Commonwealth Law Enforcement

## **Crime in the Commonwealth**

The Commonwealth is an intergalactic spanning nation; by the time of 2300 A.D, the state oversees the management of over 20 planets / colonies, the lives of over 150 billion sapient beings, the economic strings of galactic markets and workforces, standing militaries, void armadas, healthcare, R&D, transport, housing, networking, politics and everything else that comes with running a nation. It is thus a great yet unavoidable tragedy; that even the wheels of the most scientifically advanced super-state cannot accommodate for every soul, it seems that even in these times, crime will always bubble to the surface.

Crime in the Commonwealth is largely non-violent; petty theft, vandalism and the like. Between 2200 - 2300 76% of crime were minor offences, some 10% was fraud and white-collar crime, another 10% being organised crime gangs (this may seem a large percentage but the statistics do not tell the whole story) 2% being starkly violent and the remaining 2% misc.

In a galactic society there is no way for one department to control all crime. So the Commonwealth has multiple branches and departments, all of them suited for multiple roles but one in particular.

## **Departments & Branches of Commonwealth Law**

* **The Marshalls:** The spine of Commonwealth law enforcement; the Marshalls are the literal 'boots on the ground' as they are the first point of call for all matters criminal, they're the rapid response teams to a shop burglary and the rangers of the great plains. Though they are present in every sector they are most numerous on the ground as 'peace-keepers'. But to maintain a wide net they are branched...
	+ Marshalls - Marshalls who work on the ground, whatever that work may be.
	+ Astro-Marshalls - Marshalls who work on orbital stations / factories / ports
	+ Rangers - On planets with large swathes of dangerous or uncivilised land, you find rangers
	+ Sentinels - The detectives of the Commonwealth.
* **The Constabulary:** A small department; constables are a supporting group for the Marshalls, for every 10 Marshalls there are there are 2 Constables, these people are essentially on the spot PR teams. More apt at easing tense situations or calming angry civilians.
* **The Nova Patrol:** Stellar law enforcers; this department handles all space criminal activity, as space is largely empty and away from prying eyes many criminal seek to make their hideouts in space, this is where the Nova Patrol step in. If you've ever wondered what a high-speed police chase would look like in space, then ask a Nova-Guard, it's an extremely dangerous profession as one wrong turn and the small single-pilot police vessel will be the final resting place for the pilot. That being said, there is nothing quite like a watching a SWAT raid on a drug factory in space.
* **The Silver Shields:** A specialised branch that hunts the most elusive and dangerous criminals; Silver Shield agents are assigned to accompany Marshalls or Nova-Guard for 10 month periods, both as assisting officers and as intel gatherers, every agents findings are collected and analysed to see if any patterns may give away large underground crime networks. Seeing one of these agents is fairly common, seeing 20 of them means that something is about to go down.
* **The Stripes:** Riot control. While in old-fashioned days of earth-time the riot control was an extension of normal police work, in these times riots are very different. Due to the access to technology the public has such as enhanced limbs and the much ***MUCH*** larger population, riot control has become its own branch. There is little call for rioting in the Commonwealth but in the rare cases when such action becomes likely the dangers are immensely larger than before.