Re: [SG2] You'll never take me alive, coppers:Was RE: PA availability

At 22:18 20/09/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>I figure three or four arbitrary levels:
>>1) Unarmed (Bobbies? Some American Mall Security/Bank Guards) 
>Truncheons,>Pepper Spray
>
>None.
>
>>2) Armed (Most US (Canadian? Mexican? Street Cops/Sheriffs, Armored 
>car guards) Have small caliber handguns, shotguns for defense/offense. 
>May have light body armor.
>
>I will probably be going ahistorical here and introducing some sort of 
>professional police organizations that fit this level.  In here would 
>also be retainers and paramilitaries raised by local leaders to 
>maintain order when necessary--Byzantines gave much leeway to local 
>'nobility' (misleading term--The Powerful are the subject of multiple 
>books and the whole mess is too complicated to go into here, until the 
>era of the Comnenii when things start falling into more Western lines).

> Also private security guards.
>
>>3) Paramilitary (SWAT Teams, Carbinieri,???) Armed with smg's, sniper
>>rifles, assault rifles. Light body armor a must, at least.
>
>Akritai fulfil the border guard functions.  Lightly armed and armored 
>(HKP/3s on their cavalry vehicles, mortars attached at BN level).  
>
>>4) Military  Indistinguishable from the local military. (Banana 
>Republics, >Soviet KGB Border Guards/ Customs Guards) Probably less (or

>no) >artillery/armor support though.... 
>
>Errruummmmm. . . There is no Posse Comitatus law in the Empire.  Close 
>cooperation between military and civil authorities.  Strategos is both 
>the military and civil commander of an area and it's troops.  So when 
>heavy firepower is needed, MPs or even infantry would be loaned out.  
>This is even worse in the City, where the Imperial Guard's METL 
>includes supressing riots when necessary (NIKA!).
>
>This is off the top of my head and may expand somewhat.  Tony, if 
>you've got any good ideas (and have time inbetween thesis-writing 
>sessions) let me know.  :)
>
>John M. Atkinson
>
>

	1) Imperial Rome had the urban cohorts or vigiles as they are
sometimes
called. They doubled as both firemen and a military reserve (odd combo).
If
you are basing things on Rome then say split your urban cohorts into
"incendria" (firemen) and "lictors" or "vigiles" as your police. Niether
are usually armed but as they are the same organisation they would make
great riot police (lots and lots of water cannon).
 
	2) Some of the cohorts would be special response groups like
SWAT, TRG,
ARG, etc, and would take to the battlefield (if VERY nessecary) as
militia
but no worse than regular.

	3) No military police.

	4) Any Imperial Guard units or personal retainers/bodyguards of
army
commanders.

	Finally its not so much a problem of between thesis sessions but
of not
avoiding it all together as one of the students this year seems to be
doing.

	Tony.
	"3 weeks to go"
	twilko@ozemail.com.au