City Watch of King's Landing

The City Watch is a law-enforcement institution which is found in several of the Seven Kingdoms' larger towns and cities. The most famous is that of King's Landing, known informally as 'the goldcloaks' due to the gold-colored cloaks their soldiers wear.

The King's Landing City Watch
The City Watch of King's Landing is a strong, formally-trained and well-equipped force of soldiers under the direct authority of the King on the Iron Throne. It promotes by merit, one of the few institutions in Westeros not to recognise the status of birth. Its previous leader was Commander Janos Slynt, a butcher's son who rose through the ranks. Janos was sent to Castle Black to join the Night's Watch because Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister felt unable to trust him after his betrayal of Eddard Stark and his participation in the massacre of Robert Baratheon's bastard children. Janos was replaced as Commander by Bronn, a sellsword in the service of Tyrion.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, the goldcloaks are a force of some two thousand men, relatively well-equipped. Whilst they promote by merit, they are not incorruptible and some Watchmen have a reputation for taking bribes to look the other way, though Ser Jacelyn Bywater is noted as one of the more honorable members of the City Watch. They are expected to help defend the city if it were to ever come under attack. Oldtown, the second-largest city in Westeros, also has a City Watch.