Gotham : GCPD Force Size

I've noticed in both Gotham and the Christopher Nolan films, the GCPD always seem to be understaffed. I know most of the criminal underworld secretly runs Gotham anyway but it seems rather unrealistic such a small police force exists in a large city.

If you remember in the Christoper Nolan films, Jim Gordon was appointed as Commissioner while he was a Lieutenant. And, in Gotham, Captain Sarah Essen was appointed as Commissioner. And now, with Captain Barnes away, Detective Harvey Bullock is acting Captain.

Kinda makes you wonder just exactly what the organizational structure to the GCPD is and now many people per ranks there are.

In the movies Gotham had an army of cops they just did stupid things like all marching into the subways to get trapped there.

In the TV show, most of the cops have been killed. Barnes ran others off the force because they were crooked. And who would sign up with that casualty rate? At least the city will save a bundle on unpaid pensions.

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If you remember in the Christoper Nolan films, Jim Gordon was appointed as Commissioner while he was a Lieutenant.

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Yeah, the mayor (or council) overlooked the chief, the captains and the commanders, three ranks in a sense, when looking for somebody to fill the vacancy.

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And, in Gotham, Captain Sarah Essen was appointed as Commissioner.

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Like skipping a rank, although "commissioner" and "chief" are rather close in rank, often offices existing in mutual exclusion (as in there being either no commissioner or no chief), but the "chief" could be like a vice/under/lieutenant/deputy commissioner.

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And now, with Captain Barnes away, Detective Harvey Bullock is acting Captain.

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Right, instead of a commander, a lieutenant or a sergeant, which possibly Bullock might already be but for some reason has "detective" as his better known salutation. I guess, he is just so close with the captain, though.

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Kinda makes you wonder just exactly what the organizational structure to the GCPD is and now many people per ranks there are.

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Indeed, and I also wonder about Gotham City's surrounding area too, whether a county encompasses the city or, like New York City, the city encompasses or overlaps multiple counties. However, the county matter kind of doesn't matter, since, at least in my experience, sheriff's deputies predominantly only hang out in the lands of the county in which no town police exist or in which town police have no jurisdiction. (The sheriff himself/herself of course works at the county seat which is usually at the downtown of the dominant town within the county.)

In the DC universes, we never know whether or not Wayne Manor and Blackgate Prison are even in the same county as Gotham City, but it stands to reason that the manor is at least nearby. For storytelling purposes, GCPD will always be the ones responding to any kind of crime-in-progress, scene-of-crime or corpse near the manor, instead of, say, the "Wayne Town" Police Department or the manor's corresponding sheriff's department (possibly the same as Gotham City's). These purposes might also explain the weirdness surrounding ranks and order of succession in the GCPD: storytelling.

On top of that, there is the added awkwardness established by Zack Snyder's DC universe, in that Gotham City and Metropolis are right across a large river from one another. I'm sure the river is the size of the Mississippi River, but the cities are basically right next to each other.

I think it's a survival strategy they've developed given the frequency with which their precincts are stormed and officers are slaughtered en masse. Keep most of the force away from the target they apparently can't even begin to defend effectively.

What a lovely way to burn