The LEP: Lower Elements Police

The LEP is the “Lower Elements Police,” and is, in short, the fairy police force. They do all of the jobs done by our own police, such as catching thieves, enforcing the laws, and general crime fighting. However, they have one extra task, which also happens to be the most important of the lot, the LEP must ensure that no matter what happens, the humans NEVER discover the existence of the fairies.

The two sections of the LEP which we deal with the most in the Artemis Fowl series are LEPrecon, and LEPretrieval. These two sections work very closely with each other. If something goes wrong on the surface, such as a troll escaping, or a fairy risking the chance of being noticed by humans, a member of LEPrecon will race to the surface in a pod and then fly to the source of the trouble and carry out observations on what is happening, in other words, reconnaissance (ie. recon). Of course, in some emergency situations, the LEPrecon fairies may become involved themselves. The slower LEPretrieval teams make their way to the surface in the chutes, and then do whatever is required to bring the rogue fairy in and then remove all traces of the fairies.

The LEP has a hierarchy similar to our own. At the lowest level are all the recruits who do the standard, every-day tasks, such as traffic duties, and patrolling the underground. Above this are the officers. Corporals, Lieutenants and Captains all still operate in the field when needed, and not just behind a desk. These are the ranks which LEPrecon sends to the surface, and which command the LEPretrieval teams when they arrive at whatever situation required them.

The rank, above Captain, is a Major. This is a very large step up, as Majors very rarely operate in the field. Instead, they plan and organise operations from HQ (ie.Police Plaza). At the very top of the LEP are the four regional Commanders. Each one is in charge of his/her own region, for example, Commander Root’s region is Haven city. The only authority greater than that of the Commanders, is that of The Council itself.