Sandbox-Scarcity:BieselSecurity
Biesellite Security and Law
Domestic Agencies
Much of the Republic of Biesel's internal security is handled by separate policing forces, such as the Mendell City Police Department, which has several "facets" across the entirety of Biesel, or the New Gibson Security Forces that are posted across the archologies of the arctic planet. These forces are, in turn, monitored by the Biesel Security Services Bureau (BSSB), the organisation responsible for Republic-wide policing. The Biesel Security Services Bureau is also responsible for the monitoring of citizens and non-citizens within Republic borders that are considered potentially dangerous to national security, with most of their collected data being previously being hosted on NanoTrasen sponsored servers within its headquarters in Mendell City’s District One, but recently, after Ake’s election, moved to BSSB headquarters on new servers installed by Hephaestus Industries. The reason given to the public was a requirement for more storage.
Biesel Security Services Bureau
Officially, the Biesel Security Services Bureau is the overseeing authority of the domestic agencies that operate within the Republic of Biesel. In reality, the Biesel Security Services Bureau rapidly became incredibly important to the enforcement of the Republic's laws - working alongside local domestic agencies to target and eventually break up pockets of crime within Tau Ceti - and the greater Republic of Biesel following its expansion into the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. Now with the Peacekeeper Mandate over, however, their eyes have once again turned inwards, and now the BSSB struggles to combat the increasing smuggling, racketeering, and black market operations that are plaguing the Republic.
History
Having declared independence from the Solarian Alliance in 2452, the Republic of Biesel was no longer subject to the oversight of the Solarian Interstellar Policing and Crime Prevention Agency. However, with its freedom came significant increases in crime, including that of deep space organised crime and the proliferation of criminal syndicates within the young Republic, especially in highly populated cities such as Mendell City. As the problem continued to grow, the Republic was prompted to implement a Republic-wide policing force to combat the rise in crime, eventually resulting in the creation of the Biesel Security Services Bureau. The BSSB was founded to monitor local policing forces within the Republic of Biesel and step in when needed. Most of the BSSB was sponsored by NanoTrasen, with even its headquarters having been constructed by the megacorporation. The agency, however, rapidly found a different footing within the Republic, enforcing the laws of the Republic alongside local policing forces, rather than watching them. They are labelled as Biesel's most skilled law enforcement agency despite the accusation(s) of bribery on behalf of NanoTrasen. Today, the BSSB has become an easily recognisable organization with several action movies and novels produced within the Republic of Biesel, making it a centrepiece of the Republic’s image. It is headed by Director Clarrise Lyon.
Divisions
Special Investigations Division
The Special Investigations Unit is the division most people think of when picturing the Biesel Security Services Bureau. They are the face of the organisation, with the agents within tasked with investigating those crimes either deemed too dangerous for local law enforcement, too large in scale, or that fall outside their jurisdiction. Currently this division is almost entirely dedicated to stopping smuggling operations within the Republic.
Tactical Response
The Tactical Response Division is the specialised quick response team of the Biesel Security Services Bureau. Standard operations include serving arrest or search warrants deemed high risk, disrupting possible terrorist actions, and assisting the Special Investigations Division if required.
Government Security
The Government Security Division is responsible for investigating and reporting on people or groups deemed to be a risk to the security of the Republic as a whole. Since the election of Ake Torvald, its leadership has slowly been replaced by former Biesel Intelligence Service (BIS) officers, and it has become an extension of the BIS, another political tool in the President's arsenal. As a result, instead of investigating terrorism, they find themselves investigating, spying on, and forging evidence against those President Torvald's tells them to. Surprisingly, these actions are rarely against his political opponents, but rather are almost entirely directed at members of his own coalition who don't toe his line. Early in his presidency, more than one Cetian Conservative Representative made the mistake of not toeing the Torvald's line; something that saw them turned into examples as investigations conducted by the Government Security Division of the BSSB turned up evidence of corruption, forcing them to resign in disgrace. In the case of a representative who was too dense to get the message, he found himself arrested and convicted of a laundry list of charges.
Exactly how much influence the President has over this Division and how he uses it is not common knowledge, with almost everyone dismissing any accusations of falsified charges, fabricated evidence, and more as nothing but conspiracy theories that couldn't possibly be true. Yet the Government Security Division does all those things and more, in pursuit of a goal no-one knows, other than the President.
Analytics and Cybercrime
The Analytics and Cybercrime Division is responsible for assisting the other divisions with analytical reports and in combating high scale extranet crime of all kinds often being responsible for the arrest of those attempting to buy or distribute black market goods and services. They are responsible for keeping the Organized Crime Registry, which is a complete database of all the known information on various organised crime groups currently operating or thought to be operating in the Republic. The Registry is accessible by the Biesel Intelligence Service, however, planetary policing forces are required to request authorisation to access the Registry.
