Bauhaus Law Enforcement - SinaiMUCK Mutant Chronicles

Bauhaus Law Enforcement

BLEU Officer Law enforcement on a day-to-day basis is handled by the Bauhaus Law Enforcement Units, or the "BLEU", otherwise known as the "Blues". They typically operate in pairs, and are easily recognizeable in their distinctive black and blue uniforms and overcoats. Bauhaus believes in saturation policing, and has an exceptionally large number of patrolmen operating in its core areas. Purportedly, on any given street in Bauhaus domain, you will see a law officer at least once every five minutes. (But then, keep in mind that this is a claim of the so-called "Ministry of Truth".) In a Bauhaus city, every city block has a police station with 24 officers, and in times of need (such as a riot), the Reserves can be called upon to quell unrest. Most all Blues are men, since the minimum height requirement of 6'3" excludes most women.

Bauhaus law enforcement doesn't conform to, say, Capitolian standards of policing. They routinely handle matters of petty crime on the spot, as many Blues think that a good pistol-whipping is as good a deterrent as a prison sentence would be. This is one reason why Bauhaus crime statistics are so low, because so many crimes go unreported, having been dealt with on the spot by Blues on duty.

The Nobility are not subject to such immediate dispensation of justice, however. Quite often, if a Noble commits some petty crime, the officer might just look the other way. Otherwise, if the crime is reported, the resultant disgrace should be its own punishment. Nobles who have a record of repeated petty offenses are likely to be dealt with harshly by their own families for the resultant disgrace to the family name.

Bauhaus Executioner In cases of violence, theft or public disorder where the offender is apprehended, the case goes before the local Magistrate. Magistrates have considerable authority in deciding cases, and usually administer justice on the spot. Bauhaus has no concept of trial by jury, and Magistrates are fully authorized to act as judge, jury and even executioner. These, after all, are dark times, and Bauhaus has been a perpetual state of martial law since the Age of Catastrophe.

Punishment

There are only three sentences in the Bauhaus penal code, and three known punishments. These are:

Death. This is the sentence for capital crimes, usually administered on the spot by Magistrates and Executioners. It is invoked for treason, murder, sedition, tax evasion, and any crime involving the death of a noble.

Transportation. If you are not sentenced to death, you'll get the next best thing: time in one of the gulags operated by the Order of Fear up in the Ring of Winter. There, you will toil long hours in the biting cold, be starved, and as oft as not get beaten by sadistic guards -- not to mention the treatment you can expect from your fellow inmates. In the event that you survive your sentence -- roughly a 50% chance -- you will be released in disgrace. This punishment is the one most often dealt to commoners, and can be given for sedition, moral sabotage, armed robbery, burglary, killing a commoner, taking the name of the Electors in vain and many other things.

Disgrace. This punishment is generally reserved for the nobility and for officers. It involves being stripped of one's title and name and inheritance, along with one's Bauhaus citizenship, and basically becoming a landless nobody and an exile from the Bauhaus corporation. Most nobles would fear this more than death.

Weapons Permits

HG-12 Handgun The Bauhaus nobility are not required to register any weapons, and have full access to any weaponry they desire from the corporation. However, this does not mean that they can walk down the street with heavy weaponry. A pistol and/or sword is fine. In fact, officers are expected to wear their dueling sabers as badges of their position.

For commoners, this is most definitely not the case. Members of the Reserve are required by law to keep a cabinet in the house with weapons to break out whenever the alarms blare, but at all other times, they are not permitted to use or carry weapons in public. They are required to account for every use and discharge of their weapons, which can result in a lot of paperwork.

This is different, however, in the frontier lands of the Homebuilders. There, citizens may routinely carry a rifle at all times, as one never knows when the enemy (corporate, Dark Legion, or otherwise) may strike.

Outsiders to the corporation are permitted to carry pistols and swords, so long as they have the proper permits. Bauhaus recognizes foreign weapons permits, so long as the other corporations return the favor by allowing their nobility to carry their dueling swords and pistols in public.

Code Duello

Bauhaus Noble Dueling is legal in Bauhaus domains amongst officers and the nobility, though not among commoners and military below officer rank, so long as rules are properly followed. Any noble or officer has the right to invoke Code Duello if he or she has been insulted, and neither party has offered an apology.

A duel may be performed with pistols or swords, and each party must have a second. No armor may be worn by either duelist.

If the duel is performed with swords, then the duelists must start with blades touching. If the duel is performed with guns, then the standard practice is to start back to back, take ten paces, then turn and fire. Since it is considered dishonorable to fire again until your opponent has returned fire, they are as often tests of nerve as of skill.

Traditionally, the duel continues until first blood has been drawn, at which point the seconds call for a halt. Either duelist may then call for an end to the duel, at which point honor has been served. If not, then the duel is to the death. Most duels are only until "first blood".

The outcome of a duel is generally honored, and it is considered bad form for the family of a combatant killed in a duel to have the winner of the duel assassinated.

On very rare occasions, a duel may be held between officers or nobility of Bauhaus and of some other corporation. This is highly unusual, but is still legal under Bauhaus code.

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