I'd argue the opposite. Muggle police can't teleport and don't have universal access to an omni-tool that can do practically anything. Thats why they have a lot of specialists, and are distributed all over the country.

DMLE staff can all sit around the Ministry and have a response time of under 20 seconds to anywhere in the country. And with their magic they can handle pretty much any situation that comes up, no need to call in specialists.

 

If you consider the UK police force, (and I recognise I’m talking out my ass here, perhaps our friendly neighbourhood mod could say more) there used to be a ton of village police stations. Increased tech, better cars, IT and cuts have led to more centralisation and the village stations being closed.

Considering wizards have had better methods of travel and communication, for possibly centuries, I think it’s a reasonable idea that they are much more centralised. One or two locations (Hogsmeade and MoM) where the DLME are based and sally out from.

 

I must strongly disagree with you there. Criminals have magic too and I'm sure are capable of covering their tracks with magic.

 

Exactly my thinking. I don't even see the need for 2 postings, given that there are multiple easy and cheap ways for you to get from the Ministry to Hogsmeade or the other way around in seconds. You don't even need someone in Hogsmeade to take reports etc, since civilians can turn up at the Ministry really easily and in no time at all.

Of course criminals have magic, but we know that Aurors are extensively trained in a range of unusual skills. And for regular DMLE staff, we know that they do receive training. Fudge says "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black", which suggests that Hit Wizards receive reasonably substantial training. Maybe not the 3 years that Aurors do, but enough that Fudge feels confident pitching them against a, supposedly, immensely dangerous and skilled dark wizard.

 

I mean, Hitwizards are Aurors before JKR thought up the name Auror, so....

 

Thats the theory certainly but canon is canon, and there are both Hit Wizards and Aurors.

 

It seems as if apparition requires knowledge of the location and becomes harder as the distance of travel increases. Portkeys seem limited and not easy to create. I think a few decentralized aurors are needed to respond on broom if a location isn't easily accessible by apparation, portkey, or floo.

 

So, me being me, I kinda went off on my own on this and did a full breakdown of the entire Ministry. You can find it in the VP WBA thread. Link to post:

https://forums.darklordpotter.net/posts/1139293/

 

The highlight was the Regretful Volunteer! Fantastic. One question though, did you factor in the Ministers themselves in your count? I didn't see them actually listed, just their offices.

 

No, I didn't include the Heads of Departments themselves in the count, on the basis that in the VP universe they are political office-holders (appointment subject to Wizengamot approval) rather than permanent civil servants.

 

Ah right, that makes sense.

 

Good stuff @Taure - follow-up question is What does Nosy Parker have to do with Passports?

 

At a guess, issuing of passports requires verifying that the person has the right to one? So it would involve digging into folks lives.