Police

Police in Pecháno

Pecháno has urban police forces, Sákbe Road guards, and tomb police. The police forces of larger towns and cities are considered to be part of the regular standing army: troopers who are organised, trained and armed like medium infantry. In the villages the constabulary consists only of a village headman plus a posse of bucolic deputies drafted into temporary service. His powers include keeping the peace, arresting malefactors, solving minor disputes (usually with the help of the clan elders), investigating local crimes, etc. He can only punish petty offences with a few days imprisonment in a storeroom, root cellar, or, if he is in a bad mood, the basement story of the village latrines. Those accused of more serious offences are held until a squad of police from the nearest town are sent out to collect the felon, or felons.

 

Pecháni policeman and two felons.

Detail from the Temple of Quóth in Ogréjja.

            The size of the police squad typically varies from town to town, or region. Those towns that are close to the borders usually have a larger constabulary than those located within the interior of the country. Towns on the border with Salarvyá can easily have 15 – 20 constables while those on, or near, the border with Ssuyál can have double that number whereas a town outside of Ogréjja would have, at the most, 5 policemen. Mechanéno has about 2500 full time constables on the books, with another 1000 reservists that can be called up in time of need. The actual number of on duty constables at any given time is probably closer to 800 - 1000, as many of these positions are patronage appointments where only a “pay cheque” is collected and no policing is done. The current Chægósh is said to be quite displeased with this situation and rumours of reform are being whispered by those close to the Royal Court. Ogréjja has approximately 200 constables, at most, with another 100 that can be drawn in from adjoining towns within the immediate vicinity; Teshkóa has a full time force of 500 men who are also responsible for patrolling those towns adjacent to Teshkóa, within a 50km radius. They also serve as guards at the Rekhmél’s iron mines. The Chief of Police in a Pecháni town or city is technically the highest ranking municipal official, and is supposed to be independent, answerable only to the Royal Court however, quite often military commanders are given overall command and the Police Chief is subordinate to the senior Sreddéq. 

            The Pecháni police tend to be quite efficient and professional, if somewhat overworked, and corruption is not as wide spread amongst its rank and file as it is in other nations. This is not to say that the policemen of Pecháno are ‘saints’, merely that they are less greedy than their opposites the Five Empires. The Beneshchán and Rekhmél are responsible for the upkeep of the police forces in their lands, although both clans are subsidised by the state. Curiously, the Lords of Ogréjja are not obligated to pay for policing and all funding comes directly from Mechanéno.