Policing Anarchy

Police in the Epoch of Rest #

Vekllei is a place divided between public and private spaces. The public markets are very public — centralised, controlled, documented and secure. The private markets are very private — anarchic, wide-ranging, interpersonal and unseen. Police in Vekllei work in both of these spaces, maintaining the peace and navigating their unique criminal topography.

Vekllei has three police forces, one for each of its features as a country. These are the Police of the Public, Parliament, and Crown, reflecting the people, state and sovereign of Vekllei respectively. The diagram attached depicts seasonal variants of male and female uniforms, as well as some of their equipment.

Cosmopor — the Police of the Public #

Cosmopor (comoisniyan denporitsa, lit. Public Police) are divided between municipalities in neighbourhoods known as commissions. A commission is lead by an Inspector or Qualified Constable. Each neighbourhood commission, which might comprise an area of thousands of people, is further subdivided in constabularies, which are lead by — somewhat predictably — a constable. The constable knows each person in their constabulary, and visits each residence regularly to confirm the welfare of their community and hear their grievances. Neighbourhoods in Vekllei are quite autonomous and culturally distinct, and so are its Public Police.

Their uniforms are modest and pleasant, and like other uniforms in the country have multiple components that are worn at the discretion of the officer in day-to-day duties. Uniforms depicted in this graphic are mostly fully-featured as to demonstrate full dress uniform.

Public Police carry rubber or extendable batons as well as a pistol, usually a revolver. Some choose not to carry a sidearm.

Venopor — the Police of the Parliament #

Venopor (fedecenoayan porits, lit. Parliament Police) are the national police who deal with violent crime and matters of importance to the state. They have a reputation for being heavy-handed when confronted, and are widely respected. In summer, women wear a short half-cape (called a capeteht or “small cape”), and both men and women wear long wool capes in winter.

It’s worth remembering that the Venopor are servants of the state and rule of law first, and serve many police duties that are legally distinct from the Police of the Public. These include rapid response to and reinforcement of the Public Police, special persons protection, infrastructure security, and counterterrorism. The Police of the Parliament include many different branches, including Vekllei’s Coast Guard and its Gold Sappers.

They carry sabres, which are still in use in Vekllei today — perhaps the only Western country in which they are useful equipment. All Venopor staff are trained in use of a sabre, which is fairly blunt and rarely causes deep cuts. They are used to sweep crowds, to point and command, and against people carrying blades. More common methods of subjugation are a whack with the hilt of the blade — a chance to move along before meeting the business end. Although women have the option of carrying a rubber baton in daily patrols, they don’t have the intimidation effect of the sabre.

Their uniforms are inherited from the Royal Guards of the prewar Junta years, with some floral-period modernisations. In some cases the Venopor may carry machine guns, particularly around government buildings and essential infrastructure — usually a domestic variant of the Israeli Uzi family. In these duties, they may also wear military-style helmets. They are a the floral-period descendants of a police tradition that has lasted a thousand years, and take their work seriously.

Auspor — the Police of the Crown #

Auspor (ausiosmayan porits, lit. Police of the Land) are the police of Vekllei’s “Crown”. This means they serve a body called the Landscape Sovereign, which is not a human person but a metaphysical abstraction of all of Vekllei’s physical territory. They swear their oath to the Sovereign — not to Vekllei’s people or its government.

Like the Venopor, the Police of the Crown are a paramilitary force equipped primarily to confront crimes against the environment, the country’s biosecurity, and its immigration and customs. The military police of the Crown Armed Forces are also part of Auspor, since Vekllei’s military also serves the Sovereign. This means that Auspor polices criminal acts of and against the army, including tribunal courts.

In addition, Auspor includes several unique branches of policing relevant to environmental emergencies, including diving recovery squads, ranger units for patrolling forest and tundra alike, and remote search outfits.

Because of their variety of work, the uniforms depicted here are a sample of rangers employed in policing national parks and Crown Lands, which have natural borders with Vekllei. The appearance of Auspor officers varies wildly, since it includes both customs officers and skilled animal trackers alike.