Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty (Barrayar)
| Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty | |
| |
| Coat of Arms of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty. | |
| Active | * 2999 - Present |
| Country | Empire of Barrayar |
| Part of | Government of Barrayar |
| Headquarters | Castel Vorreedi, Vorbarr Sultana |
| Current Minister | Minister Admiral Boris Ivan Gustinevskij |
The Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty is the government agency on Barrayar headed by the Minister of Protection of Imperial Loyalty. The Ministry is in charge of Barrayar's high police.
The Ministry works in liaison and in competition with the Imperial Security, although it is more focused on vigilance against bureaucratic corruption and, from a general point of view, it is focused on sensitive vigilance over common society more than proper espionage. Therefore the Ministry has three main functional fields of Empire-wide operations: public service control, propaganda and censorship, although on a discrete level, and protection of state secrets. These duties are often carried out in co-operation with other intelligence and/or investigation agencies, most notably the Imperial Security.
Unlike the Imperial Security, the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty is also a law enforcement agency in every respect, although with particular tasks and not under control of Ministry of Interior. Its main tasks are focused on control of the whole public services, both civil and military, and operates primarily as a policing and surveillance force. Being an agency which employs the intelligence-led policing, the Ministry, rather than reactively responding to individual incidents, conducts systematic analysis of offences and related activities, that allow to identify appropriate patterns and those who are responsible. This method is applied to the defence of the political system.
While the Ministry publicly only concerns itself with the internal affairs of the Empire, it is known to have a thin spy network in place in other nations of the Nexus.
Contents
History
The Ministry of Political Education was established during the reign of Emperor Yuri the Mad Vorbarra, and partly restructured by Emperor Ezar Vorbarra, under the leadership of Minister Grishnov. Following the orchestrated riots after the Escobaran War, Ministry buildings were attacked and looted by the enraged crowds and the Ministry itself was disestablished by Lord Regent Aral Vorkosigan, and its competencies passed entirely to ImpSec.
During the latest years of Gregor Vorbarra's reign, a civilian governmental structure with security tasks was created, and Emperor Gregor's son, the incumbent Emperor Serg Vorbarra, re-established the Ministry, although changing name and operational methods, in order to counterbalance the predominance of Imperial Security and to attribute to civilian government a similar - although somewhat complementary - intelligence agency.
Mission
The MoPIL essentially inherits the “high police” function of the old Ministry of Political Education, enacting a policy of supervision and surveillance to keep control and to prevent disloyalty, being focused on Barrayar, but dealing control matters also on Komarr and Sergyar.
The Imperial Public Service control functions are focused in contrasting white-collar crimes made by or with the complicity of public servants. Where a political reliability is required, the Ministry acts as validation and verification centre, filtering suspect or non-reliable candidate individuals: in order to carry out such functions, the Ministry directs and organizes its own home espionage networks and counter intelligence. The public service controls includes also the control and surveillance over the Imperial Service, which is carried out in co-operation with the Service Security.
It is also responsible for enforcing security regulations, monitoring and censoring information leaving or coming into the country, including the planting and organizing of agents to track and monitor public opinion and loyalty, as well as ensuring the safety of important government officials and the security of state secrets, although in co-operation with Imperial Security.
The Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, above all else, is a security organization, and as such, is designed for overt and clandestine surveillance and supervision to carry out its functions. The intelligence apparatus is able to permeate the state administration: each major department within the government, with the severe exception of the Imperial Security, has its own official supervisor, a “Special Section” staffed by the Ministry personnel to keep tabs on and regulate the employees and to ensure the absence of disloyalty.
The Ministry is retained a high level of autonomy and a remarkable amount of freedom of operation within the Imperial system, as the agency is only responsible to the Council of Ministers and to Emperor.
Organization
The Ministry is an Empire-level governmental agency, controlling its corresponding branches in the other two imperial planets, Sergyar and Komarr. Other imperial ministries, by contrast, do not have corresponding branches in the other planets but executed their functions directly through Vorbarr Sultana. On Barrayar, however, local ministerial administrations are subordinated directly to the central offices in Vorbarr Sultana.
