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Playing With / Jurisdiction Friction

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Basic Trope: Tension exists between rival law enforcement agencies over a case or suspect.

  • Straight: Detectives Alice and Bob of the Tropeville Police Department are prevented from investigating a case by the arrival of Agents Claire and Danny of the FBI, who seize jurisdiction of the case from them. Alice and Bob resent this intrusion.
  • Exaggerated:
    • An international case has a lot of participants that all bicker with each other: FBI vs MI-5 vs FSB vs Interpol vs...
    • Inter-Service Rivalry, which is this trope taken to national levels.
  • Downplayed: A traffic cop is about to write a speeding ticket, when a state trooper drives up and takes over.
  • Justified:
    • The case started off as a crime which fell under local jurisdiction, but later discoveries meant that it became a Federal matter. However, the local authorities resent the implication that they need the Federal authorities to 'rescue' them.
    • Tropeville PD are implicated in the crime itself.
    • Agents Claire and Danny have a bad attitude when they arrive, acting like they're somehow superior to the 'lowly' detectives and generally acting like a couple of condescending Jerkasses. This behavior naturally makes it more difficult to work with them.
  • Inverted:
    • The Tropeville Police Department seize jurisdiction of the case from the FBI.
    • Variant: Neither police department wants the case, and tries to find justifications why the other department should take care of it.
  • Subverted:
    • As the case progresses, the FBI take an interest in the case, but decide not to take jurisdiction and leave it up to the Tropeville Police Department.
    • The Tropeville Police Department welcomes the FBI taking jurisdiction with open arms.
  • Double Subverted:
    • The FBI change their mind when the Tropeville Police Department fail to make progress.
    • Tension gradually builds up, however, and soon the rival investigators are at each other's throats.
  • Parodied:
    • The arrival of Agents Claire and Danny, along with the rest of the FBI, provokes an actual fistfight between the FBI and the Tropeville Police Department. At the crime scene.
    • Dozens of organizations ranging from the local police to the school board fight each other over who has jurisdiction in the case.
    • The case starts as a minor inconvenience the Tropeville Police can deal with, but as more and more twists reveal increasing layers of conspiracy, star investigators of every kind of law enforcement branch in the world arrive and promptly enter an escalating Wimp Fight for supremacy. And to further the irony, Alice and Bob solving the case of the minor inconvenience (which is the case the other agents order them to stick to) is what saves the world.
  • Zig Zagged:
    • Tropeville Police Department get along horribly with the state cops but get along fine with the FBI. They really love the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
    • Alice contacted the FBI in the first place and wants to cooperate with them so that the case will be solved faster. Bob, however, is not happy about it, especially since Claire acts like she's superior to everyone. Her partner Danny, however, proves more reasonable and helpful, and they develop a better understanding and respect for each other while working the case. On the other hand, Claire's snippy behavior makes Alice reluctant to call the FBI for help in the future, as she doesn't look forward to the prospect of potentially having to work with her again...
  • Averted:
    • There is no jurisdiction tension in the case at hand. Bob might even state that they're glad the FBI is here.
    • Jurisdiction never becomes an issue to begin with. It really is a minor case, and the local police remain in charge from start to end without anyone else trying to get involved.
    • No crime is committed.
  • Enforced: The writers are interested in the conflict that exists between different law enforcement departments.
  • Lampshaded: "Agent Bradley, FBI. We're taking over this case; should we start bickering now, Detective, or would you rather catch the bad guy first?"
  • Invoked:
    • Alice and Bob suspect that corruption within the department could be involved in their current case, and so contact the FBI in order to ensure that the bad guys are caught without interference from corrupt locals.
    • Calling the Cops on the FBI
  • Exploited: The criminal commits the crime on the boundary between Tropeville and Writeburg, along with Comictown, which causes the various police departments to argue over who gets the lead on the investigation.
  • Defied:
    • Alice and Bob conspire to ensure that the FBI never find out about the case, fearing they'd seize jurisdiction.
    • "If the feds wanna take over our case, then great! It's their problem now!"
    • Law enforcement agencies are forcibly merged into one to prevent friction.
    • The various law enforcement organizations agree to work together, share resources, keep each other in the loop, and members of each group will be there for the arrest of the criminal. Afterwards, they will see about figuring out who gets priority in charging the criminal, and will use the guy's various crimes as a back-up plan. If they can't lock the guy up for the murder in Tropeville, there's always that theft in Writeburg, to say nothing about that crime of kicking the dog in Comictown. As it is, the guy might be better off going down for murder in Tropeville — the convicts in Comictown prison lynch those who kick dogs.
  • Discussed: "I hope you didn't hit any mailboxes during that car chase Detective, otherwise the Feds will be all over us."
  • Conversed: "Ever notice how on Police Procedurals, the cops and the feds always hate each other's guts?"
  • Deconstructed: The infighting between the FBI and the local police only serves to stall the investigation and give the killer the chance to cover their tracks and avoid punishment.
  • Reconstructed: The police accept that the FBI have jurisdiction and in the interests of justice cooperate, but this doesn't stop them from making snarky comments at their rivals.
  • Played for Laughs:
  • Played for Drama:
    • The killer works to play the FBI and the local police off each other in order to keep acting with impunity.
    • Following the "Defied" example, the FBI learns about the case anyway. Because Alice and Bob were trying to hide information from them, they immediately assume the worst: that they're somehow involved in the original crime and were trying to cover up their own corruption. Now the two detectives have to deal with hostile and suspicious agents picking apart their every move, trying to find any flaws and failings they can use to get the pair fired...
  • Played for Horror:

Police Officer: Go back to Jurisdiction Friction, before those FBI numbnuts start flashing badges everywhere.
FBI Agent: Oh, go back to your tractor, ya hick. If you cops could handle a trope page, we wouldn't need to be here.

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