Non-Humans in the Biesel Security Services Bureau
On the surface, non-humans are seen as having a good position within the Biesel Security Services Bureau with Tajara, Unathi and Skrell agents featuring prominently on many of the recruitment posters and banners. This, however, hides the discrimination such agents used to often face behind the scenes. Many Unathi and Tajara previously found themselves overlooked, with dangerous cases taken away from them, and saved for “the more skilled agents” which, according to Director Clarisse Lyon just happens to tend to be Skrell and Humans due to their experience in the field. While this is still the case for most divisions, the Governmental Security Division is an exception, as loyalty to the President is the primary quality looked for in potential recruits; and there's no better way to make someone loyal than to give them an opportunity they otherwise wouldn't have. Dionae and Vaurca employees are often recruited as support personnel but rarely if ever see themselves recruited into agent positions due to the capabilities expected from an agent.
Synthetics in the Biesel Security Services Bureau
Synthetics owned by the agency are treated much as other owned synthetics in the Republic are, equipment to be used by the organic agents and staff, this view greatly restricts the positions owned synthetics fill, with none of them being agents for the BSSB. However many owned synthetics exist within the support roles of the organization as their natural inclination towards analytical thinking and data handling make them ideal for dealing with tasks often seen as a waste of organic agent's time.
A much smaller minority of free synthetics also exist within the ranks of the BSSB, employed like any other organic would be. These owned synthetics still face discrimination within the organization and most still exist in supporting roles, however, a small number have been able to become agents. The BSSB is careful to not assign any of its synthetic agents to cases involving rogue or dangerous synthetics, preferring for these cases to always be handled by an organic instead. Many free synthetics in the BSSB are ones formerly owned by the organization who managed to buy their own freedom.
Mendell City Police Department
The local authority regarding the enforcement of the capital of the great Republic of Biesel, the Mendell City Police Department is an institution that has existed long before the independence of Biesel. For many years, before and after independence, the organization managed to keep a lid on violent crime within the city a majority of the time, only sometimes needing assistance from outside forces. However since the onset of the Scarcity the MCPD has found itself overstretched and understaffed, as crime rates rise to record highs and quality of life drops, leading to widespread civil unrest. The MCPD has barely managed to keep a lid on things, and has begun relying heavily on Corporate Security Officers to bolster its ranks.
History
One of the oldest institutions within the Republic of Biesel, the Mendell City Police Department has become integral to the functioning of the capital. Its first iteration was the Colonial Enforcement Service, a policing body established during the initial colonisation of Biesel. The Colonial Enforcement Service was tasked with preventing as well as dealing with any criminal elements that arose during the early days of planetary colonisation and were largely successful in doing so. It continued to operate as the CES until the 2180s, after which it transitioned into the Mendell City Police Department. In spite of their early successes, the Mendell City Police Department began to fall short of its reputation shortly after the Second Great Depression began, with corruption quickly breeding among its ranks. With the economy in tatters and poverty rising sharply, it was inevitable that crime would start to proliferate - with many in the MCPD using the rise in crime as an opportunity to line their own pockets. Various districts found themselves controlled by syndicates, with those meant to protect them turning a blind eye. It wasn't until the late 2290s, after the conclusion of the Great Interstellar War, that the MCPD returned to their duties - attempting to wrangle the crime they had allowed to grow under control.
They eventually succeeded and, for over a century and a half, managed to keep a lid on the rapidly growing Mendell City with few incidents. It wasn't until 2464 and the onset of the Phoron Scarcity that the situation began to spiral out of control, as falling quality of life, unequal rationing, mass unemployment, and an outbreak of black markets and smuggling began to see a sharp rise in crime and civil unrest. These conditions only continued to worsen, which saw crime and civil unrest rise as well, heavily straining the MCPD. They began to heavily rely on Corporate Security Officers to bolster their ranks, deputizing them and giving them the authority of a civil police officer. As the scarcity has continued, the situation has only gotten worse for the MCPD, and today they are overstretched and barely keeping a semblance of order within most of Mendell; in some districts they've given up entirely and abandoned them.
Divisions
Uniform Patrol Unit (UPU)
The Uniform Patrol Unit is the regular policing division of the MCPD, represented by the uniformed officers who conduct the vast majority of policing duties within the city. Easily recognised by their distinct uniforms and squad cars, these officers are seen as the public face of the MCPD. Corporate Security Officers are commonly seen filling this role in contemporary times.
Criminal Investigations Division (CID)
The second-most recognised division of the department, CID is responsible for general investigations into criminal activity. Detectives in CID depend on their interview skills, investigative aptitude, and extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system to perform their duties.
