armed group of plainclothes detectives, sent out to investigate higher risk warrant services or conduct police raids. Over a number of years, it became increasingly obvious to the municipal government and the leadership of the City Watch that the average death toll of a Flying Squad employee is ridiculously high. Thus, it was decided that the department's employees will be greatly re-equipped and retrained, in order to better handle armed scuffles with particularly dangerous criminals. Unlike their Patrolmen counterparts, the Squaddies are quite armour-clad (usually in medium armour) and truly "bring out the big guns". They are the most heavily armed policemen in the Watch, toting civilian versions of military-grade firearms, bladed weapons and polearms. They also carry stun bombs and stun mines as standard issue. From a thief's perspective, though there is generally little reason to worry about them being called in, it is nevertheless a possible outcome - especially if you blow a heist attempt in a high-security public institution. Beware, Squaddies have a tendency of following a "shoot to kill" policy. Flying Squad members occassionally include dog handlers, adding to a pilferer's plight if he underestimates the situation.
-//**Calc Crime Prevention and Policing Team**// - A novelty that has appeared in The Watch only in the last few years. With the rise of the earliest calc communication networks in Melza also came the rise of the earliest of calc criminals, or "clackers", as they are called. Though the government thought of this at first as a once in a blue moon threat that needed to be adressed on a case-by-case basis at most, they soon realised that illegal tampering in the new-fangled communication systems was becoming recurring and rampant. Reluctantly, the go-ahead was eventually given for the formation of a new department within "The Watch Specials". It's now crewed by the best counter-clackers available in Melza and run on a semi-experimental basis. As the longevity of the project grows, there is talk about eventually moving the department under the Transport and Traffic Bureau. Nevertheless, it might take City Hall some time until it comes to a definitive conclusion on this particular decision. Currently, the team has launched something of a public awareness campaign in places equipped with calcs and calc networking. The slogan goes "If you disrupt a line, you're comitting a crime !"
+//**b.) Unrest Quellers**// - Popular name for what amounts to the City Watch's riot police squads. Part of "The Watch Specials" branch, where they form their own department. Melzan society tends to be generally quiet all year round, but from time to time, a good old bit of riot or public unrest erupts. The City Watch usually responds in kind. As one would expect, the gear of the average Queller consists of fairly heavy protective armour (the heaviest in the Watch, in fact), riot shields and various melee weaponry (clubs, batons and even maces being the most common, polearms a close second). While the Quellers are no strangers to a ruthless baton charge if one is required and ordered, to their credit, they usually try to focus on merely breaking up a riot or pushing the least reasonable group of rioters aside of the rest of the crowds. Some of Melza's humanitarian-minded personalities have been campaigning as of late to have the old-fashioned batons of the Quellers replaced with ones made of rubber (a recently discovered technological marvel). However, the municipal government and Watch leadership have ignored the proposal for now. Unless you're the type of thief that likes partaking in street unrest or angry public protests, you don't need to worry about these particular policemen.
-//**Dog Handler Troop, Falconry Troop, etc.**// - Various animal-handling departments of "The Watch Specials". Simply put, policemen with sniffer dogs, guard dogs and trained pigeon-intercepting or gull-intercepting falcons. They have quite a bit of history in The Watch, surprisingly enough.
+//**c.) Dog Handler Troop and d.) Falconry Troop, etc.**// - Various animal-handling departments of "The Watch Specials". Simply put, policemen with sniffer dogs, guard dogs and trained pigeon-intercepting or gull-intercepting falcons. They have quite a bit of history in The Watch, surprisingly enough.
-__See also:__ [[shared_worlds/thick_as_thieves_npcs_city_guards#city watch|City Watch NPCs and Ranks]]
+//**e.) Calc Crime Prevention and Policing Team**// - A novelty that has appeared in The Watch only in the last few years. With the rise of the earliest calc communication networks in Melza also came the rise of the earliest of calc criminals, or "clackers", as they are called. Though the government thought of this at first as a once in a blue moon threat that needed to be adressed on a case-by-case basis at most, they soon realised that illegal tampering in the new-fangled communication systems was becoming recurring and rampant. Reluctantly, the go-ahead was eventually given for the formation of a new department within "The Watch Specials". It's now crewed by the best counter-clackers available in Melza and run on a semi-experimental basis. As the longevity of the project grows, there is talk about eventually moving the department under the Transport and Traffic Bureau. Nevertheless, it might take City Hall some time until it comes to a definitive conclusion on this particular decision. Currently, the team has launched something of a public awareness campaign in places equipped with calcs and calc networking. The slogan goes "If you disrupt a line, you're comitting a crime !"
