History Main / StateSec

* UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} had the ÁVH (short for "Államvédelmi Hatóság", literally "State Protection Authority"). Forged from elements of the state police force and originally a mere organ of the post-WWII Ministry of Interior (its full name at the time being the "Budapest Headquarters' Department of State Political Police" ("Budapesti Főkapitányság Politikai Rendészeti Osztálya", or '''PRO''') in 1945, before gaining its more infamous name as the Hungarian State Police's State Defense Department ("Magyar Államrendőrség Államvédelmi Osztálya", or '''''ÁVO''''', where the denonym "ávós" comes from -- usually uttered with no small amount of contempt) in 1946, before finally becoming a fully independent state security organization (as the '''ÁVH''') in 1950. Noted for originally being composed of a "colorful cast of characters" (including former Arrow Cross Party members, whose crimes were quickly forgotten in exchange for their services as boot boys and ''torture technicians'', and vengeful survivors of the "labour service" [[spoiler:(read: ''slave labor'')]] that enlistment-age Jewish men had perform during the war -- this latter group being a majority in the early days of the PRO, so that previous regime personell, whom they would've come in contact with, would be more easily filtered out from society), it would eventually be forged into a well-organized security service by László Rajk (who would end up being a victim of the organization he helped to shape, as he was considered a threat to the position and authority of general secretary Mátyás Rákosi). Much like the Securitate or the Stasi, it was an utterly brutal organization, renowned for unusually cruel and creative methods of torture [[spoiler:(such as forcing arrested priests to kiss an ''electrified'' crucifix, forcing prisoners to drink from toilet bowls, and threatening to torture and kill their family members)]], with the guards' motto being "Don't just guard them, ''hate'' them!" [[spoiler:(which they attributed to Minister of National Defence Mihály Farkas, another member of Rákosi's inner circle)]]. Like the Stasi, they operated a vast network of (mostly intimidated-into-compliance) informants -- many of whom would snitch on their own loved ones just to get away from the torture, and would come to make arrests in the dead of the night, between midnight and 2 a.m., giving rise to the term "''Csengőfrász''" (meaning "Bell-fright", as people would come to dread the sound of the doorbell in the middle of the night). With the death of Stalin in 1953, and the ensuing internal restructuring of the USSR's leadership (and, by extension, some of those of its satellite states), the Hungarian government (then headed by the more popular [[spoiler:and pragmatic]] Imre Nagy, as Rákosi was forced to step down) began to take action against the leadership of the ÁVH, but its complete dissolution would only come in 1956, in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution. [[spoiler:The ÁVH was also (most likely) responsible for a particularly tragic episode of the revolution, where peaceful protestors fraternizing with the crews of Soviet tanks were fired upon from atop the Hungarian Radio building, leading to the protestors attempting to flee from the scene, while the confused (and likely panicking) Soviet tank crews ended up firing upon the crowds, leading to countless casualties, and any semblance of peaceful protest going out the window from thereon. The ÁVH's headquarters at Andrássy út 66 (which also served as one of the headquarters (and interrogation and torture chambers) of the Arrow Cross Party during the final years of WWII), were raided, and members of the service were hung from lamp posts, their corpses left to rot on the street.]] After the revolution was crushed, the new Soviet-friendly government, headed by János Kádár, did not reinstate the organization, [[spoiler:mostly for pragmatic reasons, although he also had the personal motive of ''having been tortured by them himself'' in the past,]] with most of its functions taken over by the III/III department of the Minister of Interior.

* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': The Alpha Lanterns of the Green Lantern Corps were created to act as an InternalAffairs force for the [=GLs=]. They are armed with two power rings, made into cyborgs with Manhunter technology that allows them to drain other rings of power, have built-in power batteries to negate the need to recharge, and have their personalities erased[[note]]Although the Alpha Lanterns themselves insist their personalities haven't been erased, just intensely focused; but then, they would think that, wouldn't they?[[/note]] in favor of a direct mental link to the Book of Oa and Central Power Battery, thus removing any impurities which may color their interpretation of the Guardian's laws. Earth's [=GLs=], quite understandably, collectively go "[[WhatTheHellHero What the Hell, Guardians?]]" somewhere between the 'Manhunter technology' and 'personality erased' points, as all this [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill doesn't make the Guardians look particularly heroic]]. The Alpha Lanterns' extreme resemblance to the Manhunters shows that even when you are semi-omniscient and immortal, you can't learn from history. As it turns out, the Alpha Lanterns are fall from infallible, anyway especially not with [[spoiler:Cyborg Superman taking control of them]], as well as [[spoiler:Granny Goodness possessing Alpha Lantern Kraken, capturing Batman, and trying to steal the Central Power Battery]] in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''.

The trope gets its name from the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' book series, where the [[CommieNazis People's]] [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Republic]] of Haven's Department of State Security ("State Sec") has its own Space Navy, {{Space Marine}}s, Army, intelligence organizations, and so on. This was in turn inspired by the RealLife Schutzstaffel of [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi Germany]], which had the elite Waffen-SS which was pretty much a second German Army for the Nazi party, the Allgemeine-SS which ran the damn thing, and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS#SS_offices literally any other responsibility that Himmler could talk Hitler into giving him.]] With such a precedent, this trope has a way of coinciding with PuttingOnTheReich.

* Rare heroic example in ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'', as the protagonists are part of Public Security Section Nine. They operate with great autonomy, are only ever seen reporting to the Prime Minister or the Minster of Home Affairs, regularly violate laws which would bind other governmental organizations, and thanks to virtually no oversight, [[spoiler: almost]] never get caught doing so. While Section Nine itself is only a small elite team of mostly ex-military operatives with a small support staff and a lot of cutting-edge equipment, they are still only one of at least eight other Public Security Sections, each with a different structure and area of responsibility. What little is known about the other Sections places them more within government control. Section 1 covers internal investigations within Japan, similar to the FBI. Section 4 is a group of Rangers, like the Navy Seals. Section 6 works like the CIA. Other sections fill in roles similar to the Drug Enforcement Agency and medical investigations.