The Ministry also has a network of special departments in all major governmental institutions. They generally consist of one or more ministerial officials, whose purpose is to ensure the observance of security regulations and to monitor political sentiments among employees. The special departments recruit in-loco informers to help them in their tasks. A separate and extensive network of Political Officers exist within the Imperial Service and defence-related institutions.
Minister of of Protection of Imperial Loyalty
The Minister of of Protection of Imperial Loyalty is the head of its Ministry. He is assisted by two Deputy Ministers, and four to six Deputy Chairmen. The Minister is the head of the Collegium of the Ministry — which consists of the Minister, Deputy Ministers, Deputy Chairmen, Department Chiefs, and the two planet-level Ministry organization chairmen — who affect key policy decisions.
Directly dependant on the Minster, there is the Internal Audit organization, with tasks of internal control and financial inspections. The incumbent Minister is (retired) Admiral Boris Ivan Gustinevskij, the former Political Officer General.
Collegium of the Ministry
The Collegium is the leadership body of the State Security Committee, consisting of the Minister (who chairs the Collegium), his deputy Ministers and Chairmen and leading members of the central apparatus of the Ministry and its local branches.
Members of the Collegium are appointed by the Emperor, on a non binding proposal of the Council of Ministers.
The Collegium is answerable to the Council of Minister and to the Emperor for the timely and efficient execution of all matters relating to the organization and activity of Ministry agencies and troops. Collegium meetings consider aspects of the operational, investigatory and other work of the Ministry, reports from the heads of the departments of the central apparatus, local branches and troops, drafts of the most important Ministerial decrees, instructions and orders etc.
Decisions of the Collegium are taken by majority vote and are binding on all members. They are promulgated in Ministerial Decrees. The Statute governing the Ministry specifies that, in case of serious disagreement between the Minister and the members of the Collegium on an issue under debate, the Minister defers the dispute to the Council of Ministers.
Ministry collegia are also formed under the Viceroy of Sergyar and under the Imperial Counsellor of Komarr.
Departmental organization
The Ministry is organized into nine main Departments, each performing a distinct operational or support function. Departments are further subdivided into Administrations, more specifically focused.
- Special Council of State Security: convicts arrestees charged with committing political crimes, including espionage, and could banish them from certain areas, or from the Imperium entirely.
- Department AD - Administration and Public affairs
- Main Coordinating Administration: Coordinates its work with other intelligence agencies (ImpSec and Military Intelligence Service).
- Security Co-ordination Administration: organizes and provides a compensation chamber for the Special Corps of Gendarmes, which provides the overt and official facilities and Department 1 (protection from the exterior at a bureaucratic and police support level).
- Administration AD1: Training institutes
- Administration AD2: Archives
- Administration AD3: Personnel
- Department IT - Information, operational intelligence technologies and technology
- Administration IT1: Wireless transmission control and Sabotage
- Administration IT2: Surveillance of cabled and mail communications.
- Administration IT3: Information analysis
- Department CS - Central services and support
- Command of Special Corps of Gendarmes
- Administration CS2: Central Medical Service
- Administration CS3: Technical Support Service
- Administration CS4: Security detention: the Ministry operates its own prison camps for political offenders.
- Department 1 - Aliens and security threats posed to by foreign extremists or from abroad: it operates at a different level from the Imperial Security
- Administration 11: Passport security control
- Administration 12: Immigration surveillance: deals with cooperation with ImpSec, Sergyaran and Komarran law enforcement and with Immigration Services.
- Department 2 - Counter-espionage, protective security and counter-sabotage
- Administration 21: Designed as a para-terrorist force to combat the republicans, underground subversives and hostile elements; the Administration is also focused on security awareness education activities among local authorities encouraging reporting of suspicious people and activities.
- Administration 22: Heavy industry security: counter-sabotage guarding.
- Administration 23: Economic security: political and intelligence assistance against financial hostile speculations, co-operation wit the SOCA
- Administration 24: Garbage analysis, it is responsible for analysing garbage for any suspect foreign foods and materials.
- Administration 25: Local Intelligence: is responsible for directing and coordinating the work of local overt Directorates and subordinate bodies of the Ministry at the District, Regional and municipal (and equivalent) levels, as well as the work of clandestine units; it liaises also with the Special Corps of Gendarmes, which actually operates local overt offices.
