National Police Agency (Menghe)
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
| National Police Agency | |
|---|---|
| File:Menghe NPA emblem.png | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Donggyong |
| Website | |
| www.gyongchal.gov.mh | |
The National Police Agency (Sinmun:경찰청, Gomun: 警察廳, pr. Gyŏngchalchŏng) is one of several police organizations in the Socialist Republic of Menghe. It is part of the Ministry of Internal Security, but separate from the Internal Security Forces. Although most of its policing duties are organized at the local level, the National Police Agency maintains a few central agencies alongside those of the Internal Security Forces, and sets standards and regulations for local policing.
Organization and structure
Leadership
Special bureaus
Local police departments
Equipment
Uniform
In accordance with national regulations, officers of the National Police Agency wear a light blue button-down shirt, a black peaked cap, and black trousers, with navy-and-silver rank insignia. This distinguishes them from the Internal Security Forces, who wear azure uniforms, and officers with the General-Directorate of Parks and Monuments, who wear tan shirts and olive green trousers. In winter, National Police officers may be issued black coats for warmth, in which case they are sometimes confused with special arrest units of the Internal Intelligence Agency.
Weapons
Because gun ownership in Menghe is tightly regulated and very rare, officers of the National Police Agency do not carry sidearms on regular patrol duties. A 1998 regulation forbids officers from carrying sidearms, whether personally owned or company-issued, unless specifically instructed to do so as part of their mission. This reform was implemented in order to reduce the risk of theft, accidental discharge, or firing on a suspect without authorization.
Since 2002, police trainees have been required to take gun safety courses and basic target practice lessons, and some police departments keep pistols or long guns stored at department headquarters, but this is not standard practice. In the event that police officers encounter armed criminals, especially near the Innominadan and Maverican borders where arms trafficking is a concern, they would be expected to call on the National Armed Police or the Rapid Response Brigades to provide backup.
In place of a pistol, Menghean police officers are typically issued straightstick truncheons. Depending on the local police department's policy, they may also carry additional incapacitating weapons, such as pepper spray or handheld electroshock weapons. Police in some cities carry standoff electroshock weapons, to subdue approaching or fleeing suspects.
Veicles
There is no standardized arsenal of vehicles used by the National Police Agency, only a set of regulations on what characteristics and markings police vehicles must have. Vehicle purchases and fleet maintenance are conducted at the Prefectural or Municipal level. One consequence of this decentralization is a wide variation in police vehicles' age and quality; wealthier cities like Donggyŏng and Sunju have the newest vehicle fleets, while poorer inland jurisdictions often still rely on '90s-vintage sedans and motorcycles. Many rural prefectures also operate civilian or Army-surplus offroad vehicles, in order to reach villages with gravel or dirt-road access only.
According to national regulations, all police vehicles must follow a standardized color scheme consisting of a white background with dark blue stripes and markings and the Sinmun characters 경찰 (Gyŏngchal, "police") clearly displayed in dark blue on white on the hood and either side. This contrasts them with vehicles of the Internal Security Forces, which are dark blue overall with the Gomun characers 內安 (Naean, abbr. for "internal security") clearly displayed in white. Both services use red-and-blue sirens.
In addition to cars and motorcycles, some police departments operate watercraft, including PWCs and small skiffs. These are mainly used for patrolling inland freshwater bodies or enforcing water traffic regulations along the coast, and not for combating smuggling and other coast guard duties, which fall to the Maritime Patrol Forces, which are jointly subordinate to the Internal Security Forces and the Navy.
Corruption
Out of Menghe's major policing and intelligence agencies, the National Police are widely considered to be the most corrupt. The General-Directorate for Discipline Inspection, an anti-corruption body in the Ministry of Internal Security, is remarkably candid in dealing with this issue, and published an official report in 2014 on the state of corruption in the National Police Agency. Drawing on undercover investigations, the report claimed to have found pervasive evidence of corruption in the police force, mainly with regard to the collection of bribes. Corruption levels were also found to vary across provinces and cities, with Donggyŏng cited as the "cleanest" and the inland provinces performing the worst.
Comparative political scientists have noted, however, that this rarely escalates to the level of outright extortion or embezzlement of police funds, pervasive problems in other developing countries' police agencies. Instead, many have identified a "culture of petty bribery," with officers collecting personal payments as an alternative to official fees and fines. This problem appears to be more pervasive in dealings with businesses, especially those operating in violation of national safety laws. A follow-up investigation by the General Directorate for Discipline Inspection in 2014 found that officers who confronted citizens for speeding or littering rarely asked for bribes up front, but frequently took them if a bribe was offered.
Much of the problem stems from low pay. Police wages are set by prefectural or municipal governments, and especially in the less developed inland provinces they have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living, forcing officers to find sources of "supplementary income." This problem was especially pervasive in the 1990s and early 2000s, when the Menghean economic miracle was just beginning and state capacity remained low, though there are signs that it has decreased in recent years as government revenues and police wages increased. This is especially true in the coastal provinces and during the leadup to the 2012 Olympics in Donggyŏng, where the General Directorate for Discipline Inspection worked particularly hard to make a good impression to visiting foreigners and the Menghean middle class.