Elysium City Police Department

[[File:Badge.jpg|thumb|250px|E.C.P.D. cap badge

"Honi soit qui mal y pense"]] "Auctoritas non veritas facit legem" (Authority, not truth, makes the law) - from Thomas Hobbes's "Leviathan"

The Elysium City Police Department (ECPD) is an agency of the North American national government that provides services analogous to state-level Police Departments for the Federal District of Elysium.

Because of the unique status of Elysium City as a Federally-controlled district, outside the government of any of the Federation's States, the ECPD is vested with somewhat different powers and procedures than would be considered normal. It is one of the best-equipped and funded uniformed law enforcement services in the country, far out-stripping the police forces of any of the F.N.A.'s states. And, because it is a government agency, it draws its personnel from all over the country.

The ECPD's motto is "Honi soit qui mal y pense", a Norman French phrase officially translated by the organization as "Evil be to Him who Evil thinks" (although perhaps better translated as "Shame be to him who thinks evil of it").

Operation
The ECPD provides uniformed law enforcement services within the confines of the Federal District of Elysium / Elysium City (two distinct legal entities with synonymous borders), while investigative procedures and other such things are largely handled by the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation]. In practical operating terms, the ECPD is subservient to the FBI, although both agencies are theoretically peer organizations reporting to the North American Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

In their normal day-to-day patrol duties, ECPD officers do not carry firearms on their person. They wear lightweight body armor and wield  electrified riot batons [equipment discussed in detail later]. When responding to calls or dispatches, however, ECPD officers equip the firearms which they carry in their patrol cars.

The more-heavily equipped, special response wing of the ECPD (analogous to a SWAT unit) is called ESERT (Elysium Special Emergency Response Team).

Equipment

 * Police_armor.jpg XIV - "Fusil Automatique de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne [anée] XIV" (Official English designation: Automatic Rifle, Saint Étienne Weapons Factory, Year 14). The standard military service arm used by all the Commonwealth of Nations. It is a compact, lightweight bullpup battle-rifle produced by the MAS [Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne] Division of the State-owned arms conglomerate GIAT "Nexter", or Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre (Land Army Industries Group). It is also built under lisence in the F.N.A. by the Freedom Group of corportations. Fires a shortened full-calibre rifle cartridge, the 7.5x44mm Court round. Note that the FA-MAS XIV is a fictitious weapon but is a development / improved replacement of the FAMAS, a real weapon, and as such quite closely resembles it. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAMAS)


 * PAMAS-5.7 - "Pistolet Automatique de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne 5.7mm" (Automatic Pistol of the Saint Étienne Weapons Factory 5.7mm). Standard-issue semi-automatic handgun for Commonwealth nations, a non-private market version of Fabrique Nationale's FN Five-Seven handgun produced by the Manufacture de Saint-Étienne. Chambered for the unique, compact 5.7x28mm round. Note that the PAMAS-5.7 is a fictitious derivative of the real world FN Five-Seven. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_Five-seven for details).


 * FN P90 - selective-fire personal defense weapon / submachine gun chambered for the same round as the PAMAS-5.7 / FN Five-Seven. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FN_P90)


 * Riot Baton - Telescopic, electrified riot baton similar in function to a cattle prod. Tipped with two electrodes that produce a noisy sound and visible arcs of electricity to serve as a warning. The sides of the baton can also be electrified to prevent others from attempting to pull the device from the operator's hand and to administer suppressive electric current along with blunt force strikes. The baton is activated by a trigger built into the handle, has a fob loop that is wound about the user's wrist to keep him/her from dropping it and a handguard in the form of brass knuckles [like some models of knife] for use in more intense situations. The baton also has a built-in LED light in the hilt that can be used to temporarily blind would-be attackers. It is approximately 15" long when collapsed, and is extended by hitting / tapping the butt of the handle against something (normally the user's thigh or palm).


 * Electrohydrodynamic Gun - a projection apparatus resembling a 20th century flamethrower with a large backpack mounted tank containing an electrically-conductive liquid solution. Used to administer suppressive doses of electricity to targets with a range of up to about 10 meters.

Police Cruiser


The current model of patrol car / cruiser was adopted by the North American Federal Government for use by a multitude of its agencies, including the ECPD. Its design is a rather unusual one. It resembles a European coupé sports car, particularly a Ferrari, and is produced as a cooperative venture between Peugeot-Citroën (a France-based automobile firm of the U.K., the largest in Europe) and the F.N.A.'s Dodge, part of the Chrysler Group LLC. Although it closely resembles a rather large Italian-style coupé - with a sleek, low futuristic silhouette and novel sliding hingeless doors - it is powered by a powerful "Hemi" (i.e. hemispherical combustion) Chrysler 8.0L V10 engine. This allows the car to run down pretty much any would-be competitor, a major advantage in a large city with major crime and illicit trafficking problems.

The disadvantages of the car, however, are obvious enough. Its back-seat is extremely tiny, although ease of access / eagress is facilitated by a sensor in the passenger-side front seat that causes it to automatically fold forward whenever the engine is not running and no weight is detected. The trunk of the car is also quite small and has room for little more than the officers' standard supplies (firearms, replacement body armor plates, medical equipment, bolt cutters, etc). The Hemispherical Combustion engine design is also heavier than a conventional equivalent and trades higher overall performance for degraded fuel efficiency when operating at low RPMs (i.e. slower speeds). For these reasons, ECPD personnel generally prefer to transport arrested suspects in their vans, allowing the rear portion of the car to be used for equipment stowage, although the patrol car is fully equipped to do so itself.