- Department 3 - Armed Corps loyalty and Compliance
- Administration 31: Political Officers Administration
- Administration 32: Inspectorate of Police Services
- Department 4 - Surveillance on state administrations
- Administration 41: Anticorruption Bureau
- Administration 42: Inspection Committee on Irregularities in the Imperial Public Service
- Department 5 - Censorship
- Administration 51: Bureau of Censorship
- Administration 52: Protection of State secrets
Security Department
The Security Department is in charge of secrecy and political security of the workplace of every enterprise or institution of the Empire that deals with any kind of technical or scientific classified information (plants, R&D institutions, etc.). Every branch of the Central Statistical Administration also has a Security Department to control access, distribution, and publication of official economic, population, and social statistics. Copies of especially sensitive documents are numbered and labelled or stamped as secret or “For official use only”.
The Security Departments report to the Department 6 of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty and are not subordinated to the management of the enterprise or institution. Among its functions is control of access to information considered state secret and of publications.
Political Officer
The Political Officer is the supervisory political official responsible for the political loyalty and organisation, and fealty to the Emperor of the military. The Political Officer figure was re-established in 2993, and it has a very different role from those of XXIX century counterparts under the Ministry of Political Education. The new Political Officer is by law a retired military officer, as part of the Military Compromise, through which the military agreed to the re-establishment of such a figure.
The Political Officer holds military rank equalling that of one lower than the unit commander to whom he was attached; moreover, the PolOff also has the military authority to countermand the unit commander's orders only when most strictly required and necessary, being their work strictly confined to non-combat functions, such as propaganda, morale boasting and military censorship. Their activity consists in bringing close to the soldiers of the Imperial Service, through lectures and discussions, the loyalty to the Emperor and to the Imperium: because the nature of their duties, Political Officers deal mainly with the Service Security, especially if the Political Officer is embarked on a spacecraft on duty. Typical fields of activity of a Political Officers are also some administrative tasks such as public relations and legal counselling.
Political Officers are framed within the Political Officers Administration (A41), which is headed by the Political Officer General, the supreme chief and co-ordinator of all Political Officers. He is, by law, a retired fourth level General/Admiral.
The political supervision of the Imperial Service is effected by the Political Officer, who is assigned to every unit and formation, from battalion to division-level, including the Space Forces. Political Military Commissions are established at higher levels, comprising at least three Political Commissars. These political officials are denominated "Members of the PMC", not "Political Officer", despite actually being official political officers. The three levels of Political Officers are:
- Political Commissars are assigned to all organizations at the regiment level and above;
- Political Directors are assigned to all battalion-level independent organizations;
- Political Instructors are assigned to all company-level independent organizations.
Reporting directly to the Minister, Political Officers are present in all levels of command, with a PolOff assigned to every independent unit or formation. Political Officers have the authority to countermand the orders given by the military commanders they "supervise" if that is deemed absolutely necessary to prevent a treason, which leads to a significant state of tension between them and the career military personnel. In addition, each Political Officer has the power to investigate any member of the military suspected of disloyalty or treason against the Emperor, in a role which partially overlaps those of both ImpSec and Service Security.
Despite the degree of tension between Political Officers and career personnel, the general policy tendencies are to encourage both Political Officers and military personnel to form effective partnerships: their role is not that of a knife to the throat of the military, as it was Ministry of Political Education Political Officer's role, but that of a civilian government attachée to the general security of the Empire.
Inspectorate of Police Services
The Inspectorate of Police Services (IPS) has statutory responsibility for the inspection of police forces. The Inspectorate reports on the activities of the territorial forces of Barrayar (including police activities of District forces), Komarr and Sergyar and other bodies involved in law enforcement. In inspecting police service, the Inspectorate uses watchdog tactics, such as "mystery shopping".
Bureau of Censorship
The Bureau of Censorship is a bureau set up in the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty charged with censorship duties.
The Bureau considers all manner of books and essays that are presented for public consumption: the primary object of this consideration to bring to the public books and essays that contribute to true education of the mind and the formation of manners, and to remove books and essays of seditious intent.