+__See also:__ [[shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_npcs_city_guards#city watch|City Watch NPCs and Ranks]]
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 As a professional thief, the only time you really have to worry about the Frontiersmen is when you're visiting the countryside portion of the Barony. The gendarmes leave the law enforcement in Melza proper to the City Watch. You might see them occassionally in the city's streets and especially at the various stations and ports, but they'll rarely attend to criminal investigation or crisis situation management in The City itself.
-__See also:__ [[shared_worlds/thick_as_thieves_npcs_city_guards#frontiersmen_corps|Frontiersmen Corps NPCs and Ranks]]
+__See also:__ [[shared_worlds:thick_as_thieves_npcs_city_guards#frontiersmen_corps|Frontiersmen Corps NPCs and Ranks]]
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 **Rescue Service** - The rescue service is a fairly new organisation. It was spun off from the firemen and some of the municipal medical services only about a decade ago. As its name implies, it tries to offer salvaging and medical aid to people unlucky enough to sustain injuries in various accidents. The rescue service operates primarily in Melza and by extension the two nearby towns, but it occassionally ventures into deeper countryside as well. Though the financing and material base of the service have slowly increased over time, it is still largely a novelty, compared to the likes of established medical services (such as the city-run hospitals and the various private physician clinics). Don't expect the rescuers to get everywhere or to get there on time. Even after implementing swifter and more organised methods of transporting injured patients - such as civilian counterparts of the army's "flying ambulance" carriages - the rescue service still is not all that effective.\\
-**Disease Response Unit** - One of several newer, more recently founded medical bodies in service of Melza's municipal government. The unit consists of educated, trained and experienced "plague doctors", their assistents and other small-time auxilliary medical staff. Most of the unit's activities are conducted on the streets and are aimed at countering existing disease hotspots, and preventing the potential ones. Unsurprisingly, while at work, the employees of the unit wear protective clothing, including protective masks, in an effort to avoid catching a disease themselves. As recent as the unit's history is, its parent organisation and the tradition behind it go back several centuries... Originally, epidemics were handled simply by sending volunteers to collect and bury the dead. Gradually, the city's government started to employ more active measures against the spread of diseases. During a major epidemic in Melza some 80 years ago, the then government decided to found the Office for Disease Matters, the first official institution of its kind. Several decades later, the office's operations were already diversified enough to start employing their own full-time medical staff. The "dee-ar-yoo" (or "dear you", as the folk nickname goes) was born.\\
+**Disease Response Unit** - One of several newer, more recently founded medical bodies in service of Melza's municipal government. The unit consists of educated, trained and experienced "plague doctors", their assistents and other small-time auxilliary medical staff. Most of the unit's activities are conducted on the streets and are aimed at countering existing disease hotspots, and preventing the potential ones. Unsurprisingly, while at work, the employees of the unit wear protective clothing, including protective masks, in an effort to avoid catching a disease themselves. As recent as the unit's history is, its parent organisation and the tradition behind it go back several centuries... Originally, epidemics were handled simply by sending volunteers to collect and bury the dead. Gradually, the city's government started to employ more active measures against the spread of diseases. During a major epidemic in Melza some 80 years ago, the then government decided to found the Office for Disease Matters, the first official institution of its kind. Several decades later, the office's operations were already diversified enough to start employing their own full-time medical staff. Hence, the "dee-ar-yoo" (or "dear you", as the folk nickname goes) was born.\\
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 ==== Source ====
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=9621002#post9621002|On police, gendarmes and soldiers...]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-9621002|On police, gendarmes and soldiers...]]**
 (Last modified on September 6th, 2014, 02:01 AM.)