The law enforcement officers in Dyvers are relative reliable and everpresent. Keeping public order and preventing crime and punishing criminals are important to the city’s leadership, although care is taken not to meddle into other peoples affairs too much. Overly oppressive law enforcement might stifle trade and dry up the main source of revenues. The order is kept by the Dyverian Guard Patrol, the Dyverian Night Watch, the Gatewatch, the Armed Intervention Patrol of Dyvers and the Dyvers Security Team. Each has its own place in keeping the city orderly and its citizens law-abiding.

The Dyverian Guard Patrol
During daylight, Dyverian Guard Patrols (DGP’s) police Dyvers. These patrols consist of four guards and one sergeant. They are dressed in the colors of the city and the sergeant wears a large brass brooch to display his rank. A total of 25% of these patrols are mounted. The DGP's exist to enforce the law, keep public order and assist the citizens. A fair number of them are always patrolling the streets, and each of Dyvers' wall-towers has a DGP permanently stationed there. The DGP's usually try to avoid any combat if at all possible, and if threatened will blow a small copper whistle, which each DGP member wears, to alert nearby patrols to assist them. Their statistics are as follows:

A description of a typical patrol:
"Five men approach, each dressed in shiny chain mail with bright yellow surcoats with a black tri-towered castle upon it. Their black cloaks do little to conceal their longswords, casually scabbarded to their sides. One of the men has fastened his cloak with a large brass brooch. "

The Dyverian Night Watch
This is the nighttime equivalent of the DGP. It is upgraded in strength because the night seems to invite more unlawful activities. The patrol consists of ten guards, one sergeant and one lieutenant. About 25% of the patrols have four wardogs with them. Their statistics are as follows :

A description of a typical patrol:
"Twelve men approach, each dressed in dark chain mail, wearing drab yellow surcoats with a tri-towered castle and gray diagonal stripes. Their black cloaks envelop them, making them no easy target for a sniper. Their longswords are carefully scabbarded, and they move with stealth. Two men wear distinguishing brooches to fasten their cloaks, one of silver and one of brass."

The Gatewatch

Each of the gates has, in addition to the DGP’s stationed in the gate towers, ten guards, four customs officials, two sergeants and one lieutenant. Theirs statistics are as follows :

A description of a typical gatewatch:
"As you approach the gate you see a group of men talking to other travelers and making notes. Most of the men have bright yellow surcoats above their shiny chainmail, and carry the device of Dyvers, the tri-towered castle upon their chests. Casually at their hip they seem to carry scabbarded longswords, and they rest upon a wickedly pointed halberd. Four of them however, have diagonal blue and yellow stripes on their surcoats with lots of brass buttons, and wear no chainmail. They only wear a small sword at their side, and seem to hold paper and a quill."

The Armed Intervention Patrol of Dyvers
The Armed Intervention patrol is sent if there need of powerful assistance to aid the normal guards if they are overmatched. They operate as a team, and will try to lay low any offenders as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are a total of 20 men in the patrol, one captain, one lieutenant, two sergeants, two priests, two mages and twelve veteran guards. Dyvers has two of these teams. Powerful adventures and other citizens of renown are often asked to assist these patrols, even if only on an ad-hoc basis, so these talented individuals can augment patrol strength. Their statistics of a basic patrol are as follows :

Dyverian Security Team
The purpose of the Dyverian security teams is to guard the safety of Dyverian officials, investigate reported crimes and pursue criminals. A complete team exists of one lieutenant-inspector and 8 security officers that act as assistants. As with the AID, talented individuals may be added to a team to assist in the hunt for specific criminals. The statistics for a typical team are as follows:

A description of a typical team:
"A group of stern looking men approaches, most of them dressed in chain mail and having a black surcoat with a yellow tri-towered castle upon it. One of them wears plate mail instead of chain and has a golden castle instead of a yellow one upon his chest, and has gold braid dangling over his shoulders, his black voluminous cloak is fastened with a golden brooch."

