By twilight 2000 standard their is very little difference in Militia/Regular Military unit/Law Enforcement unit/Gang/Marauders other than how the locals view them. Some place will lump them all in the same group, especially in areas where food is running low and it may be what they have to pay their 'taxes' with.
While other location will view them all differently. Say Marauder group or gang who go out and bring back loot they share with the population of their home base. Or County that has well organize Sheriff and part-time militia where they keep the bandit at bay, and crime is kept at tolerable rate, even if their is some corruption. Or something like the Free City of Krakow where a military unit has stayed in place, helping to train local militia, and perform the function of local police force or have specialize units that carry out those function. While the regular troop take a proactive in clear the region of any bandits and marauders who show up.
Even today like has been pointed out, especially in the larger cities there are place where Police units stay out of unless they have back-up with them at time. Again there places like K.I. Sawyer where the old Airbase is now serving as place where closet community for Marquette, MI. One of the thing with some of the non-compete clauses people had place in renting commercial property and lot of the people live out there are on welfare and large number are into drugs. Crime is everyday fact of life, Marquette County Sheriff Department, Michigan State Police, and township police department in Guinn, Michigan don't have enough officers to have full time presence on the old base. Marquette County is one of the 5 largest counties in State of Michigan, with very light population density county-wide, but it sees the same big-city crimes that happen in places like Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and other large cities on regular basis. Not daily, but enough to that it does have certain elements of the community frustrated, and only matter time.
Much like when I lived in Detroit Lakes, MN. When ever a car was reported stolen in are near Detroit Lakes the odds were likely that the vehicle wasn't bound for chop shop, but bound for the Indian Reservation just north of town out in the back woods where the stolen vehicle would be burned after people got done joy riding and spending the evening drinking....
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