Irskin Nightfire is a man on a mission. The new sheriff of the Eavesdown Docks, Mr. Nightfire hopes to bring a sense of law and order to the settlement and to protect its citizens. That said, the man faces stiff challenges, dealing with corruption and an anemic police force.
During my interview with Mr. Nightfire I came to gain a sense of genuineness from him. While he acknowledges the enormity of his tasks he seems like the type that will attempt to overcome them. That said, many obstacles are in his way, a small and underpaid staff and a powerful and wealthy organized criminal syndicate. Furthermore, he still maintains connections with many freighter captains, who are known to occasionally engage in smuggling. HIs reliance of "community policing" may bring him into too close of a relationship with them.
The following is an interview with the new sheriff of Eavesdown and was conducted before the attempt on his life.
CN:What brought you here?
IN:"Well, I came here as captain of the Unlikely To Fly, a small boat I owned and ran as a freighter business. I operated out of Eavesdown in that capacity for, oh, I should think four years or so."
CN:Why'd you give that up?
"Lots of reasons. It's hard to make a living as an independant pilot, especially with such a small boat. I enjoyed the lifestyle and I could pull in enough jobs to keep flying but it gets tiresome."
CN:How did you get offered the position?
IN:"I asked for it! You know, I've spent a lot of time around these Docks - they feel like home. Once I'd made the decision to stop flying, it was an obvious choice of where to settle. Then the old Sheriff and his crew left town after the gambling ring scandal and it seemed like an opening I could fill. What the Docks need are a sense of community - folks should help folks out, you know?"
CN:As sheriff what do you intend to do to foster that sense of community?
IN: Under my leadership, this office will work to build community relationships. We're setting up a neighbourhood outreach programme to bring those who live here together. This job as Sheriff isn't about poking the law's nose in where folks are just trying to make a living, it's about helping out those folks who have no one else to turn to and finding ways to help each other. I'm not saying the Docks will be lawless, only that I'm a pragmatic man and sometimes a community solution is more effective and lasting."
CN:So it's fair to say that you're interested in encouraging community policing?
IN:"I'm interested in encouraging the community to not need policing. There are real criminals on these Docks without a doubt. They're the folks I'm up against and the ones I'm going to be targetting with the law. For those who just live here and try to get by, I hope this office can be a part of their community, offering support and facilities where possible and appropriate. Desperate folks do desperate things, so I'm hoping to stop things from going that far as often. I'm not a fool - I know that we have few resources and manpower, but I want to concentrate what manpower we have on cleaning up the real trash around here."
CN:What are your biggest law enforcement challenges?
IN:"There are a couple of really serious crime syndicates operating out of these Docks. I can't tell you too much, but their activities are both illegal and damaging to the community. In addition to that, we've seen a recent increase in human and organ trafficking, and there is the ever-present narcotics problem. A place like this with so many people coming and going is always hard to police, but we're going to do our best, just as soon as I have new staff."
CN:How big is your current staff?
IN:"You're looking at him. I have a position open for a full time Deputy and I intend to take on between three and five part time officers. Of course, I have the Alliance barracks at my disposal when needed."
CN:I assume you have the power to deputize, as needed then?
IN:"I am able to do that if necessary. Given our proximity to the Core, local law enforcement isn't quite as free ranging as the Rim planets, but the principles are the same. Eavesdown Docks gets pretty much ignored by the Persephone legislature, so we make do with a shoestring budget and what help the Alliance offers."
CN:How many deputies do you feel you need in order to run an effective force?
IN:"Well, there's a difference between how many I need and how many the authorities will pay for. To effectively police these Dock - by which I mean prevent ninety percent of crime - you'd need a team of at least twelve. The authorities will pay for one full time Deputy and up to five part time officers, so your readers can do the maths. That's why we have to focus on tackling the most serious crime and simultaneously working to encourage the community to self-police, or to not need policing. It's the best we can do I'm afraid."
CN:Do you intend to recruit volunteers to fill the gap?
