Law enforcement in Vyvland
Law enforcement in Vyvland is organised into two main separate branches - the nationwide Vyvlander Police (Vyvluder Polis) and nineteen provincial or city police forces (Laanwakten or Sdadwakten), covering each province in addition to Vlud and Lyksdal independently. It is overseen by the Domestic Ministry, with some aid from the Security Ministry for particularly serious crimes, especially acts of terrorism. However, the police forces are independent from direct government control.
History
The first presence of police in Vyvland dates from the late fourteenth century, when each parish was policed by a bewaker, the equivalent of a sheriff. These people would assist in the capturing, detaining, and hunting of criminals for the local authorities. However, it took until the early nineteenth century for organised police forces to be created in major cities. The first such force in Vyvland was the Jesel Town Guard (Jesel Sdadwakt), which was organised to prevent petty crime and smuggling in the port city. These began to spread to many areas as cities grew during the Industrial Revolution. In 1927, police forces were consolidated into one for each province, in addition to a few vestigial major city police forces. Upon Vyvlander partition in 1935, these forces were kept on both sides, although in both North and South Vyvland a national police force was created (in 1936 in the South and 1954 in the North). These were known as the Sdaatsbyro and Nazonalwakt respectively, and ended up over time being much more powerful than the local forces. These two forces unified in 1983 to become the modern Vyvlander Police.
Vyvlander Police
The Vyvlander Police is Vyvland's national police force. It is responsible for the prevention and solution of nationwide or serious crimes, and the apprehension of missing persons. The Vyvlander Police has special units for combatting various forms of organised crime, including drug dealing, smuggling, and coordinated gang violence. It tends to take a more technical, back-room approach, in contrast with local police departments. Vyvlander Police offices are located in most major towns and cities, although it is headquartered in Lorence. Officers of the Vyvlander Police are the only police allowed to use firearms should a necessary scenario arrive, if their use is authorised by a police station chief. As such, shootings are very rare, with all officers firing shots an average of four times a year nationally over the decade to 2012.
Provincial and city police
The nineteen provincial and city police forces have more jurisdiction over local affairs, and are generally more involved in community policing and local offences. Provinicial police forces are much more involved with local communities than the national police, and have a far greater number of stations in most small towns. In turn, they are generally the first port of call for reporting an offence. In terms of crimes, local police forces deal primarily with anti-social behaviour, isolated violent crimes, burglary and theft. Each local police force divides its geographical area into patrol sectors (waktvursektoren) which cover distinct geographical areas; usually these will be allocated as one per police station. Patrol sectors serve as the main basis for local police patrols. The budgets of provincial police forces are set in part by the Provincial Diets (or Vlud and Lyksdal’s city councils), although each branch is set a certain minimum budget allocated and paid for by the central government.
Other agencies
Vyvlander Border Guard
The Vyvlander Border Guard (Vyvluder Grencwakt, VGW) are responsible for policing entry into Vyvland. Their name is misleading; the only borders the VGW guards are the 20-metre long stretch between Greetmion and Luziycan-controlled Syfmion, and occasionally the entrance to the Iglesian base. Their main jobs are the registering of those who enter and leave the country, the prevention of illegal entry into Vyvland and ensuring all imports are properly registered; the VGW acts as a customs service. In turn, they work with the Vyvlander Police to combat smuggling and the non-payment of import or export levies for various goods. The VGW have stations at all major ports and airports, and are divided into the Air Sector to deal with air arrivals, the Sea Sector, which deals with sea arrivals, and the much smaller Land Defence Unit, which deals with some entrances to and exits from the two foreign military bases in Vyvland.
Vyvlander Forensic Science Unit
The Vyvlander Forensic Science Unit (Vyvluder Vorensikgewesen Yneng, VVGY) is an organisation dedicated to forensic work for all branches of the police, in addition to the Vyvlander Security Commission. The VVGY operates five labs across the country, where evidence is taken for a range of different types of necessary forensic tests.
Vyvlander Security Commission
The Vyvlander Security Commission (Vyvluder Sekernes Konjrolie, VSK) is Vyvland’s intelligence agency. It often aids the police forces to intelligence on criminals through its domestic and foreign intelligence units. In addition, VSK operatives have the power to deal with terrorist threats under the controversial 1999 Terrorism Act. Template:Vyvland topics