During the late Republic order was enforced largely by the aediles and the personal power of coercitio, the right of a magistrate to enforce order and prevent disturbance through his attendants. During the historical period coercitio didn't work anymore, the city was so much larger, and aediles were desperately short of staff. Augustus established permanent forces of watchmen throughout the city, the vigiles and the cohortes urbanae. The three urban cohorts were commanded by the city prefect and originally staffed Rome, Ostia, and Puteoli--at Puteoli and Ostia they were replaced by vigiles. Augustus also established a cohort at Lugdunum and Vespasian probably set one up at Carthage--other than that there were no other urban cohorts. The urban cohorts do not appear to have been considered especially high status. Urbans received half the pay of a praetorian and according to the OCD promotion out of the urban cohorts to the praetorians was a common way to leave the force. They were freeborn, unlike the vigiles, who were all freedmen, and the urbans appear to have been responsible for maintaining order generally, unlike the seven cohorts of vigiles, who were rather specialized for putting out fires and stuff, although in emergencies the vigiles could provide military aid