The police were a series of forces that served as a type of security group to ensure laws and rules were obeyed, and that order and peace was the norm on a planet, or in space under a planet's jurisdiction. Police officers also tended to have authority to take criminal suspects in for questioning, conduct investigations into criminal activities, and arrest those who break the law. Police were often identified by uniform.
Police forces kept extensive records on various individuals that were suspected to be or were criminals. (DS9: "Heart of Stone", et al.)
It was common in some localities to use the term constable to refer to individual police officers, and deputy to designate lower-ranking police personnel. (DS9: "Emissary", et al.)
On Starfleet vessels, starbases and other installations, the security division was normally in charge of police activities as part of their duties. One exception was the use of Bajoran officers on Deep Space 9, under the command of Constable Odo. (DS9: "Emissary", et al.)
The police were mentioned in an article in the Q Continuum magazine The New. (VOY: "Death Wish")
Various police roles and titles
Fuchida, a police officer from New Sydney in 2375
- Officer
- Cadet
- Sergeant
- Lieutenant
- Captain
- Constable
- Sheriff
- Deputy
- Detective
- Inspector
- Investigator
- Negotiator
- US Marshal
Detroit police cars in 2004
- .38 police special
- Military police
- Police station
- Police department
- Police car/vehicle
- Police brutality
- Patrol route
- Undercover
Known police forces
Earth-based organizations
- The Deadwood Sheriff's Office from the Ancient West holoprogram based in 19th century Deadwood, South Dakota (TNG: "A Fistful of Datas")
- The Detroit Police Department from Loomis' interactions with Jonathan Archer and T'Pol in 2004 Detroit (ENT: "Carpenter Street")
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation:
- from 1968 (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")
- from 1986 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- The Federation Security of 2285 (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
- The Los Angeles Police Department from 1996, Sims was an officer (VOY: "Future's End")
- The New York City Police Department:
- from James T. Kirk's and Spock's exploits in 1930 (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever")
- from New York City in the 1950s, seen in Benjamin Sisko's dream-vision (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")
- from Roberta Lincoln's efforts in 1968 (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")
- The Portage Creek Police Department from Portage Creek in 2000, seen through Kathryn Janeway (VOY: "11:59")
- The San Francisco Police Department:
- from San Francisco in 1893 (TNG: "Time's Arrow, Part II")
- from the Dixon Hill holodeck program based in 1940s (TNG: "The Big Goodbye")
- from Kirk's travel through time to 1986 in San Francisco (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- from San Francisco in 2024 (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II")
- The Scotland Yard from the Sherlock Holmes holonovels ran in 2365, and based in late 19th and early 20th centuries (TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data")
- The US Air Force military police in 1969 (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday")
- Tombstone Town Marshal & Sheriff's office
- TOS: "Spectre of the Gun" inaccurately depicts Johnny Behan as the "Tombstone Sheriff". Behan was in fact Sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona where Tombstone is located
Non-Earth organizations
New Sydney Police shoulder patch
- 892-IV imperial police (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
- Angosian police (TNG: "The Hunted")
- Criminal Investigations (VOY: "Workforce, Part II")
- Edo mediators. (TNG: "Justice")
- Kesat Security (VOY: "Riddles")
- Kobliad Security (DS9: "The Passenger")
- Kzin government police (TAS: "The Slaver Weapon")
- Lurian Security (DS9: "Who Mourns for Morn?")
- New Sydney police (DS9: "Prodigal Daughter")
- Rutian police (TNG: "The High Ground")
- Tanugan security force (TNG: "A Matter of Perspective")
- Telsian Security (VOY: "Live Fast and Prosper")
- V'Shar (TNG: "Gambit, Part II")
- In an earlier draft of VOY: "Repression", Tuvok's daughter, Asil, was a detective for the Vulcan police.
Secret police
- Section 31 was considered to be the secret police of the Federation. (DS9: "Inquisition")
- Nazi Germany had a secret police force known as the Gestapo.
- The Cardassian secret police was known as the Obsidian Order, although they weren't very secret.
- The Romulan undercover police force was known as the Tal Shiar, whose work was often behind the scenes.
- Secret police forces are also referred to as intelligence agencies and have expanded jurisdiction and powers than traditional police forces.
List of police personnel
Appendices
Background information
Gene Roddenberry studied three years of policemanship and was an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department before becoming a writer full-time.