** Shirow Masamune has stated that Section 9 is part of an expanded and reorganized [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Security_Intelligence_Agency Public Security Intelligence Agency]], which in real life currently has 5 divisions for domestic affairs and 4 for foreign affairs. And is nowhere near as militarized as in GITS.

** The Titans, the main antagonists of ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam''. They eventually take over the regular Federation Forces and become a de facto military dictatorship. They manage to be even more [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi-like]] then their predecessors, the Principality of Zeon from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' (ironically, their original stated purpose was to eliminate Zeon [[TheRemnant remnant groups]]).
*** The Titans are replaced following the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ First Neo-Zeon War]] with Londo Bell, which, since it is run by [[BigGood Bright Noa]], is a far more moral example that doesn't abuse its authority. That said, it is still an autonomous military force outside the regular chain of command, with its official mission statement being to hunt down Zeon upstarts. The fact a [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Second Neo-Zeon War]] starts invites accusations of [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything them not doing their job]].

** The Organization of the Zodiac (OZ for short) in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' is an interesting case, zig-zagging as the series went on. While officially part of the Alliance military as a [[EliteArmy elite force]], it was secretly the [[NGOSuperpower Romefeller Foundation's]] military wing. After eliminating the Alliance, [=OZ=] becomes the regular army for the Romefeller government.

* ''Anime/{{Hellsing}}'' - In the anime, the titular anti-vampire Organization has a paramilitary vibe. The group has a number of well armed, equipped, and trained soldiers used to take out said vampires. Contrasted in the manga and [=OVA=], where the troops are limited to being the RedShirtArmy.
* Phantom in ''Anime/InnocentVenus'' specializes in putting down "rebellions", which basically means help the plutocracy oppress the poor. With HumongousMecha.
* While Capitol Police from ''Franchise/KerberosSaga'' are only limited to operating within Tokyo, they have a fairly impressive array of different forces under their control. They have a more traditional SecretPolice in the form of Public Security Division, but they also have a helicopter unit, armored cars, a sniper team and most famously the Special Armed Garrison a.k.a. "Kerberos Panzer Cops", a paramilitary force armed with Protect Gear and [=MG42=] belt fed machine guns. Violent InterServiceRivalry that erupts within the organization and threatens the existence of Kerberos unit is the central focus of the plot in ''Anime/JinRohTheWolfBrigade'' and ''Manga/KerberosPanzerCop''
* NERV from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. They are not only funded directly by the UN ([[TheManBehindTheMan but actually controlled by]] [[AncientConspiracy SEELE]]), they have special legal protection and are the sole organization operating Evas. There was one instance where an American admiral was forced to cooperate by a NERV ''captain'' which shouldn't be possible in real life; in another example, the same captain requested a prototype weapon from the Japanese military and immediately got it without any red tape. It is said that their expenses involving Eva repairs and collateral damage could immediately bankrupt a small country. They also happen to have an ElaborateUndergroundBase as their main headquarters, a CapturedSuperEntity in the basement, as well as control over an entire city.
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', this is the purpose of [=CP0=] (Cipher Pol Aigis Zero). They serve directly under the [[AristocratsAreEvil World Nobles]], protecting them from any outside harm. And unlike the SecretPolice unit [=CP9=], their existance is well-known among the public.

* Downplayed in ''Manga/SpyXFamily''. While it is literally called the State Security Service and everyone knows of its existence, it functions as more of a SecretPolice in practice. Recurring character Yuri is an officer, and he sometimes shows up in uniform and sometimes in plainclothes. The terms (and tropes) are more or less used interchangeably.

* The Alpha Lanterns of the ComicBook/GreenLantern Corps fit this trope. Created to act as an Internal Affairs force for the [=GLs=], they are armed with two power rings, made into cyborgs with Manhunter technology that allows them to drain other rings of power, have built in power batteries to negate the need to recharge, and have their personalities erased in favor of a direct mental link to the Book of Oa and Central Power Battery, thus removing any impurities which may color their interpretation of the Guardian's laws. Which may prevent them from becoming KnightTemplar {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s powerful enough to take down the entire GLC (seriously, with the rest of that description they're practically asking for it), but [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill doesn't make the Guardians look particularly heroic]]...
** As it turns out, the Alpha Lanterns hasn't prevented that at all, especially not with [[spoiler: Cyborg Superman taking control of them]]. Earth's [=GLs=], quite understandably, gave a collective [[WhatTheHellHero What The Hell, Guardians?]] somewhere between "Manhunter technology" and "personality erased". (Although the Alpha Lanterns themselves insist their personalities haven't been erased, just intensely focused; but then, they would think that, wouldn't they?) Their extreme resemblance to the Manhunters shows that even when you are semi-omniscient and immortal, you can't learn from history.
** In ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', [[spoiler: Granny Goodness possesses Alpha Lantern Kraken, captures Batman, and tries to steal the Central Power Battery]]. Real infallible, and Hal Jordan points it out.

* The Kree Empire from Marvel Comics has the Accuser Corps led by Ronan the Accuser.
* ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' gives us the [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] Corps, a group of multiversal Thors, many of them not the Odinson himself, who patrol Battleworld an enforce the laws granted to them by their All-Father, [[spoiler:Doctor Doom]].
* ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} from Creator/MarvelComics is a intelligence and counter-terrorist agency, that has some pretty spiffy military hardware, including a [[AirborneAircraftCarrier flying aircraft carrier]] armed with an ICBM and a squadron of jets.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' introduces the Decepticon Justice Division to IDW's Transformers universe, a five-man squad (six if you count the TeamPet, seven counting their non-combatant medic) of Decepticon SuperSoldiers who exist to hunt down traitors and transgressors to the cause and MakeAnExampleOfThem by gruesomely torturing them to death. Their leader, Tarn, embraces the "government agency" aspect of this trope: not only does he consider his squad essentially an ultra-violent HR department, they also must obey a health and safety policy and endure his excruciatingly tedious performance reviews. They report directly to Megatron and are otherwise accountable only to themselves; [[spoiler:when Megatron renounces the war and orders all Decepticons to stand down, the DJD responds by branding Megatron himself a traitor and start gunning for him above all others.]]

