Civil Protection

"Now it looks like we're gonna have to cut a path through every chickenshit Metrocop who's having second thoughts about defending City 17!"

- Barney Calhoun

Civil Protection is essentially the thought police of all urban areas on Earth, including City 17. Its officers are named "Metro Cops", while the terms "Metrocops", and "CPs" are also used.

Metro Cops, Metrocops, or Metropolice, are essentially the thought police of all urban areas on Earth, including City 17. They keep Citizens in line through use of verbal and physical intimidation and, in some cases, summary execution. City 17's Civil Protection force also patrols the outlying canals for escapees.

Civil Protection officers are ordinary human beings who have willingly joined the Combine, either for more privileges, such as additional food,better living conditions, an increase in authority and status over others, or out of genuine sympathy and identification with the Combine's aims. As such, they are not bio-mechanically modified in any way. Their willing collaboration with the Combine occupation as well as their cruelty and disregard for the lives and dignity of ordinary citizens has made them much hated amongst the human populace.

Overview
Civil Protection officers wear white masks to disguise their faces, with built in vocoders to disguise their voices; these each contain a radio and air filters, and look similar to gas masks. Officers wear a combat vest, leather boots with a black-green uniform and an armband on the right arm, with "c17:14" emblazoned on it. Generally, the uniform and masks are designed to make all of the Civil Protection officers appear and sound identically intimidating.

Civil Protection officers are typically armed with Pistols and Stun Batons. In more critical circumstances, Officers will be issued with SMG1s. Some officers are also armed with a deployable Manhack and/or flare gun to call for help.

Officers are almost always encountered in squads, and will employ very basic tactics, such as covering one another and running to cover when injured or reloading. Officers normally attack in an aggressive manner, and will give pursuit to evading suspects.

When an officer is killed, its radio will emit a prolonged tone similar to that of a "flat-lining" EKG, followed by the Overwatch dispatch declaring the unit down, along with his last known location and orders to nearby units to respond. In fact, the constant radio chatter will generally give away unit positions before they're visible, indicating the generally inferior training the Civil Protection officers receive compared with their Overwatch brethren.

Civil Protection are generally kept separate from Combine military units, such as Overwatch Soldiers or Synths, and stay in a policing role within the cities. They travel in APCs and dropships, and are often accompanied by scanners or manhacks.

Communication
Civil Protection officers communicate with the Overwatch dispatcher over their radios; they are thus constantly fed mission objectives, rewards, reminders, and are directed to respond to certain incidents (such as the locations of downed units or other criminal acts).

Tactics
CPs aren't as organized and effective as the Combine Overwatch, and generally use weaker, more basic weapons, such as SMGs. They also aren't very accurate.

CPs almost always work in groups, so when in a firefight with a squad or two, keep your head down and shoot while they are reloading. As almost all of the fighting they have ever known is using force against unarmed, helpless citizens, they aren't very experienced with firefights, and make easy targets. CPs also do not use melee attacks unless against an unarmed opponent, in which case they will use a Stun Baton.

In the early levels, a few pistol shots will kill a CP. In close quarters, a couple of hits with the crowbar will kill them. If they drop a stun baton in combat, it can be used as an energy pickup by the player. Later in the game, the best weapon to use against the civil protection officers is the SMG1 which can easily dispatch large numbers of them at once.

Behind the scenes



 * Metrocops were originally to have other colors on their uniforms, such as red or yellow, and the right armband colored red. One version also depicts them with bright blue eyes.
 * A Civil Protection headquarters building was originally to be seen near the Manhack Arcade, with above "C17 MP", or "City 17 Metropolice".

Elite Metrocop
Civil Protection was to have its elite version, just like the Combine Soldier. This Elite Metrocop model is mostly the same CP model but whith a different helmet, and a different skin, such as a red patch on his chest, red shoulder-pads and gray trousers.

Combine Guard
Sharing its name with the part-human, part-Synth unit, this unit is apparently the first humanoid unit to have been created. Concept art from Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar show a soldier with a long trench coat inspired in part by the German SS uniforms of World War II; the different helmets were finally included in the final Metrocop and the Overwatch Soldier.

Trivia

 * Certain transmissions heard over the Civil Protection's radios suggest that officers are rewarded with, in the words of the dispatcher, "non-mechanical reproduction simulation" for good job performance.
 * Other radio transmissions suggest that additional privileges are gained if the personnel have their memory replaced. It is possible that the Civil Protection personnel work their way up the Overwatch ranks by willfully surrendering more and more human features and characteristics.
 * The name Civil Protection could be seen as 'doublethink' (A term from George Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984), or the ability to accept and believe two contradicting facts at the same time, which becomes apparent pretty quickly due to the way they treat civilians. Civil Protection could be read as "Protection of the State from Citizens", instead of protecting Civilians.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
 * Half-Life 2: Episode One