Synthetic Oversight Department (SOD)
Synthetic Oversight is responsible for cases that directly involve synthetics, either as victims or as perpetrators. Outside of this SOD also assists the other departments of the Mendell Police where a synthetic is indirectly involved in a crime, such as interviewing witnesses or directly handling informants. The Synthetic Oversight Department is also known for working in conjunction with Ceres Lance, both as a support role and to ensure that Ceres Lance works within Biesel law.
Cybercrime Investigations (CCI)
Cybercrime Investigations, while similar to CID, entirely focuses on investigating anything related to the extranet or computer technology. CCI finds itself working closely with Criminal Investigations and Synthetic Oversight quite often, with members of Cybercrime Invstigations typically working alongside members of other teams in a wider investigation.
Biesel Intelligence Service
- "The first line of defence, supporting and defending the Republic of Biesel against threats both foreign and domestic; bearing to it both faith and allegiance."
The Biesel Intelligence Service is the dominant intelligence service for the Republic of Biesel and is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing intelligence regarding the Republic’s neighbors along with any other information deemed important to national security. The Service is also responsible for carrying out covert investigations that concern foreign powers, as well as monitoring civilians in foreign nations who are potential threats to the Republic. It has two reputations, the first is from those who consider it to be an integral part of the Republic's defences, and they view the Biesel Intelligence Service as being ruthlessly efficient in its purpose. The second is from those who see the BIS as a shady intelligence organization, viewed with suspicion, cloaked in secrets and contradictions. Officially created after the independence of the Republic in 2452, recruitment for the Biesel Intelligence Service is also publicly said to be reserved for only those who show an advanced calibre of skills, as well as a history of displayed loyalty to the Republic of Biesel.
However, behind the public statements, there are facts and theories contradictory to this official narrative. Records show mentions of a BIS or Biesel Intelligence Directorate on NanoTrasen documents as far back as 2430, almost two decades before independence. It is uncertain just when the organization was founded, its purpose, and even who was a part of it. The most popular line of speculation is that it was a secret organization working towards the independence of Biesel from the Alliance - the second best is that it’s been a corporate sock puppet all along. Neither is true. Secondarily, while recruits do need to show advanced aptitude in a myriad of skills, being loyal to the Republic tends to be secondary to being loyal to a man - Ake Torvald - a former BIS Officer himself, and a willingness to take secrets to the grave.
For while its remit is to do covert operations outside of the borders of the Republic, the Biesel Intelligence Service regularly and illegally operates within the Republic against that remit, much to the frustration of the BSSB. In addition to frustrating the BSSB, the BIS is one of the only facets of the authority exerted by the Republic of Biesel that doesn't have any corporate oversight or affiliation - operating without any prior knowledge or consent from the megacorporations, sometimes to their detriment. No one knows exactly what their covert operations within the Republic are, but if one listens to rumors, they are involved in targeted assassinations of anti-corporate actors (or pro-solarian actors), illegal coverups, blackmail of political enemies, and many other shady activities. Over the Republic’s short history, there have only been two major scandals when the BIS was caught doing this. In both cases, the illegal activity was determined to have been done by a lone actor, one of whom later disappeared, and the other who was later found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft.
Given the recent election of Ake Torvald, the BIS has seen its funding increase and powers expanded. It's upper ranks - already dense with Ake loyalists - had any who were not loyal to the president finally purged, and replaced with those who were. The organization is now, it can be said, almost completely loyal to the President. It is unclear what will happen because of that.
Courts and Penal System
The Republic of Biesel relies almost completely on corporate-run penitentiaries; while prison management was previously dominated by Zavodskoi Interstellar, the formation of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate meant that Zavodskoi now shares the responsibility with the Private Military Contracting Group. These corporate penitentiaries are often focused on profit-creation instead of rehabilitation, with quarterly reports from the megacorporations in control of these facilities deriving a growing portion of their gains from their "corporate rehabilitation centres". The conditions of corporate prisons vary from deplorable to tolerable, with standards being dependent on who they house. Prison standards are a point of heated controversy within the Republic due to the discrepancy between prisons that house white-collar criminals and those that house blue-collar criminals, with white-collar criminals having a much higher quality of life while in prison in comparison.
Despite the reliance on corporations to handle the punishment of criminals, the actual trying and sentencing are handled entirely by the government’s own criminal justice system. The Republic Courts operate similarly to what has been observed in the Solarian Alliance, with slight variations thanks to intertwining colonial history. This includes a jury comprising of ten individuals, as well as either a magistrate or judge depending on the Court in which it takes place. The Republic of Biesel has several different courts that operate within their own sphere of influence, going from low to high; Magistrate's Court, High Courts, Supreme Court of Appeal, and the Constitutional Court. Both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court are staffed by nine judges that are appointed by the President, on the advice of the Minister of Justice, and are approved by the Republican Congress - a joint seating between both the Tau Ceti Assembly of Spokespersons and the State Senate. They then serve until either their retirement or death.