Night City Police Department

The Night City Police Department (NCPD) was the official law enforcement agency of Night City. The NCPD became privately-owned in 2076.

2070s
In 2076, the NCPD was transferred to private ownership to increase its profitability. The chief of police was replaced by a Data Term sales executive who fired half of the officers, reduced patrols, and ordered beat cops to prioritize writing tickets. This only worsened Night City's crime rate. The reorganization also involved a drones-for-cops replacement program, charging citizens 5 per minute to make 911 calls, and strengthening partnerships with privatized prisons, but by the end of year the NCPD was no closer to becoming profitable and getting its debt under control. When the NCPD's capitalization dropped 17% from its levels in January 2077, Mayor Lucius Rhyne began considering an alternative solution to what was termed "the police problem": hiring firms from the corporate security industry to police Night City instead.

The NCPD remained outnumbered and occasionally outgunned by criminals in 2077 under the corrupt leadership of Commissioner Jerry Fawlter. Due to the overwhelming level of violence and criminal activity in Pacifica and the Northside Industrial District of Watson, the NCPD has ceded any jurisdiction there, and will also not venture into the Badlands. The safest areas of the city are City Center and Westbrook, while Heywood, Santo Domingo, and the remainder of Watson range from moderately to extremely dangerous. The NCPD maintains a Threat Level system to keep Night Citizens informed about the riskiest districts of the city.

To increase its effectiveness and reduce the mortality rate of officers, over the years the department petitioned the Night City Council to enact policies that grant it more legal authority and protections. As of 2077, NCPD officers have several extreme procedural abilities, including: officers may detain individuals without bringing charges against them for up to one year; shooting an individual in a limb is regarded as a warning shot, not a usage of lethal force; vehicles that do not immediately pull over when flagged for a traffic stop may be fired upon; and collateral damage, including civilian deaths, is (unofficially) permissible when using lethal force to neutralize a cyberpsycho.

Patrol
The Patrol Division is the backbone of any modern police force and is the largest division within the NCPD. The primary purpose is to patrol any given sector to enforce the law and reduce crime, of which there is a lot. The Night City Government is constantly giving more resources and manpower to the patrol division mainly due to the dangerous nature of the role and the rise in crime.

Beat Patrol
Beat cops are the boots on the ground and are tasked with patrolling their designated sector. In years past beat cops typically patrolled alone, but due to the rise in crime they now go in pairs. They have to respond to any threats from gangs, corporate shootouts, riots, drugs, psychos and your everyday disgruntled citizen. Once a shift starts, they are on their own and are expected to deal with the majority of incidents alone, unless it calls for the cavalry. Standard issue equipment consists of armored vest and helmet, cuffs, a pistol and/or non-lethal launcher and a first aid kit.

Traffic Patrol
Traffic is considered a lame job; the lowest on the totem pole and typically given out as punishment by a higher up. Their role is primarily to enforce traffic laws and the traffic flowing. ''Nobody particularly likes traffic cops, not even other cops. ''Standard issue equipment consists of an armored vest, traffic helmet and a 9mm pistol.

Cruiser Patrol
Cruiser Patrol is a step up from the standard beat cop. They drive a police outfitted BMW600, known as a black and white and typically assist beat cops on their patrol of a sector. However cruisers have the luxury of being sat down, in the warm and behind some thick sheet metal. Cruiser patrol is a little more dangerous simply due to the high profile and large target of a car.

Airborne Patrol
Airborne provides aerial patrol and surveillance services for the city using helicopters, gyros, AV-4, and AV-6. While they are equipped with the latest in aircraft weaponry, the Airborne Patrol is basically a support branch. They can get anywhere they’re needed quickly, but there needed in a lot of places.

Investigation
The investigation division is smaller than that of the Patrol division, but is seen as a step up. This department carries out all criminal investigations within Night City and detectives often come across some of the more brutal crimes carried out. Cops working here are known as plainclothes, and are known to have a knowledge of the city that far surpasses that of beat cops.

Vice
The Vice department primarily deals with narcotics with an emphasis on trafficking, possession and distribution as well as prostitution, gambling and weapons crimes. The majority of cases are undercover work, with Vice cops possibly spending months at a time infiltrating dangerous gangs in the worst parts of the city. They are usually outfitted with a variety of cybernetics that deal with infiltration and surveillance.

Robbery
The robbery department deals with all things theft, and covers armed robbery, burglary, auto theft, grand larceny, fraud, counterfeiting, and embezzlement. Money and resources are poured into this department due to its dealings with high-value crimes. Members spend the majority of their time dealing with paperwork, and some are known to go undercover when high-value heists are suspected. More often than not they are seen racing to the scene of a robbery, guns drawn and aimed at the perps' still inside.

Homicide
Homicide deals with everything from mass-murder to aggravated assault and the ever growing corporate murders. Homicide detectives can deal with up to 50 murders in a single day in Night City and, as a result, many are cold and distant, and some have developed psychological issues of their own. With increasing violence from gangs, crime syndicates and the corporations, Homicide is very busy and more often than not the crimes go unpunished due to the lack of evidence.

Special Investigations
The Special Investigations unit, also known as S.I.N. deal with more large scale and serious crimes that include multiple departments or even LEDiv's. Crimes involving mass murder, corporate espionage, wide-spread organized crime, high profile kidnappings, and counterfeiting. Shocking or brutal murders are covered by the S.I.N. when regular departments have no clue how to solve the case. Other divisions within the police tend to dislike the S.I.N. due to them receiving more money and often taking complete control of an existing case.

