Editing Tailspins & Tiki Gods:The Authorities (section)

=The Police=

All French colonial law-enforcement attempts to model itself on the “home” model exercised in France. Port Cochere is no exception- though certain concessions have been made to Port Cochere’s unique situation.

At one point- due to the nature of the unique position of the Kamekame natives, vis a vis the town, it was considered to adopt a modified version of the Cercle system adopted in French West Africa, with appointed chieftains and so on. This plan did not survive contact (or lack thereof) with the Kamekame.

Therefore, an attempt was made to model the local forces on ones from Home.

-When role of the ''Gendarmerie nationale''  (that is, detached military-police responsible for public safety), this duty sometimes falls to the ''Legion Etrangere'' unit stationed at the fort overlooking town.

On occasion, they have done “Search and Rescue” missions in the countryside and coastal areas, such game-warden work as the island requires, crowd control and bodyguarding, securing the Port during emergencies, acting as an honor guard for dignitaries, and (of course) acting as Military Police amongst their own. 

In deference to local wishes, the Legion command tends not to perform investigative functions, unless directly ordered to by the Governor (not the Mayor). They perform the other duties when requested by the Mayor, whom they file reports to for the duration.  They generally arrive as armed and in uniform, as if they were on regular Legion business. 

-''La Sûreté'' (France’s crack National Police force) have a few officers in the Territory, but none stationed at Ile Trouve itself.
 
(They tend to be assigned to larger cities, and would only really have a detective visit if there was a major crime in Port Cochere that the Territorial Government felt required investigation. There is not much chance of the Territorial Government having major crime in Port Cochere that they wanted to be investigated.) 

-This leaves the ''Polices Municipales'', the police force that most Port Cochere residents see on average. The local Brigade of officers answers directly to the Mayor. While they technically share “rural guard” duties, if something requires forest ranger or ‘game warden’ duties, he gives it to the Legionnaires, owing to the delicacy of the Kamekame situation. Neither do they have investigative powers.

This leaves the Municipals as old-fashioned thieftakers. They break up fights, tell drunks and other disorderly people to go home, stop thefts and assaults, and provide assistance as needed. (If there were cars on Ile Trouve, they would ticket them, that sort of thing.) They have certain broadly-interpreted “good order” duties, and are supposed to help out in (for instance) disasters, but generally they stick to the basics: Patrolling and arresting. They wear a uniform (including a half-cape) and a baton. They do not typically carry firearms, though special circumstances may apply. 
 
One thing that makes the local French colonial system different than the British colonial system is that the French system makes no differentiation between ‘subject’ and ‘native’- if an Islander is qualified to serve in the Municipals, they do. There is no ‘auxiliary’ or ‘tribal’ police force. 

Also, all French citizens are considered eligible for national service, including colonial French. A great many Ile Trouveiens have taken the option of patrolling rather than, say, laying a road. (This is carefully tiptoed around in the case of the Kamekame, who are (diplomatically) assumed to ‘tend to their own law enforcement whilst on their private lands.’, due to a historical Protectorate status). 

 
==Police Powers== 

French law does not presume innocence, it presumes guilt. There is a right to silence, but they don’t need to remind you of it. Police may ask anyone to identify themselves, and hold unidentified people (even arrest them for resisting). They can question anyone about a case, search and seize property (during the day), detain suspects for up to a day without access to a lawyer for most of it. 

==Courts== 

The French Polynesian judicial system features a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal, and a Court of Administrative Law (which also handles things like business disputes). These are all located in Papeete, a fair distance away. If a case is not resolved locally (“Pay the fine, and don’t do it again”, for instance), the suspect is held until such time as he can be transported to court.

==Jail/Punishment==

There is a small jail here (maybe five or six old cells in a sun-blasted stone blockhouse), mainly used for holding prior to a prisoner transfer. Things tend to be “handled locally”, instead. French Polynesia has three prisons, none of which are near here. Rumor has it that the worst are still, unofficially, sent to the old penal colony at New Caledonia.

Generally speaking, there is a local distaste for jail-time- many of the French colonist’s forebears were sent to the island as Penal Colonists, so the idea just sits wrong. Fines and “alternate punishment” are favored as a result.  Public execution (often by guillotine) is still common in France in this era- it’s an “arrow in the quiver”- but it has not been applied here for ages.