The main Committee of Censorship is the Vorbarr Sultana Censorship Committee. Censorship committees are also established in all other major cities. Printed material and manuscripts are subject to the bureau's oversight and approval.
Anticorruption Bureau
The Anticorruption Bureau is a division of the Ministry within the Public Administration Department, dealing with the surveillance on State administrations. It reports to the Minister of Protection of Imperial Loyalty and to the Prime Minister. Located in Vorbarr Sultana, the Bureau has been in operation since 3001 and it is particularly focused on combating corruption in State and self-government institutions. Its scope includes both investigating criminal corruption and preventing corruption which is not yet criminal. It is charged with informing the Minister and the Prime Minister.
Activities
While the MoPIL uses all kinds of surveillance technology and infiltration, they mostly use open sources. The Ministry publishes a yearly official report which is intended to raise awareness about dangerous activities. Main concerns of the MoPIL are:
- Republicans, liberals, left-wing political extremists, platforms, movements and leagues, notably People's Defence League, as well as other smaller parties and groups preaching communism
- Military impatience and subversion
Infiltration
Full-time officers are posted to major industrial plants (largely depending on how valuable a product is to the economy). Tiny holes are drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which MoPIL agents film guests with special video cameras. Schools and universities are extensively infiltrated.
The MoPIL has formal categorizations of each type of informant. The roles of informants range from those already in some way involved in state security (such as the police and the Imperial Service) to those in the oppositionalist movements. Information gathered about the latter groups is frequently used to divide or discredit members. Informants are made to feel important, given material or social incentives, and are imbued with a sense of adventure, and only few are coerced into cooperating.
Executions of dissidents
People are unofficially imprisoned for a wide range of reasons. MoPIL executions are carried out in strict secrecy, and are usually accomplished with a guillotine or by a single pistol shot to the neck.
Undercover investigations
In order to combat political subversion and terrorism, the Special Corps of Gendarmes, within its duties of specialized police corps, is entitled to perform undercover investigations. Being a police body, for such investigations they depend on the High Treason, State Security and Terrorism Prosecution. The instruments used are the same as those used in the fight against organized crime, converted to the need to address terrorism in a effective and rapid manner. For this it is possible to make searches of premises of entire buildings or blocks of buildings when there is suspicion that there are weapons, ammunition or explosives, or that there is reason to believe that it is a refugee or an escaped fugitive for crimes committed for terrorism or political subversion.
The covert activities exclude the commitment of any offence for the Gendarmes who, in order to obtain evidence of the crimes committed for terrorism or political subversion, acquire, receive, substitute or hide money, weapons, documents, drugs, goods or things which are connected to the crimes, or otherwise hinder the identification of the origin or let that they can be used.
The conduct of such activity is assigned exclusively to officers and non-commissioned officers of the Special Corps of Gendarmes; operations can be authorized by the Minister for the Protection of Imperial Loyalty, by the Commander of the Corps or, at their authorization, by the District commanders of the Corps.
It is permitted the use of false identities, as well as the use of movable and immovable properties. If the use of false identities is used on the datasphere, there is an obligation to inform the Prosecutor as soon as possible and no later than 104 hours after initiation of activities. The prosecutor must be informed in advance of the implementation of undercover operations. Similarly, the prosecutor must be reported without delay the results.
Protection of State Secrets
Access to all Government data is highly regulated and the protection of State secrets is handled by the Administration 61. Security levels are also variable, and task-specific. Certain areas are restricted to unauthorized personnel, regardless of security level.
