The City & the City

by

China Miéville

Policzai is the Besź word for police, and describes the specific police force that operates in Besźel.
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Policzai Term Timeline in The City & the City

The timeline below shows where the term Policzai appears in The City & the City. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 26
Seeing vs. Unseeing Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge Theme Icon
...Borlú’s hypothesis about Yorjavic, Ashil leaves and returns with the information that Yorjavic was under policzai surveillance most of the nights when Mahalia locked up the site. (full context)
Chapter 27
Borders and Doubles Theme Icon
Crime vs. Punishment Theme Icon
Paranoia, Conspiracy, and Illicit Knowledge Theme Icon
...they’ll shoot. He announces that he is not there representing Breach, but rather the Besźel policzai, and reminds Buric that he has broken Besź law. He adds that he doesn’t care... (full context)