Medea Station Police Department

The **Medea Station Police Department (MSPD)** is the official, government-controlled, law enforcement agency of Medea Station. Underfunded, underequipped, and understaffed, working for the MSPD is a thankless job where every officer puts their life on the line every day. An atmosphere of apathy and corruption pervades the department, while many officers on the street react with brutality and aggression due to the stress and nature of their work.

While, officially, the MSPD is a government organisation, real power is held in the hands of the megacorporations that own Medea. Most areas under corporate jurisdiction outright forbid police presence, and most officers are content to look the other way when it comes to the wealthy elite.

## Structure

### Patrol Division

The Patrol Division is the backbone of any modern police force and is the largest division within the MSPD. The primary purpose is to patrol any given sector to enforce the law and reduce crime, of which there is a lot of. The government is constantly giving more resources and manpower to the patrol division mainly due to the dangerous nature of the role and the continuing rise in crime.

#### Trafic Patrol

Traffic is considered a lame job; the lowest on the totem pole and typically given out as punishment by a higher up. Their role is primarily to enforce traffic laws and the traffic flowing. *Nobody particularly likes traffic cops, not even other cops.* Standard issue equipment consists of an armored vest, traffic helmet and a low-caliber pistol.

#### Beat Patrol

Beat cops are the boots on the ground and are tasked with patrolling their designated sector. In years past beat cops typically patrolled alone, but due to the rise in crime they now go in pairs. They have to respond to any threats from gangs, corporate shootouts, riots, drugs, psychos and your everyday disgruntled citizen. Once a shift starts, they are on their own and are expected to deal with the majority of incidents alone, unless it calls for the cavalry. Standard issue equipment consists of armored vest and helmet, cuffs, a pistol and/or non-lethal launcher and a first aid kit.

#### Cruiser Patrol

Cruiser Patrol is a step up from the standard beat cop. They drive a police outfitted Hella EC-H I860, and typically assist beat cops on their patrol of a sector. Howeve,r cruisers have the luxury of being sat down, in the warmth and behind some thick sheet metal. Cruiser patrol is a little more dangerous simply due to the high profile and large target of a car.

### Investigation Division

The Investigation Division is smaller than that the Patrol Division, but is seen as a step up. This department carries out all criminal investigations within Medea, and detectives often come across some of the more brutal crimes carried out. Cops working here are sometimes known as *plainclothes*, and are known to have a knowledge of the city that far surpasses that of beat cops.

#### Vice

The Vice department primarily deals with narcotics with an emphasis on trafficking, possession and distribution, as well as prostitution, gambling and weapons crimes. The majority of cases are undercover work, with Vice cops possibly spending months at a time infiltrating dangerous gangs in the worst parts of the city. They are usually outfitted with a variety of cybernetics that deal with infiltration and surveillance.

#### Robbery

The Robbery department deals with all things theft, and covers armed robbery, burglary, auto theft, grand larceny, fraud, counterfeiting, and embezzlement. Money and resources are poured into this department due to its dealings with high-value crimes. Members spend the majority of their time dealing with paperwork, and some are known to go undercover when high-value heists are suspected. More often than not they are seen racing to the scene of a robbery, guns drawn and aimed at the perps still inside.

#### Homicide

The Homicide department deals with everything from mass-murder to aggravated assault and the ever-growing area of corporate murders. Homicide detectives can deal with up to 50 murders in a single day in Medea and, as a result, many are cold and distant, and some have developed psychological issues of their own. With increasing violence from gangs, crime syndicates and the corporations, Homicide is very busy and more often than not the crimes go unpunished due to the lack of evidence.

#### Special Investigations

The Special Investigations unit (S.I.N.)*,* deal with large scale and serious crimes that include multiple departments. Crimes involving mass murder, corporate espionage, wide-spread organized crime, high profile kidnappings, and counterfeiting. Shocking or brutal murders are covered by the S.I.N. when regular departments have no clue how to solve the case. Other divisions within the police tend to dislike the S.I.N. due to them receiving more money and often taking complete control of an existing case from another department.

### Tactical Division

The Tactical Division is there for when the talking stops, which is quite often in Medea Station. They deal with high-risk situations such as hostage rescue, riots, or cyberpsychos, and are usually the most well-equipped and well-trained officers in the police department.

#### S.W.A.T.

The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) department is a rapid response unit trained to deal with high-risk situations and heavy weapons. Teams consist of 10 highly trained and well equipped members. They typically use their own custom tactical police vehicles, and are loaded with as many combat oriented cybernetics as they can handle. SWAT officers typically deal with hostage rescue, heavily armed shootouts, sieges, and security for high-profile government officials or other VIPs.

#### Riot

The Riot team are on-call 24/7 and are the non-lethal equivalent of SWAT. They are trained in non-lethal procedures, though accidents have happened, and might happen again. They are known for crowd control, often sealing off entire city blocks just to successfully disperse all the rioters. The MSPD has a policy of *"if you don't want to get hurt, don't riot".* Riot teams consist of 10 troopers led by a single officer and are issued riot shields, ballistic armor, tear gas, tasers, and non-lethal ammunition.

#### MAX-TAC

The Maximum Force Tactical Assault Corps (MAX-TAC) department, also known as the *Psycho Squad*, are a specialized sub-group of the Tactical Division that specialises in dealing with cyberpsychos. They are trained and equipped with the best resources money can buy, and are only really brought in when the nuclear option is needed. Most carry weapons that start at the light cannon range and up. They are, by nature, not very nice people. While they are the only real force capable of dealing with the cyberpsycho threat effectively, they are occasionally also utilized as a higher form of SWAT. In any situation where SWAT fails, Max-Tac will arrive. Their job is almost always *Hit Hard and Shoot to Kill*. In many ways, they are as dangerous as those they are brought in to fight: many officers are teetering on the brink of cyberpsychosis themselves. MSPD sees this "fight fire with fire" strategy as effective.

### NET Security Division

NET Security (NETSEC) provides an enforcement, monitoring, and information service on areas of the NET within Medea. While NETSEC's main priority is to track down the most dangerous and daring criminal netrunners, they also provide all other sections with up-to-date information straight out of the NET. Besides monitoring for illegal Netrunning, NETSEC also performs its own information search runs. NETSEC runners often provide valuable information on suspects or corporations (which can lead to a conviction). This is rare, but cops will know a great deal more about their suspect after a netrunner details all his affairs. NETSEC officers tend to be somewhat highly-strung, and are allowed into MSPD without Academy training. NETSEC monitors prospective operatives and recruits them, generally deputizing them for the cause. These individuals then become officers within NETSEC with access to top level software and hardware, allowing them to become even more proficient in their chosen area of netrunning.

### Internal Affairs Division

The Internal Affairs Division (IAD) is the bane of most police officers; its job is to investigate officers suspected of committing gross misconduct in the pursuance of their duties, or those who are corrupt, dangerous, or perform other activities which either abuse their position, or endanger the MSPD as a whole. Experienced investigators, IAD officers are selected for their ability to sniff out when a cop is "bad."

IAD is not well liked by other divisions. They have the ability to turn an officer's life upside down on the mere suspicion of illicit involvement. An officer under investigation by the IAD may be suspended, or worse, and there is always a stigma involved as your partner and buddies wonder if you really are a dirty cop.

### Administration Division

The Administration Division is manned mostly by non-cops: secretaries and other desk jockeys performing most of the administrative duties of the police department. While it is possible to transfer to Admin, nobody really wants to, unless they've had a real good scare or have been seriously wounded. Admin positions, unless very high up, hold little or no prestige among other officers.