Alongside all the reforms of the law, came reforms for those enforcing
the law. The destruction of the Janissaries (the elite military class) in 1826
left massive gaps in the internal security of the Ottoman Empire. Members of
the Ottoman Imperial Army, under the control of the Serasker, took over their
duties and started Constantinople’s first police force.
In 1845, the sultan issued the Polis Nizamnamesi (police regulation)
organizing these men into their own modern police bureau: the Zabtiye. One year
later, he established the Zabtiye Kaymakamlingi, an office with the purpose of
unifying the police force under their authority, driving out corruption, and
standardizing policing methods. The Zabtiye still fall under the authority of
the Serasker. All are Turkish, all are Nithamiyeen. A Zabtiye officer is
quickly recognizable by his waist-length gray coat with red piping, matching
gray trousers, scarlet fez, and the silver star and crescent moon badge pinned
to their chest.
Although the Sultan’s reorganization of the Zabtiye was heavily
influenced by the Parisian police, they fall short of this cosmopolitan ideal.
His men lack experience, knowledge, and tact.
Zabtiye officers patrol the city streets, surveying public places,
markets, and religious sites as a deterrent for crime. They are badly equipped
to solve those crimes already occurred, and the criminals of Constantinople
know it. With the new opportunities brought by the war and the wave of
Europeans in Constantinople, crime grows everywhere in the crowded city
streets. Rumors spread of pashas bribing Zabtiye officers close to unmasking
their crimes, and of robberies committed by men dressed as English soldiers.
Dissatisfied by the Zabtiye’s efforts to staunch the flow of crime,
European consuls took drastic measures to protect their citizens. Residents in
the European quarters of Pera and Galata, fear for their lives after a recent
spree of nightly murders and robberies. Because French officers were among the
victims, the French army stationed some of its soldiers to patrol the streets
of Pera, without asking permission from the Ottoman government. The Sultan has
not responded to their diplomatic blunder, but certain pashas are furious.
At
night, very few oil lamps light the abandoned streets and winding alleyways of
Constantinople, providing intriguing opportunities for thieves, muggers, and
other nighttime predators. To supplement to police efforts after dark, a force
of night watchmen patrol the streets armed with an iron shod staff. As the watchman
walks the clink of the staff on stone declares his watchful presence. City law
forbids anyone going out after dark without a lit lantern or candle. Night
watchmen regularly arrest anyone lacking illumination on suspicion of criminal
intent.
Due to the diversity of the Constantinople, Kadis handle the sentencing
for Turkish criminals, consuls take care of foreign nationals, and local
religious leaders, such as the Patriarch of the Greek Aluminte church, judge
the members of their ethnic communities. Although a judge could sentence a
thief’s hand cut off, or an unfaithful wife stoned, these punishments are
mostly used as a deterrent rather than a regular course of justice. Fines and
floggings are the most common sentences, followed by forced labor and
banishment from the city. The courts save mutilation (usually a hand or foot)
and death for traitors, the most violent crimes, or incorrigible repeat
offenders.
If punished with a fine, the amount varies by the offense of the crime,
and the criminal’s wealth. The most common form of corporal punishment is the
bastinado, the flogging of the bottom of the foot. The bastinado is painful,
humiliating, and temporarily crippling. Any character punished by the bastinado
suffers a 3 black dice penalty to all Dexterity skill tests. Criminals sentenced to forced labor perform
any service needed by the government for the duration of their sentence, such
as logging, construction, or service in the Ottoman navy. Although, execution methods in the Ottoman Empire can still be medieval
(such as beheading or impaling) hanging is the most common method.
Hasan
Bin Sunduk (Leopardfolk Zabtiye Patrolman)
Physical: 7 Initiative: 5
Mental: 3 Health: 8
Social: 4 Quintessence: 6
Damage: Punch (3), Club (6)
Possible
Special Traits:
Keep the Sultan’s subjects safe +3, Suspicious of foreigners +2, A
credit to the Zabtiye +2,
Despite his average height, Hasan stands tall with authority in his
uniform, polished badge gleaming, ready to perform his duty in the Sultan’s
name. His spotted fur bristles and his jaws contort due to a recent tooth ache.
Silah
bin Musa (Human Kadi)
Physical: 4 Initiative: 6
Mental: 8 Health: 8
Social:
8
Quintessence: 18
Damage: Punch (3)
Possible
Special Traits:
Desperately hides his past dishonesties +2, Scholar of the Law +3,
Dignified and official demeanor +3,
Silah disdains the European fashions, preferring intricate kaftans (a
long colored robe) and the traditional turban. His stern wrinkled face, behind
his gray beard, always frowns as though he ponders a difficult problem.
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