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''See also: [[Standard Law]]''
The primary purpose of the Maze Police is the enforcement of Standard Law, a unified, standardized set of laws and rules created by the founders of the faction. The Standard Law system was designed to standardize the laws across multiple towns, and the Maze Police was created for the purpose of providing to provide backup and assistance to local Town Security, but also and most importantly, relieving local town jails by handling the arresting and incarceration of lawbreakers.
To qualify for Police assistance, a town or a faction must sign a contract with the Maze Police to ensure that their towns' local Town Security will enforce Standard Law as outlined. In exchange, these towns are allowed to request backup from the Police; something that is commonly referred to as "benefitting from Police protection".
Arrested suspects are then sent to one of their aforementioned police stations, where they are processed into prisoners and placed into cells, either temporarily or permanently, depending on the gravity of their crimes. Each station's [[Police Chief]] has the final say on the fate of each prisoner and has the power to set and modify sentences, or even pardon them altogether.
Part of all of the possessions of a prisoner may be confiscated by the Police as part of the punishment served, with no duty to return the items at the end of the sentence. The practice is highly controversial; some consider it to be theft in all but name, others believe that it is an essential part of law enforcement to take resources away from criminals in order to fuel the Police's own.
In a more general sense, other than the enforcement of Standard Law and the management of prisoners, the objective of the Maze Police is to root out and destroy criminal organizations, as well as deter people from joining or associating with gangs or criminal groups.
Although the general concept of a united law enforcement organization dates back at least to the medieval ages, the Maze Police as it is known today was first conceptualized on E7-210, Duplima 14, during the ''Great Debate''; a forum organized by and for Town Security personnel from across the world. The original idea was for every town in the world to follow the same procedures, enforce the same laws and rules, and simplify communication between law enforcers. In particular, when the questions of how to best manage the growing threat of organized crime, as well as how best to deal with prisoners were asked and debated upon, the concept for a unified police organization, who would be dedicated to the enforcement of a singular set of laws, as well as manage prisoners on behalf of other towns, through the construction of large police stations and correctional facilities. The idea received praise, particularly when it was clarified that its role would not be to replace existing Town Security, but instead to assist them.
Months later, in Pentema 20 of the same year, [[Citadel Lambeth]] was founded, and construction of the first police station began. The Maze Police had officially been established. The first leader, Sheriff Martin Sinclair, drafted an initial version of what became known as [[Standard Law]]. He also created the contract system; if they wished to receive police protection and delegate prisoner management to the Police, these towns had to sign a contract stipulating that local Town Security had to enforce Standard Law just as the Police did. Nearly every human town of the era agreed to sign a contract, but all of the youkai town towns refused, out of a concern for independence.
=== The Resource Wars ===
=== Rise of the Wraiths ===
In E7-54, Triema 18, shortly after [[Sirvarris]] was rediscovered and re-settled, a secret room behind the Sirvarris Silverlight Library is discovered. A tiny chamber is found inside of it, containing a handwritten medieval document, a greatsword, and a large, intricate crown made of silver, platinum, and white gold. This crown was later confirmed to be the '''Silver Crown''', belonging to King Maratuxa, the last ruler of the medieval Silverlight Kingdom. The document found inside the chamber explained that the crown was designed to be used as a key, intended to open another secret cache hidden somewhere else in the Mazes. This cache contains the Silverlight Kingdom's treasure, intended to be used by the "rightful heirs to the Silverlight Kingdom's legacy" and encouraging whoever finds the treasure to use the money for re-establishing the Kingdom. The King warns that the crown alone is not sufficient; without its specially shaped diamond, the crown cannot be turned all the way and the cache cannot be opened.
In light of the joyful news, Sirvarris Mayor Darius Palkovich organized an exposition of the crown, the sword, and selected books and medieval artifacts, in an attempt to attract tourists and give Sirvarris an early economic boost.
On Quartema 11, one month after the grisly events, the Mazes Broadcasting Company receives an anonymous package containing a videocassette and a message, urgently requesting the broadcasting of the videocassette's content.
In the video message, Keith "Spectrum" Daxon, a small-time gang leader from Elusec, makes the claim claimed that he and his gang, the Wraiths, are responsible for last month's heist of the Silver Crown. He claims to be the rightful descendant of King Maratuxa, announcing his intention to re-establish the Kingdom under his rightful rule. He then explains that the crown is missing its diamond, then issued an ultimatum: the world has 72 hours to find the Silver Crown's diamond and deliver it to the Wraiths. Whoever finds it and brings it to him would be "handsomely rewarded"; however, if no-one heeds his demands, then he threatens "terror and misfortune", specifically to the towns of Neo Khazrun and Citadel Lambeth.
The message was broadcasted at 2 PM onto the MBC television channel. In the days that followed, eight individuals attempted to claim the reward by bringing various objects, none of which were the real diamond. The leader of the Maze Police at the time, Sheriff Anton Hennessy, appeared in a televised message of his own, urging the population not to take this message seriously and to dismiss it as a mere hoax.
This decision turned out to be a disastrous one, as 3 days later, on Quartema 14, the Wraiths sent another message to the MBC headquarters. In it, Spectrum explains that eight people have attempted to "deceive" him and that none was able to bring him the diamond he sought. In turn, he once again threatened Neo Khazrun and Citadel Lambeth, promising to "make them pay" for keeping what was his out of his reach. The message was broadcasted once again at 2 PM onto the MBC television channel.
Hours later in [[Neo Khazrun]]], thirty heavily-armed and heavily-armored men identifying themselves as members of the Wraiths force their way through the town gate, killing all four TownSec officers on duty, then proceeded onwards to open fire on every citizen they could find. Despite exchanges of fire between the invaders and a population desperately trying to defend themselves, the Wraiths were able to briefly take control of the social square, killing 31 citizens and wounding 67 more, while sustaining no losses and 3 wounded. The Wraiths ended the operation by breaking into the town hall and capturing Neo Khazrun Mayor Rodney Vanden.