* In ''FanFic/AeonNatumEngel'' and its rewrite ''FanFic/AeonEntelechyEvangelion'' has a such efficient State Sec that it makes the state sec of the source material, Cthulhu Tech, look downright lazy. It also makes the "Everything is falling apart" scenario from the latter's sourcebooks impossible.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' FanFic ExpandedUniverse, look no further than the organization known as [[http://www.dariawiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=DELPHI DELPHI]], with the [[PretentiousLatinMotto motto]] ''Praemonitus, praemunitus'' (' ''Forewarned is forearmed'' '). If your favorite [[EspionageTropes spy shtick]] hasn't been yet used by or about DELPHI - ''just you wait...''
* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, the Republic Intelligence Service is looking more and more like this trope, considering they use questionable scientific methods in the name of a "greater good," bully the actual democratic government into doing what they want, and condone assassination attempts (which, given the target, is a [[BullyingADragon really bad idea!]])
* In ''Fanfic/{{Starcrossed}},'' it is revealed that [[SecretPolice Section 31]] actually has a powerful fleet of warships... ''real'' warships, not the normal Federation universal purpose vessels. They get a few shots at the invaders, but generally suffer rather badly from the WorfEffect.
* ''Fanfic/TarkinsFist'':
** The Imperial Security Bureau, the Empire's hated secret police and political officers, are represented in fine form by the deep cover operative Major Eritech. Embedded within the Naval rank and file under the identity of Commander Tolos Volt, Eritech becomes obsessed with annihilating the members of Tarkin's Fist for their betrayal of Palpatine.

** On the Earth side of things China's Ministry of State Security is represented as a consistent danger to be navigated by Colonel Loi Cas on the Chinese front of the Empire-Earth War.
* True to the games,''Fanfic/TiberiumWars'' portrays the Brotherhood of Nod's [[WarriorMonk Black Hand]] as this. They're a separate army that operates under its own command structure, answering only to Kane. One of the [[FictionalDocument GDI intelligence reports]] states that Black Hand units are dispatched to troubled areas with civil unrest to reestablish order, among other things, and Black Hand officers of significantly lower rank are able to overrule high-ranking Nod officers.
* The ''{{Fanfic/Uplifted}}'' series explores the personal side of the rivalries held between the Wehrmacht and the SS, both of whom have nothing but contempt for the other group. The writer doesn't play favorites, having a prominent Prussian call his protagonist a "Well dressed ditch digger." Ouch.
* ''FanFic/FalloutEquestria'': Applejack's Ministry of Wartime Technology created the Steel Rangers, a force of PowerArmor equipped soldiers that fought alongside the Royal Army and later became the analogue to Fallout's Brotherhood of Steel. [[spoiler: Not to be outdone by her old friend, Twilight Sparkle's Ministry of Arcane Science attempted to create their own force of [[WingedUnicorn alicorn]] [[PhysicalGod demigoddess]] [[SuperSoldier super soldiers]], which [[GoneHorriblyRight backfired horribly,]] creating the analogue to the Master and the Super Mutants.]]
* The Office of Special Resources in ''Fanfic/TheUniversiad'', TheUnfettered TokenEvilTeammate who tick off most of the criteria on the list. They are outside and above the chain of command of the Forum's official military services. Their leader reports direct to the Moderators. As the name suggests, they have the final word on Forum resources. They have their own intelligence and R&D arms and their technology and training is far beyond all the rest, such that even an OSR "grunt" is superior to most other Forum special forces. Only their comparatively low numbers prevent any coup attempt from being a CurbStompBattle, and even then heavy casualties are expected.
* The Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department (IRD) is the state security of the Demon Empire in ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos''. They are outside the military and follow only Beelzebub's orders. The Erelim is a more benign version of this for the Angel Federation.

* The Guarsai of Zaldia in FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse are a fairly standard version of this trope.
* ''Fanfic/PacificWorldWarIIUsNavyShipgirls'': Nihon Kaigun Tokusentai, the force in charge of Japan's shipgirls, has no oversight and answers to no one but itself.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie'', the Environmental Protection Agency, [[MilkmanConspiracy of all things]], is elevated to State Sec level of power thanks to a very-dimwitted president [[ReadTheFinePrint signing an executive order without reading it]]. The [[GeneralRipper EPA director]] uses this power to [[QuarantineWithExtremePrejudice seal Springfield away from the outside world]], use military force to hunt down the escaped Simpsons family, and then finally plans to [[ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure blow the whole city up]].

* The Federal Police in the rather unsettling American 1930s movie ''Film/GabrielOverTheWhiteHouse''.

* In ''Film/HostileWaters'', the ''K-219's'' security officer - and holder of one of the sub's nuclear keys - is a member of the KGB.

* The Immediate Action Organization in AlternateHistory film ''Film/ItHappenedHere'', a tale of Britain under German occupation with a Vichy-style government. Also represented are the Blackshirts, the RealLife British Fascist counterpart to the German SA (Brownshirts).
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** S.H.I.E.L.D. -- An intelligence agency with its own research faculties, a flying aircraft carrier, ''nukes'', and personal connections with the Earth's superheroes.
** HYDRA in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' develops into this. At first, it just an advanced science branch of the Nazis, and later [[ReassignedToAntarctica Hitler's way of keeping Red Skull out of the way]]. Using the Tesseract, the Red Skull turns the branch into this trope. [[ReassignmentBackfire Which leads to HYDRA going rogue]].

