Ch.30Police Academy Establishment

“Now we’ll need professional law enforcement personnel. With the Adventurer’s Guild coming in, all sorts of riffraff will gather as well.”

“Hmm. It’s about time we needed a police force.”

As for how they maintained public order without police until now, they solved it by having the military patrol the streets.

In truth, maintaining public order wasn’t particularly complicated. Since most people could live honestly by simply working diligently, not many were inclined to commit crimes, and somehow this makeshift approach had worked until now.

But now the population had exceeded 100,000, and with the Adventurer’s Guild facility coming in to pump up the floating population, the current task was to establish a more professional and “non-lethal” police force.

“First of all, it’s nonsensical to have them investigate this vast city on foot, so we should renovate the existing stables.”

“You mean mounted police, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. It will cost more to maintain, but that’s better than letting criminals escape.”

In this world without mechanized equipment, horses were essentially all-purpose monsters functioning as armored vehicles and tanks.

Though it seemed wasteful to give such valuable animals to the police, there weren’t many better ways to demonstrate the power of public authority than having mounted police patrol throughout the city.

“They’ll need weapons and armor to catch criminals, but since the goal is arrest rather than killing, issue them chain mail and blunt weapons to prevent slashing attacks.”

“Chain mail and blunt weapons…”

The aide wrote down everything I said.

Chain mail was difficult to make and required many materials, but in this world, it was excellent armor that provided mobility, ventilation, and flexibility while offering the strongest defense.

And blunt weapons, by their nature, might cause bruises or fractures, but required many more strikes compared to bladed weapons to actually kill someone.

Since maintenance was complicated, in armies that needed to manage large numbers of soldiers, such equipment was worn only by non-commissioned officers or officers. But for the police, who would be fewer in number than the military and for whom maintenance difficulties weren’t as problematic, arming them with chain mail and blunt weapons would be most appropriate.

“And specifically provide flails to the mounted police. They’ll be better for fighting on horseback.”

“Ah, understood.”

A flail was a blunt weapon consisting of a short stick attached to a long handle by a rope or chain, a combat modification of a tool used for threshing.

Primarily used as a cavalry weapon, it was easy to make and familiar to farmers, making it quite common on battlefields.

“Chain mail, clubs… and flails… and horses…”

“And since they might get injured while working, they’ll need basic first aid supplies, and they’ll need to eat and drink, so add food expenses. And their salary… should be about twice that of laborers.”

“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty… I need to calculate…”

*

Mid-January, Year 5 of the Amurtat Calendar.

Clink… clink…

“How is it? Does it fit your body?”

“It’s a bit large… but that’s better than too small. For someone receiving it for free, this is perfectly usable.”

“That’s good then. Here’s a club, try swinging it.”

I gathered sturdy men of Amurtat (170cm or taller, 169.5cm acceptable) to establish a police force, and the stables were expanded and converted into police stations.

The number of police I recruited through my decree was about 2,000, which was a heavy responsibility considering they had to serve a population of 100,000.

In fact, many more had applied, but how could I appoint those who failed the basic physical fitness test as police officers?

Seven police stations were established in Amurtat, two in the Stilyard, and one on the eastern coast. Currently, the police were receiving basic training in blunt weapon usage from instructors invited from the military.

“While blunt weapons are basically non-lethal… if they truly couldn’t kill people, they wouldn’t be called weapons.

Let me show you that well-crafted wood can be used as a weapon, not just as firewood.”

Saying this, the instructor struck a prepared straw dummy with a forceful blow.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

With each strike, the straw broke and scattered on the floor, almost like human blood splattering, and when he hit the head with a flail, the dummy’s head completely came off.

Some police candidates asked if striking like that wouldn’t kill the criminal, but the instructor responded with a loud voice:

“Ha! Aren’t you judicial officers? You shouldn’t show mercy to criminals. That mindset of not wanting to dirty your hands for the citizens—I truly dislike it!”

“But… what if they’re falsely accused?”

“People are so cunning these days. Are you going to cut off someone’s wrist just for pickpocketing?”

“We appreciate the training, but… we’re not soldiers.”

However, the instructor’s words had little effect.

From the beginning, police officers were supposed to arrest criminals peacefully rather than beat them to near death, and if they accidentally killed a falsely accused citizen through indiscriminate beating, their police career would end immediately.

Moreover, excessive cruelty might be effective in war, but it would likely backfire with citizens.

Already, more than half of Amurtat’s citizens were ready to offer bribes or hide at the mere mention of “police.”

“W-what did you say…”

Teaching blunt weapon techniques was good, but this was the problem with someone too steeped in military culture—trying to carelessly apply military logic to civilian matters.

Eventually, the instructor was replaced, and the police candidates were able to successfully learn more “moderate” striking techniques.

*

“You bastard! Are you done talking?!”

“I am! What?! Can you refute me?! Can you?!”

In the marketplace of Amurtat.

Two men were grabbing at each other in front of a chicken skewer stall. Judging by their faces, red as radishes, they appeared to be drunk men whose verbal dispute had escalated into a fight.

Normally, people would just click their tongues and think, “Sigh, they should drink less,” but not today.

Tap! Tap!

Police officers in chain mail deliberately struck their clubs against the stall posts to make noise as they approached, and as the clinking sound grew closer, the two drunkards finally released their grip on each other’s heads and began to assess the situation.

“Is the fight over?”

When the police officer with a club resting on his shoulder asked, the two drunkards froze and couldn’t say a word, just rolling their eyeballs nervously.

“Seems like it’s over.”

With no response as the two men stood frozen, the police began to disperse, and people started returning to the marketplace.

“Y-you son of a bitch! You almost got my head cracked because of your nonsense!”

“What? You want to settle this once and for all today?!”

And as soon as the police disappeared, the two men started grabbing each other’s collars again.

Just as fists were about to fly:

“Make way! Make way!”

Clop! Clop!

Mounted police entered the marketplace with extended flails, and pedestrians hurriedly cleared the way to avoid being trampled by hooves or struck by flails.

And the two men who had been grabbing each other’s collars had already vanished.

As they say, respect comes from fear—security, safety, law, and order can only gain authority through legally bound, legitimate force.

And only on these two cornerstones of fear and authority could the vague concept of society gain strength.

“Patrol complete. All clear.”

“Good work. Now switch with the night patrol.”

“Understood.”

Giving potential criminals pause through continuous patrols and rushing in with clubs when something happens—that was one of the most important duties of the police and one of the reasons for their existence.

As a certain bat-loving gentleman once said, most criminals are superstitious cowards.

If appropriate fear is instilled in cowards, crimes that would have occurred might not happen—that alone was worth the cost of feeding the horses.

Anyone who understands how reassuring it is to see police officers carrying bright lanterns in the dark night would say that Amurtat has the best public safety in the north.

Going forward, the police will continue to patrol every corner of Amurtat, executing Tiberius’s justice, and gradually the citizens will come to regard the sound of approaching hoofbeats as a harbinger of justice.