The
Imperial Union Guard is the
Dominion's primary law-enforcement and peace-keeping force. Also known as "pins" for the silver feather pins that they wear to mark their station, or "bluecoats" after the color of their uniforms, Union Guards are generally tasked with keeping the peace by enforcing the rule of law both local and imperial in cooperation with local governments and securing the public interest.
The Union Guard is tasked with maintaining peace and stability throughout the Dominion. Broadly speaking, their charter outlines three roles that the organization must fulfill: law enforcement, criminal investigation, and harm mitigation and prevention.
Law Enforcement
The Union Guard charter gives Union Guards the authority to conduct and oversee enforcement actions according to the laws of the Dominion. This may take the form of tracking down and bringing a criminal into secure custody or ensuring that the division of property following the settlement of a divorce takes place properly and peacably. Furthermore, Union Guards are empowered to serve and enforce legal mandates and court orders to individuals, groups, organizations, and/or other legal entities.
By Dominion law, Union Guards cannot conduct enforcement actions without announcing themselves except in cases where doing so could harm an innocent such as in a hostage situation where the hostage-taker might cause harm to the hostages if they were made aware of law enforcement closing in.
Criminal Investigation
The Union Guards' authority to enforce the law only goes as far as the temporary detention of a suspected criminal for criminal activity and ensuring that a convicted criminal's sentence is properly carried out. The organization's ability to investigate suspected criminal wrongdoing arises from a separate authority outlined in its charter. To this end, Union Guards have the authority to interrogate suspected criminals, interview associates and witnesses, gain access to crime scenes and restrict others' access thereof, compel truth using blood magic, and conduct searches of private property, among other rights necessary to conduct proper and comprehensive investigations.
The latter two of these rights can only be freely exercised by Union Guards with consent from the individuals involved. In order to compel unwilling testimony with blood magic or conduct a search of private property against the wishes of the owner, Union Guards must obtain a warrant from the court, which they can then enforce according to the authority granted to them for the purposes of law enforcement.
Harm Mitigation and Prevention
The Imperial Union Guard's charter mandates Union Guards to mitigate and prevent physical harm as it applies to individuals, the public interest, and local infrastructure, in order of priority, and empowers them with the use of force to do so if necessary. Under Dominion jurisprudence, it is established that Union Guards have a legal and moral obligation to protect Dominion citizens from tangible harms that applies even to criminals both suspected and apparent.
According to Dominion case law, Union Guards must, even in the act of preventing harm to one Dominion citizen resulting from the actions of another Dominion Citizen, use discretion and moderation in their use of force to avoid lasting injury or death where possible unless to do so would cause further harm. In practice, this means that Union Guards prefer to disable even dangerous criminals through generally non-violent means such as restraint or sedation unless it is apparent that doing so would put others at risk.
The Imperial Union Guard's charter explicitly mandates Union Guards to mitigate and prevent physical harm. Mental health is the province of the Dominion's social welfare services but it is generally understood that the Imperial Union Guard has a moral obligation help safeguard the psychological wellbeing of Dominion citizens. To this end, Union Guards are, at the very least, expected to report potential cases of psychological harm and mental health crises but most divisions have a sub-division of officers trained in social work who accompany dedicated social workers on visitations with unstable individuals and during welfare checks in order to ensure that harm is minimized, if not prevented.
Rissë, Alfwyda, neda Tikydë, "Peace, Unity, and Accountability"
Type
Government, Law Enforcement
Alternative Names
Pins, Bluecoats
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