* In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', it's implied that [[spoiler: Section 31 under Admiral Marcus]] is trying to become one of these -- having developed its own weapons and privately operating a unregistered, powerful warship. In addition, its personnel have their own distinct uniforms, [[spoiler:and work to advance Marcus' own agenda]].
* ''Film/WhenFatherWasAwayOnBusiness'': The Communists in Yugoslavia in 1950 have a security service that's actually called "State Security". When Mesa gets a State Sec apparatchik mad, the apparatchik--his own brother-in-law--has him arrested and sent to a gulag.

* An Egyptian mummy is unearthed. No one can figure out who it is, so the archaeologists invited three KGB specialists. They ask everyone to leave the room and roll up their sleeves. Not long after that, they leave the room, while wiping sweat off their brow. They tell the archaeologists that the mummy is Amenhotep XXIII.[[note]]Please note that the [[UsefulNotes/AncientEgyptianHistory actual historical ancient Egyptian monarchs]] only ever got up to Amenhotep IV. Even Ramesses, the most-used ancient Egyptian royal name (other than Ptolemy, which we're not counting for a variety of reasons--and not just that they were all Greek), only ever got up to Ramesses XI--which is saying something given that the ancient Egyptians had a whole 2700 years. (For comparison, [[UsefulNotes/ThePope the Popes]] actually have gotten up to 22 Johns over only a little over 2000 years.)[[/note]] When asked how they managed to ascertain that, they answer, "The bastard confessed!"

* ''Literature/TheActsOfCaine'' -- The story is set in a CrapsackWorld. The [[FacelessGoons mirror masks]] [[Quotes/StateSec of the Social Police]] are iconic of this.
* The Ministry of Pattern from ''Literature/AConspiracyOfTruths. Along with acting as diplomats, their job is to investigate and stop threats both inside and outside the country, using both troops and spies to this end. [[spoiler:After Vihra Kylliat kills Anfisa Zofiyat, Order takes over this role.]]
* ''Literature/SkyMasters'': Dreamland is a top-secret USAF unit who, while sometimes seconded to regular commands, frequently act beyond the remit of the conventional military, engaging in black ops around the world with the aid of {{Cool Plane}}s and other advanced technology. In their Night Stalkers/Sky Masters, Inc./Scion/Whatever-it-is-today incarnations they are more of an NGOSuperpower. They're the heroes, normally deployed either to prevent all-out war or expedite its swift ending through means unavailable to normal US military forces, though generally seen as loose cannons by others in the know.

* The Seekers in Creator/TerryBrooks's ''Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara'' are the SecretPolice of TheFederation (actually TheEmpire), dedicated to tracking down political enemies and magic users. They also have their own elite military units, and hold the leashes of [[BigCreepyCrawlies The]] [[HollywoodCyborg Creepers]], the most effective weapon in The Federation's arsenal. Throw in the massive clout that their leader, [[BigBad Rimmer]] [[ManipulativeBastard Dall]] has, and it's easy enough to see why the Seekers are so feared.
* The TropeNamer is the Office of State Security (State Sec) in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe.

** This is in contrast with ''Internal Security'' -- the previous regime's SecretPolice, before they were [[StuffBlowingUp overthrown]]. The Legislaturists were not as centralized and used multiple services, including the ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Mental Hygiene Police]]''. When the [[ReignOfTerror Committee of Public Safety]] comes to power, they reorganized the security apparatus into the ruthless State Security.

** After the fall of the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny People's Republic]], many State Sec warships flee Havenite space, becoming FormerRegimePersonnel. Two are destroyed by HMS ''Hexapuma'' in ''Shadow of Saganami''. [[spoiler:Those two, along with many more, were hired by Mesa, and eventually sent against Torch. They failed thanks to the intervention of Commodore Luis Roszak, whose Solarian forces took a serious pounding.]]

* The venerable ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series features a rare heroic example: the Galactic Patrol, which over the years evolves from a QUANGO intelligence/security outfit to a huge military-industrial complex with major political clout. If written today, it would arguably be a subversion, as they use their wide-ranging powers strictly in the defense of the common welfare and support an otherwise rather hands-off, decentralized federal government. Ironically, the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens totalitarian]] alien empire who are their main enemies also do ''not'' seem to have anything analogous until late in the series.
* Implied in ''Vengeance for Nikolai'' by Walter M. Miller Jr. America is taken over by a fascist government which starts a war with the Soviet Union. Separate from the Army are the Blue Shirts, who are overly nationalistic and brutal in their interrogations of Soviet [=POWs=].
* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', the Christian Marines are a DesignatedHero example of this in the Northern Confederation. A militia of former policemen and military veterans who are the ideological backbone of the Confederation's right-wing regime, they spearhead its armies and perform internal-security functions in peacetime.
* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': The Barrayaran Ministry of Political Education. Emperor Ezar's right hand during much of his rule, they thought themselves to be the power behind the throne, until Ezar made them one of the scapegoats for the failed Escobaran invasion, having recognised the danger they represented. His ''left'' hand, ''Imperial Security'', is a much more constrained organization, wholly dedicated to the continuation of the Barrayaran Imperium, but also bound in what they can do by Barrayaran law and tradition. [=ImpSec=] aren't above cultivating a reputation as scary state security forces, but have the fortune of being led by Simon Illyan, who got a very small taste of what really evil state security forces are capable of and decided he wanted no part of that.[[note]]He was, briefly, imprisoned in his own cells. Not, it must be said, the really bad ones -- he had already had ''those'' converted into evidence storage rooms.[[/note]]