Security Levels
| Level | Typical Rank or grade |
|---|---|
| IS 12 | Emperor and Regent |
| IS 11 | Chief of General Staff, Prime Minister, Chief of Imperial Security, Minister of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, Minister of Interior |
| IS 10 | Fourth level General/Flag Officers, Other Ministers, President of the Police Headquarters in charge of the Imperial Police Force and of the general police services |
| IS 9 | Top operatives and analysts of Imperial Security, Third level General/Flag Officers, Vice President at the Police headquarters |
| IS 8 | Operatives and analysts of Imperial Security, Top operatives and analysts of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, Top operatives and analysts of the Military Intelligence Service, Second level General/Flag Officers |
| IS 7 | Operatives and analysts of Imperial Security, Operatives and analysts of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, Operatives and analysts of the Military Intelligence Service, First level General/Flag Officers, Captain (Naval)/Colonel of Imperial Security |
| IS 6 | Operatives of Imperial Security, Operatives of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, Operatives of the Military Intelligence Service, Captain (Naval)/Colonel, Commander/Major of Imperial Security, District/Sector/Territorial Chancery police commander |
| IS 5 | Operatives of Imperial Security, Operatives of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty, Operatives of the Military Intelligence Service, Commander/Major, Lieutenant Commander/Ground Captain of Imperial Security |
| IS 4 | Junior Officers, Warrant Officers of Imperial Security, City police commander |
| IS 3 | Warrant Officers, Enlisted personnel of Imperial Security |
| IS 2 | Enlisted personnel |
| IS 1 | Open Access [Read Only] |
Note: Security levels beyond current rank can and are bestowed where, when and to whom they are necessary.
Special Corps of Gendarmes
The Special Corps of Gendarmes is the uniformed security police of the Ministry of Protection of Imperial Loyalty. Its main responsibilities are political law enforcement and state security enforcing on Barrayar (Vorbarra District and Southern Continent) and on Sergyar, while on Komarr the Imperial Security acts in a similar way. The official responsibilities and tasks of the Special Corps are focused on the connection between the investigative and judicial authorities and intelligence services (especially the Ministry itself). In addition, it must collect information relating to the social, political and economic situation of the Empire; it also must prevent the disturbance and implement the re-establishment of public order. From the point of view of judicial investigation, the Special Corps is responsible for judicial investigations related to terrorism and attacks against the State security.
The responsibilities of the Gendarmes also includes execution of MoPIL orders, chasing peculiar fugitives, aid to riot control, and detainment of "unusual" and political criminals. Gendarmes could also be assigned to assist police and local officials. The Special Corps co-operates with:
- Imperial Security
- Military Intelligence Service
- Ministry of Interior
- Service Security
- Judicial authorities
exercising the powers to act as superintendent of police of the judicial authorities to protect the internal security of the Empire. Only the activities of the judicial police of the Imperial Security must be conducted under the direction of the Special Corps of Gendarmes.
Gendarmes can also request the collaboration of police agencies or bodies, as well as of individual agents and officers, directing the activities in the field. The personnel of the Special Corps of Gendarmes is often drawn from the various police forces (Imperial Police Force, Sergyar Police Service and Komarran Security Forces), and includes a permanent Liaison Delegation of the SOCA, upon pre-emptive screening and inspection of the Imperial Security and the Ministry for the Protection of Imperial Loyalty.
As statute, the Corps consists of:
- Central Command
- General Affairs Office
- Anti-Terrorism Service: The Anti-Terrorism Service takes care of all the phenomena of contrast to the domestic and international terrorism. It is not a judicial police service, so does not take, on an ongoing basis, task for the judicial authority. The Anti-Terrorism Service acts of coordination and boost counter-terrorism sections of the local Directorates. The Service is also the terminal of the whole information flow of national intelligence and international, as well as of the police.
- General Information Service
- Special Operations Service
- Sergyar Directorates (32)
- Southern District Directorates (64)
Anti-Terrorism Service
The Anti-Terrorism Service takes care of all the phenomena of contrast to the domestic and international terrorism. It is not a judicial police service, so do not take, on an ongoing basis, task for the judicial authority. The Anti-Terrorism Service acts of coordination and boost counter-terrorism sections of the local Directorates. The Service is also the terminal of the whole information flow of domestic and interstellar intelligence, as well as of the police.
Special Operations Service
The Special Operations Service is a special and covert counter-terrorism and political-police assault unit of the Special Corps of Gendarmes responsible for performing high-risk tasks that require a diversified training and adequate preparation. The unit answers directly to the Minister of Protection of Imperial Loyalty.
The S.O.S. is considered a Regiment made up of two independent Battalions, one for each planet. Each Battalion, which is 800-men strong, contains two Assault Companies, a Training Company and a Logistic Support Company. In addition, the Command-and-Support Company serves as S.O.S. overall HQs.