Crime and Justice

Dyvers possesses its own system of case laws. This system is partially based on the original Tome of Transgressions laid down by the Aerdi and adapted by Furyondy when Dyvers was still a part of that country, with some further additions adapted from trade laws conceived by the Aerdi House of Darmen. The system is laid down in down in a hefty volume titled The Laws and Rulings of Dyvers. The Laws form the basis of the system, while the Rulings are ever-changing, often amended lot, trying to keep pace with shifts in politics, trade customs, new technology and new products. Some common laws are summed up below:

Case Laws

Explanation of Crimes

Treason: Attacks on the Magister and the High Officials, collaborating to overthrow the current government in an illegal manner, actively aiding an enemy of the city.
Smuggling: Carrying goods into or out of the city, which are illegal and/or require permits. For example: magical items, more than 5 weapons, volatile goods, intoxicating goods, livestock, stolen wares.
Arson: Burning any property out of maliciousness or carelessness
Theft: Any theft having a value of 50 gp. or more
Petty Theft: Pickpocketing, thefts of less than 50 gp.
Burglary: Breaking into another residence without permission
Blade Drawing: Drawing a blade longer than 4 inches in public areas
Unlawful Entry: Appearing within the city's walls after being convicted of a crime and not possessing citizenship.

Most laws are primarily conceived of as deterrents to unlawful behavior. Punishment is often in the form of fines and hard labor, so that the city can reap maximum benefit from a punishment. Fines are usually the primary form of punishment, with hard labor substituted if the criminal cannot pay, and jail time if the criminal is unfit to perform hard labor. Repeated offenders are dealt with harshly, however, see the note on recidivism below. Some laws are pretty broad (such as Obstructing Justice) and can be applied in many circumstances. Misuse of these laws does occur, but only rarely. Sentences for those people that are part of the city’s law enforcement system are twice the normal amount. This serves as a further deterrent those people to commit crimes, and bolsters the people’s confidence in the system.

Arrest and Conviction

Every guard who is at least a sergeant can arrest people, accuse them and convict them of certain crimes. They can also determine the appropriate punishment. Sentencing by sergeants will occur after being brought to the Justice Courts, where the administrative matters and the execution of the sentence will be handled. Anyone can go into appeal against a conviction by a city guard or official and demand a hearing. This hearing will usually be held within a week, depending on the type of case (collecting evidence etc.). If a suspect is convicted after a hearing, double the punishment will be exacted. After a failed appeal only a letter of grace from the magister can abolish someone’s crimes or at least grant a hearing by the High Council if a suspect hasn’t had one yet. Would be appellants and other criminals must consider that although the jails in Dyvers are reasonable (little infectious diseases and only some rats) the labor-intensive (even bureaucratic) administrative system may cause some people to spent much more time in jail than was originally intended, or may experience some trouble in having their possession relocated and returned. One such story goes of a drunkard put in jail for just the evening that spent a whole four weeks in jail, despite protests of his family, because his admittance papers were misplaced. He was taken care of excellently however, and only had a month’s worth of beard-grow to show for it.

Recidivism

Recidivism within 2 months of release from jail/paying of the fine doubles the next punishment, unless something else is specifically noted with the crime. This is cumulative with each conviction.

Lashings and other Punishment

Lashings can also be demanded if one is convicted by a court of law, if it serves the purpose of the court. This is only possible if a suspect is sentenced to more than 7 days of jail/hard labor. Other alternative forms of punishment, such as public humiliation, may also be included, if a person is convicted by a court of law instead of an officer of the guard.

Combination of Crimes

Punishments are added together. For example, obstructing the road, then resisting an officer of the law trying to arrest you while drawing a blade.

Grounds for Justification

If grounds exist to soften or nullify a sentence, for example, self-defense in an assault case, the convicting officer can allow this if this is apparent. If not, a hearing must be called by the arrested individual.

The Courts

Important cases are heard by the High Council of Dyvers, sometimes presided by the Magister himself. Other cases are delegated to the four High Courts of Justice of Dyvers, who consist of three judges and a number of scribes and assistants. In these courts the word of an official goes before the word of another. Priestly detect lie assistance can be ordered, for a base fee of 120 gp. per hearing. Barristers are also available, their fee depending on their expertise and fame. Suspects can defend themselves individually or be defended by others, whatever they desire. It is common practice for suspects to bring a throng of ‘character witnesses’ to the courts in these cases.

Citizenship

Some laws and taxes depend on whether a person is a citizen of Dyvers. Anybody can apply for the privilige of citizenship. The regular conditions for citizenship is possessing an adress in the city, having stayed in the city for at least 3 months consecutively, and having three other citizens vouch for you. If the above conditions are met, a document proclaiming citizenship is issued, for a fee of 1 gp. The requirements above can be bypassed if the applicant is willing to pay a sum of 25 gp. immediately.
Permits have to be renewed on a yearly basis. Permits are not renewed if there is no record of tax payment. Non-citizens who commit crimes are usually forbidden to enter the city again on risk of punishment (Unlawful Entry) when they have completed their sentence. Anybody receiving a sentence of 1 year or more of jail-time (or hard labor) will have his or her citizenship revoked (and is thus effectively banished).