The pitiable chief of the police, whose diligent, thorough but uncreative approach to crime-solving is the object of Dupin's ridicule. Though he is more officially important than Dupin, and even handles high profile cases, he shows the official protection of the city to be lacking. It is instead Dupin’s undercover genius that secretly keeps the peace. The Prefect is also thoroughly invested in his own importance, and desperately wishes to solve cases not just for the sake of doing so, but for the sake of his own reputation. He appears in both The Murders of the Rue Morgue and The Purloined Letter.