* The ''Literature/NoonUniverse'' by Creator/StrugatskyBrothers has the COMCON-2. Ironically, no matter how "real" and "honest to goodness" Communism is, it can't do without a State Sec.
* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] has several, such as:
** COMPNOR (Commission for the Preservation of the New Order), which is basically the Empire's equivalent of the SS. It has an executive committee, its own military and intelligence wings, a social engineering agency, and its own youth group. The Imperial Security Bureau, one branch, has the responsibility of, among other things, rooting out spies and traitors in the Imperial ranks, as well as hunting down rebel cells. They have their own ISB stormtroopers.
** [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation In some ways]], the Jedi act this way given the allegiance to the Republic as opposed to simply the Light Side of the Force. In addition, their level of power gives them a fearsome reputation that they are willing to use to their advantage in both ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' and ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' as "keepers of the peace".
** ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' features the Inquisitorius, a secret division consisting of dark side Force-sensitive agents tasked by Emperor Palpatine to hunt down the remaining Jedi. The Imperial Security Bureau also makes an appearance in the form of Agent Kallus.
** We find out in ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsPoeDameron Poe Dameron]]'' that the Imperial successor state, the First Order, has a successor agency to the ISB called the First Order Security Bureau.
* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** Corellia's Public Safety Service, which used to be the nobler law-enforcement agency the Corellian Security Force.
** Also the Coruscant Guard/Galactic Alliance Guard, which Jacen Solo pushed his way to the top of in ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce''. He then used his new power to get the Galactic Alliance leader removed so he could get himself made leader and reveal his Sith Lord status.
** ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' gives us Imperial Intelligence of the resurgent Sith Empire. It was quite possibly the most deadly and feared organization the galaxy has ever seen at the time, responsible not only for intelligence gathering but internal security, with its own private army and navy that operated separate of the regular military's chain of command to enforce order on Imperial planets.
** In Legends, the ISB could take over entire Star Destroyers at a whim, run the Navy through illegal tests of character without telling anyone, and killing anyone who failed without going through any procedures until Vader himself cracked down on them. They do all of those things in ''Literature/StarWarsAllegiance''; in particular, ISB Colonel Vak Somoril leads a Star Destroyer around by manipulating its captain's ambition and paranoia. They also had plants on every ship with orders to kill head officers and take over if they mutinied or deserted, and their own ranks of stormtroopers and both obvious and covert ships and military equipment.
* The [[TheEmpire Wasp Empire]] of ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'' has a couple versions:

** Later in the series, [[SorcerousOverlord Empress Seda]] creates another secret police with authority even over the Rekef, called the Red Watch; it's composed of agents determined to have latent magical abilities and bound to her by a BloodMagic ritual, making them incredibly loyal and ruthless in carrying out their duties to the point that even seasoned Rekef agents are freaked out by them. [[spoiler: But it also means that when Seda vanishes, they can't function without her. After a coup seizes the Wasp Empire in her absence, the Red Watch flee to a semi-autonomous border territory, proclaiming themselves the Empire's GovernmentInExile.]]
* The [[OneNationUnderCopyright Syndicate Worlds]] in ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' has the Internal Security Service (ISS), or the "snakes" all Syndics call them when the ISS isn't around. They're trained to be fanatically loyal to the Syndic government on Prime and will root out any discontent (or even suspicion of discontent) without mercy. They are fleshed out more in ''Literature/TheLostStars'' spin-off series, and it's revealed that the "snakes" routinely plant nuclear devices in major cities on all their worlds in order to preclude any rebellion attempts. Later on they also start adding backdoors to their warships (excuse me, [[InsistentTerminology mobile forces]]), so the "snakes" aboard can trigger a core overload should the crew attempt to mutiny.

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': The Imperial Security Bureau or ISB is the body charged with gathering intelligence against Rebel forces and protecting the Empire from them by implementing very harsh measures. Its personnel have military-style [[LightIsNotGood white uniforms]] and serve alongside the regular armed forces. After the [[TheHeist Aldhani heist]] embarrasses the Empire, an Imperial decree sees their power expanded to the level seen in the ''Star Wars'' examples under Literature.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'' had the [[MutantDraftBoard Psi Corps]] as well as Nightwatch. The authority of the Psi Corps is officially limited to matters dealing with telepaths. The Nightwatch is a more straightforward example, with them being a purely political organization by the dictatorial Clark regime. WordOfGod has it that Nightwatch even absorbed Homeguard, a well-armed terrorist group opposed to association with aliens (which is ironic, since Clark is being secretly backed by [[AbusivePrecursors the Shadows]]).

** Season 2 introduces the "[[EliteMooks Blackjacks]]", who serve as the intelligence and enforcement arm of the Global Authority, with even the power to boss around local CTA forces in the colonies [[spoiler: and carry out the mass rendition of entire blocs]].

** The Space Security Service in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]]; although opposing the Daleks, these black-clad paramilitary agents of the year 4000 execute people at the drop of a hat (one even kills her own brother simply because she's been ordered to). Ironically, Space Security were to be the heroes of the never-made spin-off series ''Daleks''.
** The Republican Security Force protecting the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny Republic of Great Britain]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]].
** The Kaled Military Elite led by the bespectacled Himmler-like Security Commander Nyder in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]].

** The multipart story that composes the very end of Season 1 and start of Season 2 features rogue elements of the Maryland State Police who are acting in this capacity for [[spoiler: [[WellIntentionedExtremist Amy Granderson]]]], who has set themselves up as a warlord in Baltimore.
** Season 3 makes use of China's Ministry of State Security, a real life example of this trope.
* In the ''{{Series/Sliders}}'' episode "Fever", the West Coast is fraught with deadly diseases thanks to non-existent modern medicine, leaving control of society in the hands of the California Health Commission. On the surface, it's a standard public health agency, but has its own army to forcibly throw citizens into quarantine zones.

