Arkham Police Station - 302 E Armitage Street

Always open. Arkham has a nominal force consisting of a chief, a captain, and three detectives with the nominal rank of lieutenant, three sergeants, and 15–20 patrolmen. Finances rarely allow Nichols the luxury of a full complement. There is also a little known police reserve, consisting mostly of retired patrolmen and military men, who can join the ranks during emergencies.

Depending on the part of town, patrolmen walk their beats singly or in pairs. They check in with the station at regular intervals by telephone from locked police call boxes, installed systematically across town. Police cars are not driven on patrol, but officers at the station have several with which to move quickly when trouble arises. As a general rule, only a duty officer at the station is awake and available between midnight and 6 A.M., except Friday and Saturday nights, when several men stay on to make sure that rowdy activity ceases at a decent hour.

Sergeants effectively command hour-by-hour police dispositions, and rarely appear on the street except at the scene of a crime. The department possesses three cars (one of which the Chief takes home) and two motorcycles. Neither cars nor motorcycles have radios.

Armed officers carry department-issued .45 revolvers, specified by Chief Nichols as the smallest handgun likely to stop an angry man. Department riot guns, rifles, and two submachine guns (purchased during the Great Red Scare of 1919-20) are kept in locked cabinets.

A holding cell each for men and for women stand ready in the rear of the building, but the six-cell jail actually is in the basement of the courthouse. In 1935, a successful suit concerning the death of a prisoner forces the town to build a new combined jail and police station.

Arkham has no policy concerning concealed weapons, since any adult citizen has that right.Over the years, though, Nichols has accumulated a lot of confiscated weapons. These he keeps in his office, in a trunk now filled to the brim. Once in a while he opens the trunk and smiles, considering how many criminals do not have these weapons.

Police Officers

Chief Asa Nichols

He is 61 years old, married, and lives on High Street with his wife, Orrette. He is a goodnatured man from another era, not fully aware of the changes in Arkham since the war. Nichols belongs to the Gun Club, Rotary, and Masons.

He would be shocked to know the extent of organized crime in Arkham and of the corruption within his own department.

Captain William Keats

In line to be chief upon Nichols’ retirement, this 49-year old is executive officer and administrator.

He has an inkling of organized crime in Arkham but knows of no police involvement. However, Keats is not fundamentally honest: after he has assured himself of his own safety, he may decide to get in on the action.

Chief Detective Luther Harden

He’s 44, single, hardboiled, irascible, and present on the scene of almost every noteworthy crime in Arkham for 23 years.

Detective Mickey Harrigan

An affable, sympathetic young man, he’s the star of the local amateur rugby team and as honest as the day is long.

Detective Stuckey

While not particularly passionate about his job, he is competent and experienced and works diligently on his cases.

Detective Hans Linnemann

Retiring in a couple weeks and is generally "to old for this shit." However, he has been saying he was going to retire in a couple weeks going on 10 years now. He crossed path with Woosley's shennegans several times the past couple years and is at once irritated and amused by the eccentric Woosley and his gentleman's companion.

Saul Hawkes - Beat Cop

5'3" tall, average build, 41 years of age. Ethnicity is European with some Native American ancestry. Saul's family has always resided in and around Arkham - with his ancestry going back to the first wave of European settlers to come to the area. His moral code is to serve the people of Arkham first - with his allegiance to the Police being secondary. In this regard he tends to be observant and mindful of the downtrodden in ways that the rest of the Police force may not. This has hampered his career somewhat - never really gaining him advancement up the chain of command.

He lives in Rivertown in a home passed down through the generations and can often be found at Art's Billiards or Bee's Diner (both in Downtown Arkham) after a shift, or at Eleanor Peadbody Charity Home (River Town area) on Sunday mornings.