Police Station

Beika Town Police Station was quite large, worthy of being a major station (image attached manually).

By then, Shiraishi Kuro had already arrived at the chief's office and met the old chief he would be taking over from—Ebihara Retire.

"Ha ha ha, Chief Shiraishi really is just like the rumors say. You're incredibly tall..." Ebihara warmly welcomed Shiraishi Kuro, seemingly in an excellent mood.

After all...

Anyone would be in a good mood with only two months left until retirement!

"Chief Shiraishi, I've reviewed your record as well. Although you haven't actually held a management position before, there's no need to be nervous... Managing a police station, especially one in Tokyo, can't possibly be harder than the Professional Group examination. If there's anything you aren't used to over these next two months, just ask me."

The handover between Ebihara and Shiraishi would not be completed overnight. It would take... a full two months!

For one thing, although Shiraishi had been promoted exceptionally, he still had to pass the police rank examinations. The Police Affairs Department had already automatically registered him for October's "Superintendent Examination." Once he passed, he would automatically be registered for the "Chief Superintendent Examination" the following month. Theoretically, Shiraishi would not officially become a Chief Superintendent until two months later.

For another, Ebihara, whose sixtieth birthday was also two months away, would not retire until December...

Normally, Shiraishi could have taken leave for those two months, or the personnel arrangements could have remained unchanged for the time being.

The reason they had rushed him into taking up the post was clearly so Ebihara could show him the ropes!

Just as Ebihara had said, Shiraishi had previously only been the section chief of the Fourth Section, Organized Crime Unit 3, Organized Crime Department—he had only seven detectives under him. He was more like a foreman among frontline officers, not someone in a true management post.

After rising two ranks in a row, he had not been sent directly to the National Police Agency or transferred into a management position at the Metropolitan Police Department. But... suddenly having to manage a major station of more than five hundred people was vastly different from his previous work.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Chief Ebihara. There are probably many things I don't understand," Shiraishi said sincerely.

Seeing that, Ebihara also breathed a sigh of relief.

He had previously worried that Shiraishi Kuro would be dissatisfied about being sent down to a police station and simply refuse to do the job...

Police stations in Tokyo indeed had few major cases to investigate—after all, whenever a serious crime occurred, the First Investigation Division would send people over.

But if the chief abandoned his duties, public safety in the precinct would surely deteriorate over time!

Ebihara then explained the chief's usual responsibilities and the station's basic situation to Shiraishi Kuro.

It was not merely an explanation, either. He personally led Shiraishi Kuro around the police station building...

Every prefecture in the Eastern Island Nation had a "Police Headquarters." Tokyo Police Headquarters was called the "Metropolitan Police Department," and Beika Police Station in Beika Town, Minato Ward, Tokyo naturally fell under the Metropolitan Police Department. However, there was still the 11th Regional Headquarters between them.

The Metropolitan Police Department had the Police Affairs Department, Security Department, Criminal Investigation Department, Organized Crime Countermeasures Department, Traffic Safety Department, Public Safety Department, General Affairs Department... and a whole host of other departments.

Likewise, most of those departments had corresponding divisions at police stations: the Police Affairs Division, Security Division, Criminal Affairs Division, Organized Crime Countermeasures Section, Traffic Division...

Their duties were basically the same, just one level smaller. There were differences, however. For instance, police stations did not have a Public Security Bureau. Also, the Metropolitan Police Department's Juvenile Division fell under the Public Safety Department, whereas a station's Juvenile Division was independent of the Life Safety Division...

And as grassroots police stations, they also had large numbers of patrol officers stationed at police boxes throughout the jurisdiction. They formed the foundation of local public safety!

For Beika Police Station, with its more than five hundred personnel, there were seventeen police boxes under its command and around 110 patrol officers on regular rotation with the station's officers. Each police box generally had a chief at the rank of Inspector or Sergeant Major, leading several constables—at most, grassroots officers at the rank of Inspector. Two or three officers worked each shift, patrolling their jurisdiction, responding to emergency calls, and providing residents with basic help such as directions and consultations.

Shiraishi Kuro had not seen those people yet...

However, Ebihara had already arranged for a large morning assembly at the station tomorrow, so everyone could meet their new chief!

As for the station's internal divisions, the most serious—and naturally the one Shiraishi cared about most—was the Criminal Affairs Division. Yet even as a major station, its Criminal Affairs Division was still far smaller than the First Investigation Division.

Normally, the First Investigation Division would directly send people over for serious cases such as murders in Tokyo, while a station's Criminal Affairs Division only needed to assist. Recently, though, the Criminal Affairs Division had been quite busy because its new division chief was an old hand transferred down from the First Investigation Division. With a chip on his shoulder, he had taken on every murder case and investigated them independently within the station.

The greatest difference among the divisions was the Mobile Unit—the armed police...

Tokyo had more than three thousand Mobile Unit officers in total, and nearly all of them were directly under the Metropolitan Police Department. After all, if the Mobile Unit had to be deployed, it was usually not something a police station could handle!

Over the past year, more than half the Tokyo Mobile Unit's workload had been being borrowed by the Second Investigation Division's Intelligent Crimes Investigation Section to protect various works of art, only to be led in circles by Kaito Kid and watch him leave afterward. Sometimes, they even had to take a dose of anesthetic...

Even Beika Police Station, as a major station, only had a little over twenty Mobile Unit officers for emergencies. Ordinary small stations did not have their own Mobile Units at all.

Ebihara led Shiraishi through the divisions one by one. The heads of each division had also basically met Chief Shiraishi—after seeing a build like Shiraishi's once, no one would mistake him again!

With Shiraishi's height, he had to duck and hunch whenever he entered a doorway, making it look as though he was squeezing his way inside.

Ebihara had originally suggested gathering everyone for a meeting so they could meet Shiraishi, but Shiraishi refused—he barely knew the basic situation yet and did not know what to say. It would be better to personally see their working environment first.

"Over the next few days, we'll hold large morning assemblies. Then we can meet all the officers at the station... Oh, right. The two vice chiefs should have returned by now as well."

Ebihara led Shiraishi back to the office.

Shiraishi had intended to sit on the sofa to the side, but Ebihara directly pulled him behind the chief's desk and "pressed" him down into the chair. To reach his shoulder, Ebihara had to strain and raise his old arm quite high...

"The burden of being chief falls on your shoulders from today onward... Don't even think about running!" Ebihara said.

Creak—

The chief's swivel chair was the first to groan under the burden.

"Ahem, I'll have the Police Affairs Division order a sturdier one later," Ebihara said awkwardly.

And just as Shiraishi sat down...

[Host detected assuming a management position. Development rewards unlocked! The host can view subordinates' ability ratings and potential in all areas. Precision and accuracy depend on the host's "mental strength," "insight," and mastery of other relevant skills. Proper work assignments can train subordinates' abilities. When a subordinate's overall rating rises or they are promoted or transferred, additional points may be obtained.]

Shiraishi had not expected such an unexpected bonus...

Just then, the two vice chiefs returned as well—not because they had only just started work. Vice Chief Murasaki had taken the Mobile Unit out for training, while Vice Chief Midorikawa had gone to the Metropolitan Police Department early in the morning to meet with the Police Affairs Department and deal with financial matters...