Since the law of April 15, 1999, the powers of the municipal police have been extended to include misdemeanors related to the Highway Code. This adds a responsibility for the intervention brigade, which carries out its duty of prevention and suppression in teams of two or three in the heart of the city.
“Our role is very broad; it can range from a motorist who runs a red light to helping an elderly person who can no longer move around to buy their medications, to dealing with a purse-snatching or even a canine control,” says André, a municipal police officer for more than ten years. Indeed, the interventions are varied; during a short afternoon spent with the brigade, we recorded no fewer than fifteen different types of infractions. “In the summer, we are often called to remove homeless people from public gardens, as well as squatters,” André recounts. “And even though we know they will return a few hours later, or worse, that some are victims of extortion by people from Eastern Europe, we can’t do more because the municipal police are not allowed to conduct investigations.”
However, the homeless are not the only scourge of the fifth largest city in France, far from it. In a completely different domain, road delinquency occupies a large part of the municipal agents’ days. “Since we can now issue tickets for infractions of the Highway Code, we’ve noticed that many more people wear their seat belts in town,” shares Nicolas, a municipal police officer for twelve years. “Despite what the naysayers claim, we are useful. Especially since in most cases, we do more prevention than punishment.”
Indeed, when the offender is courteous, acknowledges their error, and remains polite with the municipal agents, they are not ticketed if the offense is not severe. “Of course, if there is an attempted hit-and-run or when the person contests the infraction that nonetheless occurred right before our eyes, we issue a ticket. But we never do it gladly, as our vocation is not about collecting fines.”
The municipal police themselves admit, “Contrary to official figures, petty and moderate crime is continually increasing. Populations from the East are the ones giving us the most trouble today, in all areas: prostitution, thefts, trafficking…” That afternoon, after a search of equipment belonging to window washers at a red light on the Promenade des Anglais and several interventions for failure to comply with a red light or bus lane, the brigade is called to Boulevard Gambetta, where two men were allegedly selling gold rings (likely stolen) to passers-by. The two individuals, of Romanian origin, were apprehended, handcuffed. They indeed had gold rings in their pockets. The intervention brigade immediately calls the judicial police officer, who must decide how to proceed with the case. But no one wants this case, no one wants to start a cumbersome procedure for a contractual affair where there wasn’t even a complaint filed. After about twenty minutes, the two individuals were released, and the rings were returned to them. The fish wasn’t big enough…