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1991-07-03
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A P O L I C E - D E F I N I N G S Y S T E M
=============================================
One of the more essential services in any urban area is police protection.
In a CyberFuture type campaign, there are several different ways of looking at
the Boys (and Girls) in Blue. Here are a few notes that I assembled on the
subject that may help you add a little variety to your law enforcement, and
keep the players on their toes.
This system defines police forces on several different dimensions. By
combining different traits, you can quickly generate a body of information
as to how the law enforcement operates in a given area.
PUBLIC TRUST: To what degree does the general public trust the police?
This is influenced by several things, but they can all be summed up here.
1- The public trusts the police very little, and people do their best to
stay out of the law's way.
4- Public trust is present, but not overwhelming. The police have to be
somewhat careful to keep their reputations.
7- The police are trusted to a great degree, and the citizens rarely
question what the police say about a matter. Those that do raise
questions are looked upon as malcontents and anti-law and order.
DISCRETION/CONTROL: How free are the police to act without outside, that
is to say, government interference? How closely are the actions of the police
officers monitored?
1- The police are watched VERY closely. Officers spend a lot of their time
logging and justifying their actions, and they may be called on the
carpet at any time.
4- The police are watched, but have a fair degree of freedom, as long as
they don't go too far. Records are kept, in case of accusations of
misconduct.
7- The police do as they please, and don't answer to anyone regularly. If
something goes wrong, the police are trusted to be able to fix the
problem without needing outside help.
OPENNESS: How openly do the police act? How often do they make their
presence known?
1- The police resemble a covert strike force more than a law enforcement
organisation. You know you're at a whorehouse bust when half the
"patrons", half the "prostitutes", the "Madam", and the piano player
all pull guns and yell "Freeze! Up against the wall!" "Sting" type cops
are commonplace.
4- The police use a more or less balanced mixture of open and undercover
ops in their daily work.
7- Undercover? What's that? You can tell a cop at 5000 paces, and the top
secret spy-guy stuff is left to others.
SUPPORT/FUNDING: How well provided for is the police force?
1- The police have to fight for every dime they get. Wages are low, but
the officers still have to buy much of their own equipment. Department
property is in poor repair, and is often surplus, or otherwise cut-rate
material. The department may relay on donations, or auctions of things
confiscated from criminals, to get by.
4- The force is well funded, but not overly so. Most equipment is paid for
by the department, and department items are fixed regularly, although
any major losses take a while to replace. Fund raising activities are
known, but not frequent.
7- The department is rolling in money. Almost everything an officer could
want is provided, and department equipment is top of the line, state of
the art, and well kept up.
ATTITUDE: These variables are not as linear as the rest, and so they need
special treatment.
A) To the Public:
- The public are like sheep, to be herded and protected from crime.
- Everyone who is not a cop is a potential lawbreaker.
- Some people are good, others are crooks, so what?
- The public is a cop's best friend.
B) To Criminals:
- Crooks are scum, who have given up all ties to society.
- Criminals are wayward persons who have to be put away for their own
good.
- Criminals are normal folks gone bad.
etc. ,etc.
RESPONSE TIME: Under normal circumstances, how long does it take to police
to respond to a call?
1- If they get there before tomorrow, they're doing good.
4- The police respond within a few minutes of the call, as long as they
have the proper location.
7- The police are almost lightning fast, to point of being on the scene
almost immediately. "Whatta you guys do, beam down?"
CORRUPTION: How likely are the police to be on the take, either a group,
or individually?
1- The cops belong to the highest bidder, and are open about it, if that
is possible.
4- You can bribe some of them, but the great majority are honest.
7- Bribery and graft are unknown.
LEVEL OF FORCE: To what lengths will the force go to get their person?
1- Only non-lethal weaponry is used.
4- The police will kill ONLY if "necessary", but can be rough sometimes.
7- "Shoot first, ask next of kin later."
