History UsefulNotes / AmericanLawEnforcement

The areas it's responsible for are listed in the order they were given to the Bureau. Responsibility over explosives was delegated to ATF in 1970, but "Explosives" wasn't added to the agency's title until after 9/11. They slapped it on the end and passed on the golden opportunity to become The Bureau of FATE. Other US law enforcement agencies have not been so stuffy; see "Immigration" below.

** More or less concurrently with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnDrugs (and the emergence of well-armed drug dealers and bank robbers wielding submachine guns and assault rifles) departments across the country began switching to semi-automatic handguns with 10-, 12- or even 17-round magazines, usually chambered in 9mm or .40 caliber. Glock, Beretta, and Sig Sauer seem to be the most popular brands. The event that helped trigger US police forces getting MoreDakka was the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout North Hollywood Shootout]]. It caused many American police forces to conclude that many of their standard armaments at the time were insufficient. The two shooters tooled themselves up with assault rifles and body armour, the former of which gave them a massive [[MoreDakka amount of firepower]] compared to the standard-issue pistols and shotguns of the responding cops, and the latter which allowed them to NoSell most of what the police did manage to throw at them. Several officers ended up borrowing some AR-15 rifles from a nearby gunshop in order to try and fight back. In the end, Larry Phillips was shot eleven times (including the [[AteHisGun self inflicted gunshot wound]] that killed him), while Emil Mătăsăreanu was shot ''29 times'' and took ''over an hour'' to bleed out when he was finally apprehended. Many police departments began arming their officers with greater firepower in response to the incident.

** More or less concurrently with the "War on Drugs" (and the emergence of well-armed drug dealers and bank robbers wielding submachine guns and assault rifles) departments across the country began switching to semi-automatic handguns with 10-, 12- or even 17-round magazines, usually chambered in 9mm or .40 caliber. Glock, Beretta, and Sig Sauer seem to be the most popular brands. The event that helped trigger US police forces getting MoreDakka was the infamous [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout North Hollywood Shootout]]. It caused many American police forces to conclude that many of their standard armaments at the time were insufficient. The two shooters tooled themselves up with assault rifles and body armour, the former of which gave them a massive [[MoreDakka amount of firepower]] compared to the standard-issue pistols and shotguns of the responding cops, and the latter which allowed them to NoSell most of what the police did manage to throw at them. Several officers ended up borrowing some AR-15 rifles from a nearby gunshop in order to try and fight back. In the end, Larry Phillips was shot eleven times (including the [[AteHisGun self inflicted gunshot wound]] that killed him), while Emil Mătăsăreanu was shot ''29 times'' and took ''over an hour'' to bleed out when he was finally apprehended. Many police departments began arming their officers with greater firepower in response to the incident.

JurisdictionFriction is generally avoided: The [=MP=]s deal with stuff on base, the local police handle everything off base. (Though on military bases overseas, the situation can get very difficult when U.S. troops are accused of crimes by local authorities.) Any HotPursuit situation on the base can be contained by closing the (very sturdy) gates, and any HotPursuit situation leading ''onto'' the base... is generally not a recommended course of action. Assuming that the aforementioned gate isn't quickly blocked off (and it almost always can be, ''very'' quickly), the military cops are armed and do not take kindly to unauthorized personnel trying to force their way onto the base, due to [[ProperlyParanoid previous incidents involving vehicle bombs.]] The U.S. military, including M.P.s, is largely restricted by the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act of 1807 from being used for civilian law enforcement within the United States in most circumstances. In the event of on-base crimes that aren't an open and shut case, the [=MPs=] will call in their respective service's criminal investigative service to collect evidence and interview witnesses, just like how beat cops would call in the appropriate detectives in a civilian police force.