The IDMP, or Imperial Drodo Mounted Police are the national police force of the Drodo Empire and are tasked with law enforcement, border security, and at times even defence. They are a well-trained, well-equipped, and efficient arm of the Drodoian government.
History[]
The IDMP can trace their roots back to the beginnings of the Empire, where the actual governmental organizations were being established. In the earlier years, they oftentimes took the role of the military or were even assigned military operations, due to their common presence and lack of speed of the then-used warp drive restricting Military movements. Many stories are still told of the exploits of these early officers fighting, successfully, against rebellion and even invaders.
Training[]
IDMP recruitment and training is rigorous, making sure that they are psychologically and physically fit for the job. Their extensive training covers law and its interpretation, horseback riding, wilderness survival, driving, strategy and tactics, firearms usage, unarmed self defence and even melee training with clubs, knives, bayonets, and swords. IDMP officers must also know all official languages (Arcadian, Inquinian, and Dorian) and are encouraged to learn the regional languages and dialects of their assigned location.
Missions[]
The IDMP are unique in the diversity of their missions. The IDMP covers a multitude of missions that in many other nations would be done by the military, such as border defence. Their missions are described below.
Law Enforcement - Like all police, the IDMP take responsibility over the preservation and observation of federal law. They often make patrols; On foot, in car, and on horseback, to look out for infractions.
Border Patrol - The IDMP have access to military-grade equipment for use in border defence. Inquisitor and Impaler-Class ships under IDMP command skim interstellar space, while heavily armed space stations protect border colonies.
Riot Police - Oftentimes, the IDMP are called in to work with local police and the militia to subdue riots.
Attacks against organized crime - One of the largest responsibilites of the Mounted Police is to bust organized crime, and are swift and brutal in their operations to do so; Oftentimes calling in and using military-grade equipment such as assault rifles, grenade launchers, and at times even artillery to annihilate the Empire's worst criminal syndicates.
Subduing rebellion - Currently-stationed IDMP will help train militias and work together with the local military and militia bases to destroy violent rebellions on a planet or in a star system or province. During the Crisis, this was almost the IDMP's primary job.
Military Operations - While this job is not as often done nowadays, the IDMP are still sometimes called in to fight in an offensive war as light cavalry and Dragoons. Though in times of total war, where invasion is imminent, the IDMP are fully expected to fight as military units.
Equipment[]
With such a heavy workload comes a respectable list of equipment to assist in the operations. The IDMP are perhaps one of the best equipped police forces in the Katar Sector or even Gigaquadrant.
Vehicles[]
Lancer-Class cybernetic horse - A hardy vehicle used on rough terrain or urban patrols.
Rolland & Sons C-70 Police Cruiser - The premier police cruiser of the Mounted Police. The C-70 is a swift car, capable of a 300 kph speed limit and is equipped with bulletproof armour on the hood, doors, and fuselage. The C-70 also comes equipped with a spare TU-25 Shotgun.
C-39B3 Main Battle Tank A swift tank, perfect for counterinsurgency and the IDMP's needs.
E-16 Agamemnon A versitile VTOL craft, capable of filling multiple roles, such as ferrying and deploying police officers, patrolling the airspace, assisting in chases or acting as forward scouts, and, of course, delivering heavy fire support in open battle.
Handheld Weapons and Equipment[]
R-18A Bulletproof vest - A multilayered bulletproof vest in a lamellar configuration, this piece of armour can be worn under a uniform comfortably and blocks pistol rounds along with most rifle rounds.
Berak M87 Pistol - A reliable sidearm, the Berak M87 has been the standby of the IDMP for several decades.
TU-25 Shotgun - Firing a 12-gauge shell, the TU-25 is a powerful pump-action shotgun.
X8-95 Assault Rifle - Used in infiltration and hostage extraction missions, the X8-95 is a sturdy, military-grade weapon.
Kirik Armouries Jurir Rifle, Mk. 16 - An ancient infantry rifle from the Drodoian equivalent of the 19th century, this breechloader has been called back into service as a riot gun. Rechambered and extensively modified so as to accept rubber rounds, tranquilizer rounds, and electroshock rounds, this rifle was chosen as it was easy to produce, simple to use (a simple breechloading mechanism), and fires subsonically; Meaning it would be far less lethal with the new rounds.
ML-87 Grenade Launcher - A break-action grenade launcher used primarily for crowd control. Oftentimes using tear gas or "sponge" rounds (non-explosive, non-lethal rounds designed to cause minor injury and confusion).
TY-8 Riot Shield - A transparent, large riot shield that is bulletproof.
Uiark Defence Inc. Stunstick Model 86 - A lightweight stunstick designed to stun or confuse victims with a small electrical shock and force of impact. Designed to be non-lethal.
Drodo Imperial Cavalry Sabre, Mk III - Carried standard by mounted patrols, and often worn by higher-ranking officers.