IN:"I'm not keen on volunteer police forces or local militia. Things tend to get very sticky very quickly when you give people authority without a real measure of responsibility. I'd much rather have community leaders come forward to lead by example than by force."
CN:What kind of training will you make available?
IN:"Well, I'm not rightly sure they need training. Take Johnnie Spargel who we met earlier. He's an upstanding and well-known member of this community. He has a skill that people need and if we can show people that helping each other is beneficial to everyone, then maybe folks will live better lives. It's idealistic, I know, but that's my goal. We will be offering self-defense classes to women, as well as trying to set up a neighbourhood watch scheme. It may come to nothing, but I hope folks will respond."
CN:Changing gears for the moment, w hat can you tell me about Eavesdown's most wanted?
IN"Not a lot, I'm afraid. Names would be entirely meaningless as their aliases are many and imaginative. The previous Sheriff had a small dossier, but the information in it was next to useless. One of my first jobs is to gather that missing intel. I can tell you that we had a couple of notorious bank robbers here a few weeks back, but they'd bribed the Sheriff and weren't arrested."
CN:Sounds like your predecessor made a mess of things
IN:"That's an understatement. Sheriff Anderson was the worst kind of man. He used this office to line his own pocket and did nothing to serve the Docks or the community here. I hope the Alliance catch him and his Deputy and lock him up for a very long time."
CN:Will you be independent of, or an arm of Alliance law enforcement?
IN:"This office is entirely independent of the Alliance. Local law enforcement is about the local community and serving and policing it. I am certainly going to support the Alliance wherever my office can bring criminals to justice, but I want to make it quite clear that I serve the people of Eavesdown Docks, not the Alliance nor it's local government."
CN:So, your have a history working as a freighter pilot, I imagine that you yourself have made some interesting aquantinces during that time?
IN:"You could say that."
CN:Anything you want to come clean about?
IN:"I don't have any skeletons likely to come back and haunt me, if that's what you're asking. I'm not going to promise that I've always done the right thing, but I have always been fair in everything I've done. It's rare and your readers might not believe it, but my father instilled a real sense of right and wrong in me and I haven't ever forgotten it."
IN:Do you believe that your past in anyway compromises your ability to fairly enforce the law?
"No, absolutely not."
CN:And bribery is out of the question?
"Totally out of the question. Apart from anything, my salary now is a lot more than what I brought in as a pilot. But to be serious, I wouldn't have asked for this job, nor been given it, if I didn't think that I could make a difference and make it in the right way. Some of my friends may not be my friends for much longer. I'm not saying I'm like to be arresting any of them anytime soon - unless they break the law - but they won't like the idea. They know me and they know I'm straight, which means they aren't going to be able to influence me."
CN:And are you certain about that for your staff?
IN:"I'm going to choose my deputies extremely carefully. That's part of the reason I don't like the idea of volunteers. The police need to be a strong part of the community, but still at a great enough distance to police it objectively."
CN:How will you root out corruption?
IN:"Well, when I have some staff, and assuming that I chose so badly that they turn out to be corrupt, then I will rely on the community to tell me. I will also be keeping a very close eye on everything they do. Paperwork is - I suspect much to their distain - going to be extensive and burdensome."
CN:Organized crime has had a reputation of running the law enforcement around here, are you certain you can withstand their pressure?
IN:"I'm not certain I can withstand their pressure, but I can tell you that I will quit or get shot before I take their money."
CN:Then you're ready to put your life on the line?
"Yes, and I wouldn't have put this badge on if I wasn't. I'm not looking to get killed any time soon, though."
CN:Finally, what are your goals for your first week, first month, and first year in this office?
"My goal for this week is to get to know the folks who live around here - I'm out walking the streets and saying hello to people every day. For the first month: to hire a Deputy and some officers. For the first year: if I can cut general crime by even 20 percent I'll be happy, and if I can close down one or both of the syndicates I'll probably call it a good job and retire early."
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