The Mayor
(The real mayor of Baltimore at the moment is Kurt L. Schmoke)
Chief of Police: Make one up!
Colonel: George Barnfather
Captain: Roger Gaffney
Lieutenant: Al Giardello
Sergeant: Depending on what season you use, Howard was the only sergeant on Giardello's shift.
Detective: The people you plan to use as your main characters.
Patrol Officer

The Amazing H:LotS Sex Web

Hey, when you spend all your time at work, there are bound to be entanglements. This is a brief list of who's boffing whom, previously and currently.

Ballard: Went out on at least one date (self-described as disasterous) with Bayliss. Has gone out on several occasions with Falsone.

Bayliss: Had a brief fling with Emma Zoole, a crime scene reconstructionist. Had a "Christmas" affair with Cox. Went on one date with Ballard. Is (presumably) currently seeing Chris Rawls, who was originally a witness in "Closet Cases". Also sparred with Kellerman over Howard's sister Carrie during Meldrick's wedding reception. He also has a fine old time flirting with ADA Claire Kincaid, from "Law and Order"

Bolander: Celibate for a while after his wife left him, Bolander went on to date Linda, a cellist, and Dr. Carol Blythe, a medical examiner.

Brodie: Never slept with anyone from work, but had the mother of all raging crushes on Howard.

Cox: Had a long-running affair with Kellerman, and a brief fling with Bayliss.

Crosetti: Divorced, single, and stayed that way.

Danvers: Had an affair with Howard, was later engaged to a woman who became Frank's first homicide as a primary after returning from his stroke.

Falsone: Divorced. Has gone out on several dates with Ballard.

Felton: Cheated on his wife with Russert.

Gharty: Used to be married to (and presumably has since left) Flora, but has been wooing Billie Lou, a bartender at The Waterfront.

Giardello: Has been portrayed as a real swinger, but has never dated anyone from the office.

Howard: Had an affair with Danvers, then later a mystery man who was presumably from another department.

Kellerman: After a big ugly divorce, Kellerman was single until his on again/off again affair with Cox. (His affair with Cox preceded Bayliss'). Also sparred with Bayliss over Howard's sister Carrie during Meldrick's wedding reception.

Lewis:Had the hots for Emma Zoole, but lost her to Bayliss. Currently married to mystery woman Barbara Shivers. Their marriage was not consummated for quite some time. Lots of UST between Lewis and Stivers during the Mahoney investigation.

Munch: Has had many affairs (especially the explosive relationship with Felicia), but has only fished out of the company pool with Dr. Alyssa Dyer, from the M.E.'s office.

Pembleton: Is utterly besotted with his wife, and has never wandered from her.

Stivers: Has been single the entire time, but had a heavy flirtation going with Lewis during the Mahoney investigation.

Russert: Was widowed by her first husband, Mike. Had a long-running affair with Felton. Is now married to a diplomat and living in France.

Significant Cases

There have been many extraordinarily significant cases on this show, leaving their indelible mark on the detectives. The names themselves can create a mood for a setting. These are a (very!) few of the significant cases seen on H:LotS over the years. v=indicates a victim, p=indicates a perp.

Bongi and Sabatino(v): No one knows exactly who they are, but they are open cases Russert leaves under her name when she retreats to France. When she returns, she berates Munch for not closing them.

Chilton, Erica (v): One of Crosetti's long unsolved cases, it is given to Howard after his death. She worries that it will ruin her perfect clearance rate, and goes over the entire case from every angle possible. It is finally solved when Lewis talks to Chilton's daughter again, and she identifies her mother's boyfriend, Tom Marans, as the killer. Howard is angry that she didn't question Marans, but Lewis consoles her coldly with the fact that her clearance rate remains perfect.

Crosetti, Steve(v): After going away on a long vacation, Crosetti's body is fished out of the harbor. His partner, Lewis, refuses to believe that this is anything but a homicide, but everyone else involved in the case is sure it's a suicide. After much investigation and soul searching, Lewis comes to accept that his partner killed himself.

Felton, Beau(v): After being suspending from the BPD for misconduct at a police convention, Felton's body is found in a run down house, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. At first, it appears to be a suicide, but is later discovered that he was murdered by one of the people involved in a smuggling ring he had infiltrated as part of an undercover IAD assignment. Felton's name remained in red.

Frandina, Angela(v): Angela Frandina was a sex industry worker found murdered, and the case was picked up by Bayliss and Pembleton. During the investigation, Pembleton and Bayliss discuss sex, love, and the dark side. The case is mostly important because of the "Virtue is not virtue until it is tested" speech by Frank, which was later referred to when Bayliss went out with Chris Rawls. Frank claims to not remember saying it.

Johnson, "Pony"(p): East Baltimore drug dealer who tortures and kills the mother of one of his associates, in a case investigated by Howard and Felton. After six years in prison, Johnson is released, and to avoid going back in, he orchestrates a hit.

Mahoney, Luther(p,v) Long story short; Luther Mahoney was a major drug kingpin who had no compunction about murdering wayward employees and irritating rivals. The cases were repeatedly assigned to Lewis and Kellerman, which eventually culminated in the questionable shooting death of Mahoney by Kellerman.

Mariner, William(p): A businessman turned sniper who held the city hostage as he tried to complete his hangman game, to which the answer was EROMITLAB. He shot himself to death while Bayliss tried to "talk him down" from his den. Especially significant because this case, and its copy cat the next day were the key element in Russert's demotion back to detective.

Pratt, Gordon(p,v): "Intellectual" racist, He shot Bolander, Felton and Howard when they go to his door by mistake, in the middle of an arrest. Pembleton, Lewis and Bayliss were unable to get a confession in the box, and he was released. Several hours later, Pratt was shot in the head, in the lobby of his hotel. It is suspected that Gee, Pembleton, Lewis, Mitch or Munch committed the crime, though Bayliss was the primary and mostly unwilling to work the case.

Pugliese, Jimmy(v): "Punchy" DeLeon tricks Munch into finding a man he wants to kill, Jimmy Pugliese, by telling him Pugliese's body is located in the Pimlico Race Track's parking lot. Led to the man by an unknowing Munch, DeLeon kills Pugliese, and buries him in the parking lot, which was torn up looking for his body.

Roland, Matthew: Powerful businessman, who has burned his own buildings for insurance money. A body is found is one of his buildings which was burned, and believing he's behind it, Bayliss brings him in. Mostly significant as an introduction of Kellerman from Arson. Later, Kellerman is accused of taking bribes from the Rolands.

Watson, Adena(v): Bayliss' first case as a primary, Adena Watson was an 11 year old girl who was abducted, molested, murdered, then left in the alley behind a rowhouse. It immediately becomes a redball, and Bayliss is unable to solve the case, despite being positive that Risley "The Araber" Tucker is the killer. The Watson case continues to haunt Bayliss, though in the sixth season, he declares that he's finally over her, when he has a nightmare about her but manages to recognize it is a dream.

Wilgis, Pamela (JMJ)(p): The white glove murderer, she claimed to have multiple personalities. During a very intense interrogation, Pembleton goes over the line during a game of "follow my lead". He is later sued by Wilgis for a violation of her civil rights during interrogation.