Drodo Imperial Electro-lance, Mk I - A newer, experimental weapon given to mounted officers during riots. It is an electroshock lance designed to stun or incapacitate rioters from a distance or, as some would suggest, in a cavalry charge.
Drodo Imperial Sabre Briquet, Mk II - A short, curved sword sixty centimetres long. This shorter, more practical sword is worn by high-ranking officers when on foot or in a vehicle, the longer, more formal sword being somewhat awkward in these situations. Sabre briquets may even be issued to riot police as a lethal alternative to the stunstick if riots become extremely violent.
Heavy Weapons[]
2745 Imperial Field Gun, Mk 4 - Used in open warfare and when besieging compounds. Also finds use in riot control with two unique shells. The first being a shell with a lightweight, plastic warhead filled with teargas, which bursts upon impacting the ground. The second being a "canister shot"; That is a one-off "shotgun blast" of nonlethal sponge rounds.
Starships[]
Impaler-Class Battleship - A heavy military ship; These are generally sent out on border patrols and docked in space stations in case of hostile incursions.
Inquisitor-Class Battlecrusier - The smaller, more common cousin to the Impaler, usually sent to support the larger variant and to patrol.
Chaser-Class Corvette, IDMP variant - The most common spacecraft in IDMP possession, the IDMP varient of the Chaser Class does away with much of the "stealth" and other ambush assets of the military model, in favour of more economical and practical equipment and weaponry. It possesses an advanced sensor suite, a powerful hyperdrive and sublight engine, along with several turbolasers and railguns.
Uniform[]
The IDMP wear a standard uniform across the entirety of the Empire, and is a good example of Drodoian tastes in such an area. IDMP officers on-duty wear a field-grey military tunic over a standard shirt and yellow tie. A leather utility belt is worn at the waist-level over the tunic, holding their sidearm, sword (if they have one), comms device and spare handcuffs, among other smaller things.
In addition, officers wear somewhat-loose deep navy-blue trousers, which have a thick yellow stripe going down the outer sides of each leg. Officers wear tall boots going nearly to the knee. On more formal occasions and with higher-ranking officers it is required that they tuck the trousers into their boots, however on standard duty and with field officers it is more usual for the trousers to go over the boots, which helps in making the officers look somewhat less threatening.
IDMP officers are well-known (and sometimes mocked by foreigners) for their unique headwear. IDMP officers wear a navy-blue cylindrical hat twenty centimetres tall with a short, black brim that is very similar to the Human Kepi or Shako. This hat is usually adorned with a brass emblem of the Drodoian government on the front, and for higher-ranking officers a white, brown, or yellow pompom (depending on rank) may also feature on the top brim.
Controversy[]
While there is always some degree of controversy surrounding every police organization, the IDMP's record has, until recent years, been mostly clear due to an excellent training program and strict standards. However in recent years a severe budget cut by the Jivirik administration has meant that standards in training and recruitment have dropped drastically at a crucial moment; Just as a new generation of hundreds of thousands of officers are joining the force, the largest generation of officers yet. Needless to say this has caused new and dangerous issues, and has shaken public confidence in the conservative ruling party.
Police Brutality[]
There has been a startling rise in reports of police abuse, harassment, and murders over the past few years, which has been blamed on Premier Jivirik's budget cuts decreasing the standards of professionalism long maintained. It has been noted that police, more often then before, deploy riot gear and use what are considered heavy-handed, military-style measures against protesters such as raiding protester camps to arrest ringleaders. This is in comparison to previous times where, as long as protests were relatively peaceful, police stayed in standard uniform and acted as the peacekeepers and mediators between protesters and their targets, as opposed to implanting themselves as the opposition to the protesters.
Civilian Response[]
The Drodo people, who are naturally very fond of their rights, have pushed back strongly against this rising trend. As the number of these new-generation policemen, and with them abuse cases, grew, Drodo clans began to ally with one another and from their young men form armed patrols to police the general area occupied by these federations of clans.
These alliances and patrols were formed out of a collective fear and distrust for the new generation of IDMP officers that now rapidly replaced previous, more disciplined, generations. As such the armed patrols and the clan alliances that created them possess an extreme hostility towards IDMP officers, and oftentimes will escort any such policemen out of their neighbourhoods at gunpoint. This has, of course, resulted in many notable firefights in which both civilians and police officers have been wounded and killed. It has even turned some areas into literal battlegrounds as very large and powerful federations, boasting hundreds of warriors, fight brush wars against IDMP forces.
That said they are not necessarily anti-government. Planetary and even provincial governments, who are already quite partial to the local clans in the first place, often support the clan federations over the IDMP and federal government in subtle ways, such as pouring more funding into the more trusted local police forces, disrupting the bureaucratic processes of local IDMP constabularies, and acquitting clan warriors. In return clan federations may make monetary donations to their local government, support the ruling party (or a different political party in the elections if they promise to support the federations), and cooperate with local courts and police.