** Averted with the shadowy Section 31. While so secret that even the Federation Council and President are (supposedly) not aware of its existence, free from any official government oversight to [[WellIntentionedExtremist protect]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans The Federation]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo at all costs,]] they don't maintain their own paramilitary forces (their operatives and supporters in Starfleet handle things when a bit of muscle is needed for a plan). While they were operating more openly during the 23rd century and even had dedicated ships, space stations, and even special badges, the CONTROL crisis forced Starfleet to officially disavow Section 31, resulting in the agency going back underground and wiping out all traces of its existence from official (and unofficial) records.

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', spinning off directly from the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]], has S.H.I.E.L.D. as described above, as this, particularly in season one. They've had their ups and downs (mostly the latter) since, though. The public revelation in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' that they were heavily infiltrated by the Nazi-descended conspiracy HYDRA up to the higest levels of command has led to what's left of S.H.I.E.L.D. spending much of the series's run as an officially disavowed organization that has to operate on its own authority.
* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'': In the series False Dragons, and indeed the Dragon Reborn, can also be female. Thus the Red Ajah deals not only with male but also with female channelers who violate the White Tower rules. This implies both wilders (channelers without Tower education) and their fellow Aes Sedai. As a consequence, other Ajahs dislike Reds and are wary of them as the Tower's enforcers. This is actually close to their original purpose from the books, where the Red Ajah was formed to deal with misuses of the One Power in general before increasingly focusing on gentling men who could channel.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''

* ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech'' gives us the Office of Internal Security and considering the [[CrapsackWorld type of world]] it's in you ''know'' that they have to have a lot of firepower.

* The TableTopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness had the Technocracy, a group of mages that was very much interested maintaining the world's current status quo. Amongst other things it included New World Order [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]], cyborg SuperSoldiers, genetically engineered monsters and whole bunch of other crap.
* Internal Security, or [=IntSec=] in ''{{TableTopGame/Paranoia}}''.
** ''TabletopGame/TechInfantry'', a fan created TabletopRPG that is sort of an expansion pack to the Old World Of Darkness, gives us Internal Security, or [=InSec=] in the Earth Federation. Imperial Security, or [=ImpSec=] in the Middle Kingdom. Both named in [[ShoutOut conscious imitation]] of the original State Sec in ''Literature/HonorHarrington''.
* The Imperial Interstellar Scout Service in ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' is a downplayed version of this. While most of it's work is done by small groups in the back of beyond, it has a number of hand-me-down Imperial Naval vessels as well as it's own SWAT-team style SpacePolice commandos.
* The Imperium of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', being incredibly vast, has several to varying degrees:
** The Inquisition - the original and most iconic of the Imperium's State Sec. They're divided into three main Ordos Majoris: the Ordo Xenos deals with aliens (mostly Genestealers and Tau, since they are the only alien races that actively corrupt or recruit humans), the Ordo Hereticus roots out heresy that hasn't yet erupted into conflict, and the Ordo Malleus handles the killing of witches and daemons.

*** The Prefecture Magisterium is an internal Admech State Sec that serves as a cross between Inquisitors of the [[MachineWorship Omnissian Creed]] and the Website/SCPFoundation, securing dangerous relics and artifacts in stasis vaults after disposing of their previous owners. Their enforcers are the Malagra, dedicated hunter-priests who are infamous enough to make Space Marine kill-teams wary of encroaching on their turf. They frequently clash with the Inquisiton over jurisdiction.

** The [[CorruptChurch Ecclesiarchy]] has the Frateris Militia, as well as the Witch Hunters - who are not to be confused with the ''other'' witch hunters, the Ordo Malleus, who are part of the Inquisition.

** The [[PraetorianGuard Adeptus Custodes]] occupies a weird place, as they are primarily supposed to be the Emperor's bodyguards and protect the continent-sized Imperial Palace. However, they take their role as protectors of the Emperor and Holy Terra liberally, and have often acted proactively to eliminate threats toward the Imperium's capital, as well as acting as spies and diplomats and securing ancient artifacts and nightmarish horrors beneath the highly-secure Black Cells under the Palace. After Robute Guilliman's return, they took the gloves off and became an active combat force in the Imperium. And while [[OneManArmy there aren't very many Custodes, each one is incredibly deadly and well-armed.]]

-->"If the Federation is everything the Elders hoped humanity could become, we are everything they feared it would have to."
* In ''VisualNovel/CodeGeassLostColors'', in the Order of the Black Knights good ending the Black Knights become a benevolent version of this. Formerly fighting against the oppressive Holy Brittanian Empire, they agree to lay down their arms and rededicate themselves to defending the Special Administrative Zone Princess Euphemia sets up to allow the former Japan to govern itself. Compared to [[DiabolusExMachina how things turned out]] in the [[Anime/CodeGeass original anime]], it's a pretty happy ending.
* In the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' games, the Black Hand of Nod fits the trope. It started out as Kane's personal bodyguard, developed into a religious secret police and special ops group, then eventually became a subfaction of its own. By the Third game expansion, the Black Hand have their own military, political and religious wings, and act as a second army of Nod. Also, it's not a coincidence that it shares the name of the organization that was behind the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which started [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI The First World War]]. It's pretty much stated [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade that that was them]].
* [[AllThereInTheManual In the manual]] of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'' states that the Soviet's NKVD adds 7 million troops to their strength of 14 million regulars. Compare this to the setting's Allies, whose military strength (regular and irregular forces), is about 5 million total at the game's beginning.

