Public Security
Public Security is one of the three major police forces in Cyberia, the other two being the Security Forces and the Riot Control Corps. Under authority of the ASC Department of Civilian Affairs, Public Security are a division of the Antarctic State Military tasked with maintaining law and order within the civilian sector, as opposed to the military sector. Public Security is most often compared to the common policemen and policewomen of other countries; though, the average person is usually only thinking of the likes of Public Security Section 1, the ones who are the most visible to civilians. The common in-country nickname given by civilians to Public Security Section 1 is "Metro Police" or simply "Metro"; both a shortening of the otherwise official designation called "Metropolitan Police".
History
Prior to the establishment of the Department of Civilian Affairs, the Department of Justice handled policing in both the civilian and military sectors. This changed when a branch of the government dedicated to the well-being of civilians was created. One of the very first divisions within the new branch was Public Security, who were more or less just carried over from the old department to the new. Their task was nothing new, to serve and to protect civilians, but now they were essentially under new management and had more room to breathe and expand upon their goals.
Duties and Functions
Public Security's main duties are to maintain the peace, the law, and the order in the public sector. They forwardly assert that they exist in order to serve the public by giving it an organization to look up to when confronted with disturbances, and handle the mitigation of said disturbances before, during and after they occur. Public Security achieves this goal through ten sections built up to answer to many problems that have arisen through the history of the country.
The section most people are referring to when they think of "policemen" or "police officers" is Public Security Section 1. Section 1 is the largest and most well known of the ten, as they are the ones who are in direct contact with civilians on a daily basis. They are the ones who patrol within city limits, issue citations, detain most criminal offenders, and more.
Along with Section 1, nine other sections carry out different respective duties, most of which are intelligence agencies that report their findings to other departments and units, and only sometimes carry out law enforcement themselves. All ten are listed in order of designation as follows:
Sections of Public Security
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Section 0 | Special investigation and intelligence section. Said to work closely with the Department of Defense in the pursuit of especially serious civilian crimes that require the quiet approach, as opposed to the traditional aggression of the Riot Control Corps. |
| Section 1 | Basic police organization. Also known as "Metro Police" or "Metro". Most common section thought of when referring to policemen and police officers. Most often directly deals with civilians on a daily basis. |
| Section 2 | Best described as "crime scene investigation". Employ many tactics of forensic science to extract any and all relevant information out of a previously committed crime. |
| Section 3 | Intelligence agency that deals mostly with drug-related cases. Commonly reports its findings to CROWS, the warrant office of the Department of Justice, and gives pertinent info to Riot Control, who then investigate using said info. |
| Section 4 | Antitrust intelligence, enforcement and consumer protection section both independent of and in league with the antitrust division of the Department of Justice. |
| Section 5 | Organized crime intelligence and investigation section. Many cases discovered by Section 5 are handed off to the Riot Control Corps, with Section 5 assistance. |
| Section 6 | Intelligence and reporting section dealing with terrorism. Reports findings to the Department of Defense, and to the CROWS of the Department of Justice in cases of domestic terrorism. |
| Section 7 | Special forces section that is deployed to handle unprecedented situations that other sections do not fit the role of, which is rumored to include black operations. Section 7 personnel are among the best and most well-trained, rivaling that of Section 9. |
| Section 8 | Anti-corruption and civil rights intelligence and enforcement section. One of relatively few government offices that protect civilians from the government itself. Said to work closely with the courts-martial of the Department of Justice. |
| Section 9 | Elite ISTAR agency majorly dealing with cyberspace within the public sector, however they are not restricted only to cyberspace operations. |
Personnel
Though a not-insignificant portion of civilians, especially foreign ones, refer to any police employees as "police officers", Public Security in fact recognizes a distinct difference between "policeman" and "police officer". This difference is the fact that a "policeman" is a police employee that is only of junior enlisted rank, as opposed to a non-commissioned officer (NCO) or a higher rank.
Public Security in fact adheres to the Antarctic State Military's ranking hierarchy which includes junior enlisted, non-commissioned officers (NCOs), senior non-commissioned officers (SNCOs), and commissioned officers. Enlists, NCOs, and SNCOs do the most of the "field work", meaning they spend the most time out in the "field" that is the public sector. That is, they operate most often outside of an office.
Commissioned officers, by contrast from enlists, spend most of their time in an office, observing and managing their lower-ranked brethren through any and all information available to them within their sphere of influence. They can and will be occasionally obligated to enter the field to complete a number of managerial duties that can't be done simply with the flick of a pen.
Uniform
Despite being effectively employed by the ASM, Public Security sections don't wear the same camo patterns as their military brethren. In fact, uniform regulations are actually quite lax in Public Security, as personnel must work in close proximity to civilians without drawing attention to themselves. The exception to this is Section 1, whose policemen and officers wear beige coats and pants with a black stripe down the flanks and sides.
Weapons
Public Security Section 1 armaments are somewhat on-par with Military Police (Security Forces), if not slightly more so, in that their general weapons include a sidearm, a taser, a baton, pepper spray, and other equipment. Public Security Section 1 personnel also drive police cruisers, aka interceptors, which are civilian-like cars contracted from a car manufacturer to be fitted with many modifications. This is in great contrast to the Riot Control Corps which are seemingly armed to the teeth and operate majorly in military vehicles.
Sections other than Section 1 are very flexible in the kinds of weapons and equipment they use, and how well-armed they are at any given time. They often use non-service equipment or otherwise unorthodox gear, generally suited for the type of mission they take on.
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