Editing Police (section)

==== Rome ====
In the [[Roman Empire]], the army played a major role in providing security. Roman soldiers detached from their legions and posted among civilians carried out law enforcement tasks.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737840.001.0001/acprof-9780199737840| title = Policing the Roman Empire: Soldiers, Administration, and Public Order| year = 2011| doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737840.001.0001| last1 = Fuhrmann| first1 = Christopher| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-973784-0}}</ref> The [[Praetorian Guard]], an elite army unit which was primarily an Imperial bodyguard and intelligence-gathering unit, could also act as a riot police force if required. Local watchmen were hired by cities to provide some extra security. [[Lictor]]s, civil servants whose primary duty was to act as bodyguards to magistrates who held ''[[imperium]]'', could carry out arrests and inflict punishments at their magistrate's command.  Magistrates such as ''[[tresviri capitales]]'', {{lang|la|[[Procurator Fiscal|procurators fiscal]]}} and {{lang|la|[[quaestor]]s}} investigated crimes. There was no concept of public prosecution, so victims of crime or their families had to organize and manage the prosecution themselves. Under the reign of [[Augustus]], when the capital had grown to almost one million inhabitants, 14 [[Ward (country subdivision)|wards]] were created; the wards were protected by seven squads of 1,000 men called {{lang|la|[[vigiles]]}}, who acted as night watchmen and firemen. In addition to firefighting, their duties included apprehending petty criminals, capturing runaway slaves, guarding the baths at night, and stopping disturbances of the peace. As well as the city of Rome, ''vigiles'' were also stationed in the harbor cities of [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]] and [[Portus]]. Augustus also formed the [[Cohortes urbanae|Urban Cohorts]] to deal with gangs and civil disturbances in the city of Rome, and as a counterbalance to the Praetorian Guard's enormous power in the city. They were led by the [[Praefectus urbi|urban prefect]]. Urban Cohort units were later formed in [[Roman Carthage]] and [[Lugdunum]].