Tactical
The tactical division is there for when the talking stops, which is quite often in 2077. They deal with high-risk situations such as hostage rescue, riots or cyberpsychos.

S.W.A.T.
Special Weapons and Tactics are a rapid response unit trained to deal with high-risk situations and heavy weapons. Teams consist of 10 highly trained and well equipped members. They typically use their own custom tactical police vehicles, and are loaded with as many combat oriented cybernetics as they can handle. SWAT officers typically deal with hostage rescue, heavily armed shootouts, sieges, and security for high-profile targets.

MaxTac
MAX-TAC, also known as C-SWAT, SPAR (Special Purpose Assault Rescue) and officially called the Cyborg Suppression Unit, or Psycho Squad, in Night City. They are a step above SWAT and deal primarily with cyberpsychos.

Riot
The Riot team are on-call 24/7 and are the non-lethal equivalent of SWAT. They are trained in non-lethal procedures, though accidents have happened, and might happen again. They are known for crowd control sealing off entire city blocks just to successfully disperse all the rioters. The NCPD has a policy i''f you don't want to get hurt, don't riot. ''Riot teams consist of 10 troopers lead by a single officer and are issued riot shields, ballistic armor, tear gas, tasers, and non-lethal ammunition.

NetSec
The Net Security Section provides an enforcement, monitoring, and information service on areas of the Net within a specific city. While NETSEC's main priority is to track down the most dangerous and daring criminal netrunners, they also provide all other sections with up-to-date information straight out of the Net. Not all municipalities have a NETSEC; many rely on the services of NetWatch, the International Net Security organization. Besides monitoring for illegal Netrunning, NETSEC also performs its own information search runs-NETSEC runners often provide valuable information on suspects or corporations (which can lead to a conviction). This is rare, but cops will know a great deal more about their suspect after a Netrun details all his affairs... NETSEC officers tend to be somewhat highly-strung, and are allowed into NCPD without Academy training. NETSEC monitors prospective operatives and recruits them, deputizing them in a similar way to CorpCops. These individuals then become officers within NETSEC with access to top level software and hardware, allowing them to become even more proficient in their chosen area of Netrunning.

Internal Affairs
Internal Affairs Division (IAD) is the bane of most police officers; its job is to investigate officers suspected of committing gross misconduct in the pursuance of their duties, or who are corrupt, dangerous, or perform other activities which either abuses their position, or endangers the Department as a whole. Experienced investigators, IAD officers are selected for their ability to sniff out when a cop is "bad."

IAD is not well liked by other divisions. They have the ability to turn an officer's life upside down on the mere suspicion of illicit involvement. An officer under investigation by the IAD may be suspended, or worse, and there is always a stigma involved as your partner and buddies wonder if you really are a dirty cop.

Administration
Admin Div is manned mostly by non-cops: secretaries and other desk jockeys performing most of the administrative duties of the police department. While it is possible to transfer to Admin, nobody really wants to, unless they've had a real good scare or have been seriously wounded. Admin positions, unless very high up, hold little or no prestige among other officers.

Late 2070s
The Night City Police Department has access only to basic or outdated equipment that is generally insufficient for their needs, due to being consistently underfunded and expected to turn a profit. Some officers resort to obtaining better equipment at their own expense. Cutting-edge weapons and gear on par with what corporations lavish on their security forces and contractors is usually reserved strictly for MaxTac. One exception to this is the recent procurement of some Militech Centaur exoskeletons for a few lucky Patrol Division officers (alongside a number of examples for MaxTac), a belated response to the increasingly dire crime situation caused by the current NCPD Commissioner's (not to mention the City Council) disastrous policies.

Weapons
The Night City Police Department has a threat level code "B2B" which means night city police are equipped with "Automatic Weapons". By 2077, the Militech M-10AF Lexington serves as the sidearm of NCPD officers. They also use the Saratoga, Ajax, Constitutional Arms M2038 Tactician and Defender, and Nokota D5 Copperhead.

Armor
The Night City Police Department has a threat level code "B2B" which means night city police are equipped with "door gunner to metal Gear" (SP 25)

Technology
In 2077, the Night City Police Department is armed with Militech Minotaur mechs which can be seen around the city. They also utilize Militech Wyvern reconnaissance drones which arrive first to the scene of a suspected crime in progress. Zetatech Bombus drones (also used for reconnaissance), Militech Griffin combat drones, and Arasaka Robot R Mk.2 patrol robots are also part of the post-2076 NCPD inventory, all part of Commissioner Fawlter's infamous drones-for-cops policy.

Vehicles

 * 2077
 * Archer Hella EC-H i860 NCPD Enforcer
 * Brennan Apollo 650-S Scout
 * Chevillon Emperor 720 NCPD Ironclad
 * Militech Behemoth
 * Militech Hellhound "Man o' War"
 * Militech Manticore
 * Thorton Merrimac MSP3 Dreadnought
 * Villefort Cortes V6000 NCPD Overlord
 * Zetatech Atlus

Miscellaneous

 * The NCPD used building-mounted or interior drop-down turrets, which it officially referred to as "Automated Defense Units". A common turret model was the Arasaka David IIIC.