** The series has the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]], who are, on a basic level, essentially a militarized, radical [[OurElvesAreDifferent Altmeri (High Elf)]] political party with [[ChurchPolice extremist religious]] and SecretPolice elements (or, at least, that's what they had evolved into by the early 4th Era). Following the devastating events of the [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion Crisis]], the Thalmor (then only a marginal group) [[StealingTheCredit took the credit]] for resolving the Crisis, winning them massive populist support in their homeland. They quickly rose to the highest ranks of the Altmeri government and, [[ManipulativeBastard through their machinations]], started a domino effect which severely weakened the already [[VestigialEmpire crumbling Cyrodiilic Empire]]. The Thalmor seceded, annexed neighboring Valenwood (home of the Bosmer (Wood Elves), and reformed the [[AntiHumanAlliance Aldmeri]] [[TheEmpire Dominion]] of old. The Thalmor have their own military branch, complete with ProfessionalKiller hit squads and wandering MagicKnight "Justicars" given free reign to arrest/murder "undesirables". Following the [[GreatOffscreenWar Great War]] between the Dominion and the remnants of the Empire, the White-Gold Concordat was struck with terms ''heavily'' favorable to the Dominion. Included is the ban on [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Talos]] worship throughout the Empire, the official dissolution of the [[AncientOrderOfProtectors Blades]], and the right for the Thalmor to patrol the Empire enforcing these terms (and others). The Thalmor can be found throughout ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' and are mostly responsible for the ScrewYouElves [[FantasticRacism sentiment]] present in the population of Skyrim.

** TheFederation's Bureau of Internal Investigation started life as a domestic intelligence agency (maybe akin to MI-5), formed in response to (likely unfounded) public fears of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Auroran]] infiltrators. Within a handful of years (or possibly a handful of decades -- there are some apparent contradiction between the [[AllThereInTheManual Timeline Preamble]] and in-game texts), it had suborned the entire government, turning the Federation into TheEmpire, and now operates its own fleet. The Federation PlayerCharacter joins the Bureau and works to conquer all the other factions, within the Federation and without.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' has [[FunWithAcronyms NOOSE]],[[note]] National Office Of Security Enforcement[[/note]] an [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]]-[[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction Department of Homeland Security]], with a little [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCityCops NYPD]]-[[SWATTeam ESU]] thrown into the mix. They serve as the game's [[IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon high-level law enforcement response]], being called in at [[WantedMeter 3 wanted stars onward]]. Aside from this, the [[NarrativeFiligree in-game fluff]] shows that they are responsible for immigration matters, distributing the loads of [[PatrioticFervor patriotic]] and anti-terror propaganda flooding [[ViceCity Liberty City]], and placing the whole city [[BrokenBridge on lockdown early in the game's plot]] for barely any reason other than "[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Fucking Terrorists]]".

** The Office Of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is basically this. They're a branch of the Navy which operates completely independent of its command structure and can co-opt the regular Navy, other military branches, and even civilians to do their work for them. While their own security forces are mostly recruited from the Army and Marines, they operate all the UNSC's stealth ships, as well as tons of secret high-tech projects, like the Spartan programs, which produced dozens of SuperSoldiers from kidnapped [[ChildSoldiers children]] for the expressed purpose of fighting rebellious colonists, and hundreds of super soldiers from war orphans for the expressed purpose of sending them to die on suicide missions before they even passed prematurely-induced puberty. Their agents are all pretty enigmatic and operate outside the bounds of the law, often without any moral or ethical limits. It has its own propaganda arm, and the Human-Covenant war has made it so powerful that its director has kept some of its operations secret even from the rest of HIGHCOM, even if those operations are designed to undermine official UNSC foreign policy.
** Fans gave ONI somewhat of a pass when they were fighting to save humanity from extinction at the hands of the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]], but with the end of the Human-Covenant war, the aforementioned plan to undermine foreign policy (which ends up backfiring), and ONI's attempts to pin all the blame for the Spartan programs on one person, fans have become much more critical about ONI's methods and intentions.

* ''[[VideoGame/HorizonForbiddenWest Horizon Forbidden West: The Burning Shores]]'': The Compliance and its officers are the eyes and ears of the Imperial House and the Boards, and they crack down hard on dissent. Everyone in Fleet's End is worried about upsetting them. To justify how truly black-hearted they are, even more so than the Ceo, Theoa tells an anecdote of how her brother reported their mother to Compliance and she was never seen again.
-->'''Theoa''': "Rheng is a poisonous toad. But the Board of Compliance is the black heart of the Empire."
* The Sentinels of [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Hallifax]] in ''VideoGame/{{Lusternia}}'' are a fantasy variant of State Sec. Amongst other things, the Sentinel Company are elite soldiers, SecretPolice and ''TimePolice'' designed to rein in the many paradox-causing experiments of sister organization [[ForScience The Institute]]. Hallifax in general encourages this trope as part and parcel of its dual futuristic-[[GloriousMotherRussia Communist]] motif.
* The Spectres in ''Franchise/MassEffect''. It's not completely apparent how much authority they have over commandeering Citadel military forces to execute their objectives, but it would appear to be absolute. Saren, except for the whole 'not working for the Council', was pretty much a one-man version of this.

