The Shanghai Municipal Police, or SMP, was established in 1854 as a means of policing the newly established International Settlement and enforcing law and order therein. Initially, the members of the force were predominantly European, mostly British. As the nineteenth century went on, the force expanded to allow recruitment of Chinese and Sikh constables, among others. By 1916, the force included a Japanese branch.
The SMP was well trained and equipped by the standards of the time, and relatively well lead. The majority of foreign recruits were still British, but as the twentieth century wore on, representatives of many other European nationalities could be found in the ranks, particularly after the end of the Second World War. So many Russian expatriots joined the force that by 1941, a special branch had been established just for them.
Although promotion was possible for any member of the SMP, it was generally accepted that European and Japanese members were promoted more quickly, and more easily, than their Chinese and Sikh counterparts. This was not always the case, and it had begun to change by 1930, so that a number of the prominent officers in the force represented the various minorities then serving. There were, for example, several highly competent and well respected Chinese-born detectives in the SMP.
Perhaps the most famous SMP officers of the time were William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes, who together developed an elite system of melee and gunnery drill for the SMP that was later adopted by the British Special Forces during the Second World War. Their name is perhaps most famously associated with the special combat knife developed by them that bares their name. Fairbairn himself also introduced "Defendu" a gun based martial art that became standard practice for most SMP members by the mid-1930s.
The SMP was, for the most part, a very honorable service that did sterling duty in its policing of the International Settlement. Many officers fell in the line of duty, and their losses were greatly mourned by the community. The riots of May 30th, 1925, were a black day for the SMP, as they involved the shooting of several Chinese protestors. While many of the officers involved were forced to resign, the incident was never forgiven by hardline Chinese nativists, and the incident continued to rear its head as an unfortunate stain on an otherwise excellent record.
The adventures of the SMP and its allies are a major focus of the Shanghai, 1930 universe. Over time, we hope to add both fictional and historical character models to the range, as well as new officers in a variety of poses.
