Police Headquarters

The police department of Cape Suzette maintains law and order in the city limits, upholding its sworn duty to serve and protect the public. Although the department is linked with City Hall as a municipal agency, both the city council and the police commissioner work to keep politics from affecting law enforcement.

Police command is centralized in the police headquarters building in downtown Cape Suzette, the largest and most visible police station in the metropolitan area. Manned by dozens of uniformed officers equipped with the best tools and information possible, police H.Q. faithfully carries out its threefold mission: to enforce the law, prevent crime, and maintain order on the streets of Cape Suzette.

PERSONNEL

Cape Suzette's police department earns praise from both the mayor and the community for truly being the city's finest, as its members have proven time and again in the line of duty. Police recruits are chosen from a roll of applicants based on minimum physical requirements, medical examination, background check, written exam, and personal interview. Instructors drill trainees in proper procedure, internal departmental rules, gun usage, and other technical aspects of police work.

Police operations are many and varied. Depending on his rank and precinct, an officer may be assigned to patrol, crowd control, stakeout, traffic direction, or "special assignment." All cops in uniform carry firearms and/or police clubs as weapons, as well as handcuffs to bind arrestees.

BACK ENTRANCE

Most people (especially criminals) are familiar with the front entrance of police headquarters, but just about nobody is aware of its secret entrance in the back. Cleverly hidden inside a laundromat behind police H.Q., the back door allows undercover cops, after radioing for permission, to surreptitiously enter the station — though not without difficulty. Even the most hard-boiled agent cringes at the thought of crawling into an open dryer (after distracting customers) and sliding into headquarters' basement.

DETECTIVE DIVISION

Investigation, evidence gathering, and undercover work — any operations that require subtlety are those that police detectives undertake. Detectives are a notch above cops in uniform; they can move about town freely in civilian clothes, earning them the nickname "plainclothes men" (and "gumshoes," as they stick to a case until it's solved). The detective division truly works undercover, operating out of the basement of police headquarters. Secrecy is the first order of business; hence the unusual entry method described above.

The bulk of police intelligence comes from the detectives, who pound the pavement gathering pertinent data on criminal activity from an underground network of snitches, informants, and gossips who keep an ear to the ground. Police agents track down any concrete leads, while cryptologists try to crack secret codes that gangs may use.

The head of the division, Detective Thursday, is a dogged veteran with a nose for sniffing out organized crime wherever it might lurk. He has the aid of the police department staff, as well as the loyal citizens often called on to participate in crime busts and sting operations.