Virtually at the same time in [[Citadel Lambeth]], multiple explosions were reported at the Maze Police Headquarters. Multiple bombs had been planted into the station's offices, killing 11 and wounding 5. Among the casualties was Sheriff Hennessy.
In E7-54, Hexema 2, in a famous internal speech to her personnel, the newly-appointed Sheriff, Trudy Lanier, described the situation as "dire", stating that the criminal organizations of the world "are making fools and clowns out of us" and that "enough is enough, it is time for us to respond to fire with fire".
The first measure was to modernize the standard equipment issued to all Police personnel, largely inspired by military equipment. Body armor became standard-issue, officers were now expected to carry and be proficient with a wider array of weapons - most notably, automatic rifles, shotguns, and submachine guns. An attempt to phase out the revolver was made, in favor of more modern semi-automatic pistols, but resistance from detectives led to revolvers remaining an integral part of police armories. In additionAdditionally, other, then ultra-modern types of equipment started being issued, such as then ultra-modern mobile phones and tactical radios. The measures were accompanied by more stringent combat and marksmanship training, raising the bar significantly.
Last, but not least, a new division of Police activity, the '''Special Response Team''', was established. Members of the Special Response Team had to pass even more stringent training standards; they were expected to be fully proficient with any type of weapon, wear full body armor, and operate in small, highly-coordinated tactical teams. The purpose of the SRT is to respond to high-risk situations and intercept the most dangerous of criminals, minimizing the need to expose regular personnel to deadly situations, as well as providing heavily-armed backup to patrol teams and detective units, should the need arise.
Police investigations to find Spectrum's whereabouts continued throughout the year. Spectrum and his last remaining lieutenants were finally sighted in the newly-founded town of [[Greening]], another independent, outlaw town.
Nearly a year after Elusec was captured, in E7-55, Ultima 25, Sheriff Lanier authorized Operation Bleeding Bear. Several SRT teams are sent to the town, organizing a methodical invasion and lockdown. The elite officers searched every last facility for Spectrum's whereabouts, interrogating any and all people inhabitants they came across. Four hours into the operation, he is finally sighted in a residential area alongside his last lieutenants; all of whom were reportedly incapacitated and placed in restraints before a single shot could be fired.
In a peculiar display that had been lauded by some as a show of power, and criticized by others as naked police brutality, Spectrum was dragged to the social square center of Greening, where SRT officers proceeded to strip him of all of his clothing and equipment, beating him and publicly humiliating him in front of Greening's population until the operation was finally declared over.
In E7-414, Nonama 11, the [[Guild of Silver Larceners]] performed their first most famous heist, the '''Super-Heist''', hitting the town of [[Greening]], now under the control of the newly risen [[Yatela Crime Syndicate]]. Between '''[[File:Parallar symbol.png|10px]]2 and 4 million''' worth of goods had been stolen by the 50-man heist team, which suffered no casualties, only 7 wounded.
In retaliation for the affront against his town, Syndicate Don Benito Yatela III ordered a retaliatory siege of the town of [[Gimrun]] on E7-415, Duplima 27, sending dozens of [[enforcer|enforcers]] and [[caporegime|capos]] to block anyone from entering or leaving the town of Gimrun. The Don's intentions were intended to starve the town of resources for one year, intending the Guild to make the Guild "beg for mercy". Syndicate forces laying siege routinely attack caravans attempting to bring goods to the town, supplementing their own supply lines, and depriving Gimrun of many resources. Casualties are unknown, but it is believed that many inhabitants of the town have died of hunger or thirst as a result of rationing and depletion of reserves.
Gimrun's population, locked inside of their own town, repeatedly and desperately attempted to make contact with the Maze Police to liberate them of their plea. The Police, however, refused to intervene, citing that Gimrun is an independent town controlled by a criminal organization, therefore sitting outside of their jurisdiction.
On E7-416, Duplima 27, exactly a year later, the siege was finally called off. Larcener activity all but disappeared outside of Gimrun for many years afterward.
=== The Police Protection Plan ===
Between the years of E7-415 and E7-417, the Police decided to launch several settling parties, founding three new towns and police stations; [[Beadsor]], [[Murberry]] , and [[Wayward]].
A month after Wayward was settled, during the month of Heptima, the Police announced the formation of the '''Regional Coverage System,''' assigning each of their towns and associated police stations to a particular area of the Mazes, improving the efficiency and speed of responses to calls.
In E7-419, all communications with the town of [[Roazon]] were mysteriously lost in the month of Pentema. Traders and caravans reaching the town found it completely abandoned and littered with dead bodies. The Maze Police was called to conduct an investigation; the town is quickly referred to as Ghost Town Roazon.
Roazon, home to the Theoretical Physics Science Team, had been running a scientific project called Project Psyker since E7-417, intending to research psychic powers. Though rumors of unethical practices had been floating for the past few years, nothing could have prepared the detective units in charge of figuring out what had happened to Roazon. Extensive police investigations revealed that the team in charge of the project kept [[satori]] and psionic-augmented humans called [[psionic fighter|psionics]] in captivity, under abject, farm-like conditions. The situation reached a breaking point after an unspecified atrocity (detectives suggested that it could have been rapes or tortures, but there was no definite proof), after which the captives organized a breakout, murdered most of the team members and took , taking their weapons in order and using them to raid break out of the town of supplies with which to make an escape. The town populationRoazon's populace, hearing of the existence of these new monsters that could kill with mere thoughts, thought it more prudent to leave rather than fight them, and escaped the town en masse.
=== Reaction to the Youkai Nation ===