Question MCO & local. Law enforcement

How much power does the MCO have if the local police don't cooperate with them? And does this cange significantly between the original and 2nd gen timeframe?

I'm think of starting a story in a town that is nominally mutant friendly, and has a small but open mutant population. And have the MCO try to use event in the story as leverage to get a foothold in the town.

I'm not really commited to a particular year so I'm open to whichever is more likely to have a town where mutants. At least thoughs without severe GSD are accepted.

Well as far as I know, going strictly with the law as written, if the MCO does anything other then investigate, at a level a reporter or private eye does, they could be arrested.
They tend to push as much as they can and put out as much misinformation as possible to let them literally get away with murder.

This is for gen1 only.

Domoviye wrote: Well as far as I know, going strictly with the law as written, if the MCO does anything other then investigate, at a level a reporter or private eye does, they could be arrested.
They tend to push as much as they can and put out as much misinformation as possible to let them literally get away with murder.

This is for gen1 only.

So they're basically Pinkertons?

Actually come to think of it, if it wasn't for the disappearances connected to the MCO, the Pinkerton analogy would fit them like a glove, they acted as law enforcement for crimes that crossed state lines in lieu of the FBI, they protected the president before that responsibility fell to a branch of the Secret Service, in many parts west of the Mississippi, they were law enforcement, as well as the defenders of bank vehicles, then as things settled and government run organizations began to fill those roles, they became hired security, high on their reputation to the point where their actions were overlooked a few times, until the steel riots combined with a more working class friendly political climate spelled their end. Which makes me think in Gen2 they are on the verge of transitioning to "hired security force" status, and the KOP is a fragment of what it was in Gen1...

mhalpern wrote: Actually come to think of it, if it wasn't for the disappearances connected to the MCO, the Pinkerton analogy would fit them like a glove, they acted as law enforcement for crimes that crossed state lines in lieu of the FBI, they protected the president before that responsibility fell to a branch of the Secret Service, in many parts west of the Mississippi, they were law enforcement, as well as the defenders of bank vehicles, then as things settled and government run organizations began to fill those roles, they became hired security, high on their reputation to the point where their actions were overlooked a few times, until the steel riots combined with a more working class friendly political climate spelled their end. Which makes me think in Gen2 they are on the verge of transitioning to "hired security force" status, and the KOP is a fragment of what it was in Gen1...

Bringing-up the Knights of Purity (at the end there) is a bit of a tangent since they're not related to the MCO.

Otherwise, yeah... the MCO only has as much authority as the local and state governments give them.

Given the actions of the Pinkertons during their strike breaking years, I am fairly sure they disappeared a few people. They just had better press.

DanZilla wrote:

mhalpern wrote: Actually come to think of it, if it wasn't for the disappearances connected to the MCO, the Pinkerton analogy would fit them like a glove, they acted as law enforcement for crimes that crossed state lines in lieu of the FBI, they protected the president before that responsibility fell to a branch of the Secret Service, in many parts west of the Mississippi, they were law enforcement, as well as the defenders of bank vehicles, then as things settled and government run organizations began to fill those roles, they became hired security, high on their reputation to the point where their actions were overlooked a few times, until the steel riots combined with a more working class friendly political climate spelled their end. Which makes me think in Gen2 they are on the verge of transitioning to "hired security force" status, and the KOP is a fragment of what it was in Gen1...

Bringing-up the Knights of Purity (at the end there) is a bit of a tangent since they're not related to the MCO.

Otherwise, yeah... the MCO only has as much authority as the local and state governments give them.

Except in a way they are, though they aren't "officially" related, the KOP is the private security version of the MCO, who's niche is Public Security, in order for the MCO to survive as their place in public security becomes obsolete, they have to encroach on the KOP's niche, and as they have greater numbers, resources and better press, they will choke out the KOP, if they don't outright buy them. Its very simple, they'd be in the same very specific niche market, and said market would be too tight for both of them thanks to super teams and whatever branch of the DOP begins to replace the MCO

So, would MCO have an implicit private eye license or bail bondsman (ie bounty hunter) certification?

The smart ones would.

But the general mindset we see is that they think they are law enforcement so getting such a PI or BB certification would be a tacit admission that they're not what they think they are.

Well, you have to understand that the MCO is what's called a 'Non Governmental Organization', or NGO or 'Nongo' in BritSpeak. That basically means that they get money from the official governments that 'subscribe' to the MCO charter to do things that government organizations can't legally get away with. Even in what we laughingly call 'the real world' NGOs are a little dodgy. While the MCO charter varies with each subscriber nation 'as to conform to the Laws and Protocols of the Host Nation', their contract with the USA states in brief 'to advise, coordinate and support those branches of the level of government that needs assistance dealing with problems arising from superhuman mutants'. So, legally, the MCO can only give advice to Local, State or Federal agencies that have a problem with a troublesome mutant, and maybe provide some technical assistance.

But there's that 'Advise, Coordinate and SUPPORT' clause.

People, there are few things more dangerous than an innocuous-sounding but vague legal clause in the hands of a crafty lawyer. Entire volumes could be written on the mischief worked by such clauses. The MCO takes that 'Support' mention to mean that they have a brief to provide whatever material 'assistance' to governments as may be needed. And they reserve for themselves the decision as to what is needed.

Besides their views on the existence or nonexistence of a material threat that may or may not be posed to the entire human race by preternormally powerful mutants, please keep in mind that these are well paid functionaries who are defending their JOBS. Ruthless doesn't even begin to describe it.

Bek D Corbin wrote: Well, you have to understand that the MCO is what's called a 'Non Governmental Organization', or NGO or 'Nongo' in BritSpeak. That basically means that they get money from the official governments that 'subscribe' to the MCO charter to do things that government organizations can't legally get away with. Even in what we laughingly call 'the real world' NGOs are a little dodgy. While the MCO charter varies with each subscriber nation 'as to conform to the Laws and Protocols of the Host Nation', their contract with the USA states in brief 'to advise, coordinate and support those branches of the level of government that needs assistance dealing with problems arising from superhuman mutants'. So, legally, the MCO can only give advice to Local, State or Federal agencies that have a problem with a troublesome mutant, and maybe provide some technical assistance.

But there's that 'Advise, Coordinate and SUPPORT' clause.

People, there are few things more dangerous than an innocuous-sounding but vague legal clause in the hands of a crafty lawyer. Entire volumes could be written on the mischief worked by such clauses. The MCO takes that 'Support' mention to mean that they have a brief to provide whatever material 'assistance' to governments as may be needed. And they reserve for themselves the decision as to what is needed.

Besides their views on the existence or nonexistence of a material threat that may or may not be posed to the entire human race by preternormally powerful mutants, please keep in mind that these are well paid functionaries who are defending their JOBS. Ruthless doesn't even begin to describe it.

Of course contract law doesn't protect them from felony offense, if it can be proven, as a few offices have found out through DFA violations, they also are not allowed to search someone else's property unless in an environment like airport security, as it would be trespassing or possibly breaking and entering. Not to mention the shit they pulled just before Phase met the vowelless one, is unreasonable search and seizure, assault and recklessly endangering a civilian, after all, they don't know how hydrated someone is before taking a blood sample, or the sanitation of the outdoor environment, and if they were a high level regen and the blood got on someone? Also I believe that it's a direct violation of certain privacy and consent rights. Someone should just film them in action.