MORALE: How do they feel about the job?
1- Thoroughly discouraged and demoralised, lots of grumbling, and "Blue
Flu" going around.
4- No better or worse than any other job.
7- The officers love their jobs, and take immense pride in being police.
ORGANISATION: All departments are run basically along paramilitary lines.
How organised is the department?
1- Organisation? What's that? So poorly organised, that nothing ever gets
done if you go through "proper channels." Chain of command is almost
non-existent.
4- Fairly well organised, but things do get lost in the shuffle now and
again. Chain of command works, but it is sometimes faster to go around
it.
7- So organised, you wouldn't believe it. Things run smoothly and quickly,
and the chain of command is ultra efficient.
EFFICIENCY: How well does the police department solve crimes?
1- The police are notably poor at finding the criminal unless they catch
them in the act.
4- With a reasonable amount of evidence, the force is pretty certain to
nab the right person, but mistakes and unsolved crimes are not that
uncommon.
7- The police resemble bloodhounds in human form. Give them anything to go
on, and they're likely to nab the criminal in short order, and they are
not often wrong.
CO-OPERATION: Police department always have a high degree of co-operation
with most other police departments. How do they co-operate with other law-
enforcement agencies?
1- The force minds its own business, and expects other agencies to do the
same. Offers of aid are seen as insults.
4- There is a reasonable level of co-operation, although you will sometime
find dislike for specific agencies or types of agencies.
7- Will offer and accept aid from anyone seen to be working for the law.
TOLERANCE: How well does the department put up with vigilantes?
1- Vigilantes are not looked upon well, and may be treated almost worse
than criminals.
4- Vigilantes are tolerated, unless they get too out of hand, or break
too many laws.
7- The help of vigilantes is welcomed as much as is legally possible, but
they will occasionally be nabbed if vigilantism is illegal.
EXCLUSIVENESS: Police protection is not always even. To what degree do the
police confine their activities to certain areas of town? This does not include
keeping out of sub-jurisdictions to conserve manpower.
1- The police will go anywhere, and keep coverage as even as possible.
4- The police give more attention to some places as opposed to others, but
have a presence everywhere in their jurisdiction.
7- The police only patrol certain areas of the jurisdiction. The other
areas are lucky to have even a token police presence.
NON-SWORN PERSONNEL: How many of the people that work for the department
are not actual police officers?
1- Next to none. Even the secretarial pool has been through the Police
academy.
4- Most functions of the department not directly related to law
enforcement are carried out by civilians.
7- A good number of non-sworn personnel are used to carry out even some
of the more law enforcement related functions, but do not have full
police powers.
UNIT SIZE: About how many officers will one find at one time in a non-
emergency setting out on the streets?
1- Officers almost always travel alone, and even pairs are infrequent.
4- Officers are most likely to be found in groups of 3 or 4, but this is
highly variable.
7- The police travel in large groups, of up to possibly a dozen officers,
even for routine work.
ORIENTATION: What does the force look like as a combat unit?
1- The police get into group combats infrequently, and are not really
prepared for that type of action.
4- The police have trained in military style combat, but using them in
this fashion regularly is not recommended, as they are not likely to
do well against a prepared enemy.
7- "What is this, the police or the Marines?" The police are combat
trained and ready, and are an efficient urban combat force, complete
with NPC's, support gunships, and other such material.
SPECIALISATION: There are many different functions in a police department.
To what degree are these functions separated in terms of personnel?
1- Almost no specialisation. All officers have at least a basic grasp of
all department functions.
4- There is some specialisation (S.W.A.T. teams, etc.) but each sub-group
is quite broad and unspecialised within itself.
7- Things are specialised almost to the point of appearing to be different
departments. Cross-training is limited and rare, and the sub-groups
within the department have a high degree of internal sub-specialisation
and possibly differing chains of command.
All of the above variables are rated on a 1 to 7 scale except for attitude
which has no numerical value.