Mutant Crimes Unit

[John Jackson]

To extend the police side of things a little further, Stern, Dwayne Stiles and myself have come up with a plan for a specialised branch of the New York City Police Department that deals with crimes committed by mutants. In the wake of a series of major mutant-related crimes - the bombing of Empire State University, the recent break-in at Cullens, etc - the NYPD's counter-terrorist program (called SHIELD - how's that for irony? :lol ) would authorise the creation of the Mutant Crimes Unit.

I'm sure most of you are familiar with The Dark Knight - effectively, it's the X-Men equivalent of Lieutenant Gordon's unit. Not only would we be looking into dealing with major threats from powerful mutants like the Brotherhood, but we'd also be looking into protecting citizens from everyday manifestations of mutant abilities (using powers by accident, etc), as well as protecting the mutant population from any reprisals that might be directed towards them by "normal" citizens. We can even offer rehabilitation to mutants who commit minor crimes, pointing them in the direction of Cullens and so forth.

The MCU would be led by an as-yet uncreated Lieutenant with no mutant abilities, but would be made up of Police Officers and Detectives both with and without the mutant gene. At present there are three other officers (Michael Stern, Dwayne Stiles, and John Jackson), but there's pleanty of room for other characters and anyone is welcome: not just as Detectives at MCU, but in associated branches as well, like the Crime Scene Unit, the Major Case Squad, etc.

And o'course, the more criminals and lowlifes we can rope in, the more fun it will be for everyone!

Any objections at all, suggestions, etc? Anyone want to get involved?

[Dragon]

I think this is an awesome idea, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing what comes out of it.

I've stated in passing that organizations like Vanguard and Jericho have been phasing anti-mutant countermeasures into mainstream law enforcement offices and medical facilities - things like liquid-tipped tranq rounds, advanced body armor, possibly even mutation suppression collars. But you can do with that what you will. I don't know if you're thinking state-of-the-art, highly trained crack squad or plucky but under-funded experimental force doing their best with what they have. Either direction has a lot of potential.

I'd imagine one of the most common raps you'd write up would be Failure to Register under the Mutant Registration Act. Of course, I'm sure you also have mutant contacts that you know aren't registered, but they're too valuable as informants to press them on it. Sort of like the policies on taking statements from illegal immigrants in California, though there'd probably be more pressure to get mutants registered, since it's "harmless."

Another case you've got on file is the bank robbery (http://75.126.43.122/forum/showthread.php?t=17914) from about a year ago. We never got to finish that thread, unfortunately, but all security footage would have been mysteriously erased (by Tron).

If I weren't currently snowed under by school, I'd offer you a thread, but I want to make a deferred offer... maybe when I knock out a few of these projects we can do something between the MCU and some of the Brotherhood mooks. :)

[John Jackson]

We were thinking more along the lines of being the Detectives researching the crimes rather than the guys actually going out and apprehending people - we've got SWAT to do the legwork for us. We'll definately bear that sort of thing in mind: if we take down anyone dangerous from the Brotherhood or whatever, we'll need all the help we can get!

That said, if anyone out there wants to get involved as part of a specialist anti-Mutant SWAT team, you're more than welcome. ;)

Roughing up with the Brotherhood sounds fun, too. Once you manage to lob some salt on that workload snow-in of yours, let me know. I'm sure we'll be able to cook something up. :D

[Gary Cannon]

Another question. Are you planning on being stricktly local, or could the team become state wide, national, or even global, in the manner that SHIELD is? Depending, that opens up other people like Cannon and Feral to name two, that can also contributed to giving you headaches / potential rectuits.

[John Jackson]

SHIELD - in the context of this idea - is the name of an umbrella initiative by the NYPD that encompasses most of their counter-terrorist projects. Since the organisation is set up by a local police force, chances are it'd keep within the five boroughs of New York City: anything else would be little outside our jurisdiction a little.

Doen't negate the possibility of them being involved of course: just means we'd have to think a little harder to find an excuse. ;)

[Thomas Seagraves]

The murder of an United States Ambassador from NY would be all you need to take something like this internationally. Since no other force has the "resources" you do, by having mutants on your team, the government would naturally come to you for help. I have a character that I'm in the middle of creating that is in Russia, he is a bad guy. If you would like we can try out your little squad with him. The idea is to get him to the U.S.

[John Jackson]

If an Ambassador was killed, I'd guess that someone like the CIA or FBI would be the ones to deal with it. They'd be a representative of the US as a whole, rather than specifically one city/state like New York, so it is more likely to fall under the jurisdiction of a nationwide bureau rather than a local unit like us. Because we're part of the NYPD (and not a separate government division), our jurisdiction only extends to the five boroughs of New York City.

There's a possibility that we might work with other police forces elsewhere in the US (particularly in nearby states that don't have an equivalent department), but I don't think we'll be meddling in international affairs. At least, not yet.

Once you're on US soil, we'd be more than happy to rumble with you. ;)

[Thomas Seagraves]

Alright I'll be posting with this guy tonight so be on the look out. The thread is going to be named From Russia with Love.