City Watch

The City Watch represents the law in The City. While The Baron marches to war with his regular military force, he leaves the oversight of his rule to the City Watch Sheriff and his watch officers and policemen. The Watch is responsible for keeping crime on the streets at bay and arresting any law breakers.

Hierarchy[]

The head of the City Watch is the current Sheriff. He is the prime spokesman of the Watch and has the higher authority in the terms of arrest warrants, orders, etc. Next are his first and second Lieutenants who are his main advisers and substitutes. After them are the leaders of the different bureaus and departments like the Warden Affairs, Narcotics, Robbery/Homicide, and Vice. Next are the Sergeants who maintain the Watch Officers. The Sergeants have helmets that prevent knock-outs. Last are the policemen or Watch Officers who are the duty personnel, responsible for patrolling, raiding and arrests.

During Thief 3, Watchmen will occasionally mention Captains, but their exact status, compared to the Truart-era lieutenants, is unknown. A dialog between two guards from the Docks district mentions that they can confiscate potential dangerous objects from other factions and perform investigations.

Weapons and Technology[]

Though Watch facilities are modernized, the methods of holding prisoners and extracting information remain archaic. The Watch still uses swords and bows, but utilized Mechanist Watchers and Turrets while Karras was popular. They were later dropped when the Mechanists fell.

Codes[]

The City Watch uses a code system, which is often forgotten or confused by its officers, probably due to the recent moderization of the Watch.

• Code 6 - Murder,^[1][2] Theft,^[3] and/or Intruder ^[4][5]
• Code 7 - (Officer confused) ^[6]
• Code 8 - Security Breach^[7][8][9] and/or Assault (Although the officer was mocking the use of codes)^[10]
• Code 12 - Suspicious Activity/Person ^[11][12][13]
• Code 18 - (Officer confused)^[14]
• Code 30 - Alert/Intruder^[15][16][17]
• Code 99 - Man Down ^[18]
• Code ? - Break-in (Most cops can't seem to remember this code)^[19][20]

Crime Reports[]

• Coroner's report on body in the Shoalsgate Station morgue.
• Crime reports involving Pagan activity and assaults.
• Crime reports involving burglary and criminal mischief.

Other[]

• Criminal record for Lady Van Vernon.
• Criminal record for Lord Mani Rammstein.
• A written warning for Lucy Walker.

Divisions[]

See: City Watch Divisions.

History[]

Before the City Watch was the institution that we are familiar with in during the Metal Age, the only known law-enforcement group was The Baron's Police. The head of the Police was a Sheriff. A letter between Ramirez and Commissioner DeNavan suggests that the old watch sent their prisoners to Cragscleft Prison.^[21] In most cases, the Hammerites had more of the position of street law enforcement. When Artemus caught young Garrett trying to snatch his purse, he pleads with Artemus not to turn him over to the Hammerites.^[22]

Even though Truart's Watch had its problems, the pre-Truart Watch was rife with corruption. Many of its members would receive regular bribes and kickbacks from organizations such as the Downwind Thieves' Guild.^[23]

In the pre-Truart Watch, there would be many titles used, such as: Officer, Deputy, Constable, and Commissioner.

Modernization[]

Truart took control of the Watch, and made many great sweeping reforms. Women were being hired, new technology was being used, officers were prohibited from drinking on duty,^[24] uniforms were centralized, unified ranking, a system of paperwork was in place,^[25] a code system was introduced, Watch Stations were cleaned up (except cells and interrogation), tough measures were being taken to fight the Wardens, street crime was being cleaned up, crime and autopsy labs were created, dedicated Divisions were created to fight major crimes, different tactics to fight crime,^[26] and etc.

Corruption was still a problem, as some Wardens would be prosecuted more than others, evidence would go missing,^[27] and Truart himself would indulge in prostitution.^[28]

However, many of these additions were created alongside the rise of the Mechanists, such as similar uniforms, women, technology, and street cleaning for the Servant Project. After the fall of Karras, the Watch lost a lot of what Truart created. Some things, like uniforms, reports, city-wide cohesion, and others remained. Some things like the Mechanist technology and female officers were gone by the time of Thief: Deadly Shadows.

Current Time[]

In Thief: Deadly Shadows, each sector of the city has a crime report, next to Watch Sub-Stations.

Trivia[]

• Garrett called the policemen "bulls" in the briefing for Framed, and "bulldogs" in the briefing for Eavesdropping.^[29][30]
• In an UNUSED conversation for Trace the Courier, Rosie The Loveable Trollop also called Officer Coranth a "bulldog".^[31]
• There is a large amount of women in the Watch, more than private manor guards. This was seemingly a result of Sheriff Truart's massive recruiting.
• According to Lt. Mosley, half the men she gives orders to now, were once people she arrested,^[32] and from other Watch Officers, "half" of the cops were formerly members of the Downwinders, or Ramirez's men.^[33] According to one officer, "Probably figured we'd spend less time breaking the law since we'd be enforcing it. Gold is gold--don't matter if it's coming from Reuben or Sheriff Truart." ^[34]

See also[]

Category:City Watch Images

Places of Interest[]

• Pavelock Prison
• Shoalsgate Station
• Truart Estate

Persons of Interest[]

• Benny, Officer
• Hagen, Lieutenant
• Morgan, Watch Officer
• Mosley, Lieutenant
• Stout, Warden
• Truart, Sheriff Gorman

References[]