* The NSA in ''VideoGame/PerfectDark''. Unlike its real world counterpart they have their own armed troops and control Area 51. Considering that its director is corrupt and part of a conspiracy it may be that that no one knows about the personal army part.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', we have the poster child(ren) for EvilArmy, Blackwatch, a black-ops style organization that may or may not have authority superseding that of the President. Their stated purpose is to prevent the spread of bioweapon infection (specifically Redlight and Blacklight), but given that every other person in their group is a SociopathicSoldier, they're using the [[SemperFi USMC]] as CannonFodder, and they ''[[NukeEm have a plan to nuke Manhattan if they think they're losing]]'', they're more clearly this trope.
* Similar to the ''Grand Theft Auto'' example, ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has the [[FunWithAcronyms STAG]] [[note]] Special Tactics Anti-Gang[[/note]] unit, created to deal with criminal organizations that are too much for the police. Unlike NOOSE, they're a full-blown military organization, with [[HeavilyArmoredMook heavily-armored foot-soldiers]] and [[EnergyWeapon cutting-edge technology]].
* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has subfaction [[http://wiki.vega-strike.org/Faction:Homeland_Security Homeland Security]] (subtle), which theoretically "exist for internal policing and control, especially in cases crossing between the jurisdictional boundaries of member states of [[TheFederation the Confederation]]". On our side of the FourthWall, it exists to feed BlackComedy with its unsubtle creepines, especially [[SecretPolice IntelSec]]. Like [[http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/data/animations/load_screen.ani/splash_cisb.image?view=log this]] or [[http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/data/animations/load_screen.ani/splash_luddite.image?view=log this]] (DXT images). To see the humourous part, consider that propaganda they intercepted [[http://vegastrike.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/vegastrike/trunk/data/animations/load_screen.ani/luddite_virus.image?view=log may be sent and received because of malware]] in the first place ([[EvilLuddite Luddites]] are big on HypocriticalHumor too). In [[WelcomeToCorneria chat]], they say things like "Wrong-thinkers are everywhere, keep a lookout, friend", or (almost verbatim) MoveAlongNothingToSeeHere.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/BasketsOfGuts'': The Royal Secret Chancellory may seem to be more like a regular SecretPolice at first, but in the later chapters they're shown to have much more firepower behind them. Funnily enough, they [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist can be considered]] the only [[BlackAndGrayMorality so-called]] good guys in the story, counting [[VillainProtagonist who]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent they]] [[DirtyCop fight]] [[TheMafia against]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has State Sec in the form of the MCO, or Mutant Commission Office. A poster child for the SuperRegistrationAct, its officers range from the [[AntiVillain well-meaning]] to the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName blatantly hostile]], and from those who act openly in all ways to those who will happily [[UnPerson disappear children]] into the night and fog.
[[/folder]]

** The Tsardom of Russia had the Oprichnina of Ivan the Terrible. It was a semi-monastic fraternal order that was created to terrorize and depower the Boyar nobles who schemed against the Tsar. Its operatives wore black robes, rode horses with symbolic brooms and dog heads attached to saddles, and were formed into paramilitary terror squads that wiped out both manor homes and peasant villages. Aside from these operatives, the Oprichnina also owned vast tracts of land, had merchants working to finance it, and generally was a state within a state. By the end of the Oprichnina, Ivan's enemies were gone, but so was a large chunk of Russia's population. Some people think that the Oprichniks were the source of inspiration for Stalin's NKVD (Ivan the Terrible was [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Uncle Joe's]] favorite historical character).

** Under Stalin, there was of course the NKVD, the government department responsible for all matters of internal security. It had extremely wide responsibilities, from ordinary law enforcement and border patrol, to foreign intelligence and intelligence, to managing the gulags and whatever infrastructure their prisoners constructed. As a result, it was ''extremely'' powerful, and had a sizeable military force which fought extensively in the Great Patriotic War - even taking on the first Nazi attack in Brest Fortress. Indeed, so powerful was the NKVD that Stalin repeatedly purged its leadership, and eventually split it into smaller departments after the war. Ordinary policing was given to the MVD (which kept the NKVD's gendarmerie corps, now known as the ''Internal Troops'', albeit downsized). Meanwhile, the organisation's more clandestine affairs went to...

** In UsefulNotes/TheNewRussia, there is the FSB, the KGB's eventual successor after the dissolution of USSR, still maintains control over the "Alpha" and "Vympel" regiments, and took over the state border forces several years after inception. In a way, it is ''more'' powerful than its predecessor - after all, it is [[UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin their man]] that now rules all Russia.
** Outside of the official StateSec, there was also the business empire of Yevgeny Prigozhin, one of Vladimir Putin's close confidantes, which was a mix between this trope and MegaCorp. Closely tied to the government, Prigozhin controlled much of Russia's mass media, had created the infamous Russian "internet troll factories", was involved in diamond mining in Central Africa, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and owned a bunch of restaurants]]. More importantly, he owned the Wagner Group, an army of PrivateMilitaryContractors used by the Russian government to fight where it is not politically convenient to implicate the army.

* UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} had the ÁVH (short for "Államvédelmi Hatóság", literally "State Protection Authority"). Forged from elements of the state police force and originally a mere organ of the post-WWII Ministry of Interior (its full name at the time being the "Budapest Headquarters' Department of State Political Police" ("Budapesti Főkapitányság Politikai Rendészeti Osztálya", or '''PRO''') in 1945, before gaining its more infamous name as the Hungarian State Police's State Defense Department ("Magyar Államrendőrség Államvédelmi Osztálya", or '''''ÁVO''''', where the denonym "ávós" comes from - usually uttered with no small amount of contempt) in 1946, before finally becoming a fully independent state security organization (as the '''ÁVH''') in 1950. Noted for originally being composed of a "colorful cast of characters" (including former Arrow Cross Party members, whose crimes were quickly forgotten in exchange for their services as boot boys and ''torture technicians'', and vengeful survivors of the "labour service" [[spoiler:(read: ''slave labor'')]] that enlistment-age Jewish men had perform during the war - this latter group being a majority in the early days of the PRO, so that previous regime personell, whom they would've come in contact with, would be more easily filtered out from society), it would eventually be forged into a well-organized security service by László Rajk (who would end up being a victim of the organization he helped to shape, as he was considered a threat to the position and authority of general secretary Mátyás Rákosi). Much like the Securitate or the Stasi, it was an utterly brutal organization, renowned for unusually cruel and creative methods of torture [[spoiler:(such as forcing arrested priests to kiss an ''electrified'' crucifix, forcing prisoners to drink from toilet bowls, and threatening to torture and kill their family members)]], with the guards' motto being "Don't just guard them, ''hate'' them!" [[spoiler:which they attributed to Minister of National Defence Mihály Farkas, another member of Rákosi's inner circle.]] Like the Stasi, they operated a vast network of (mostly intimidated-into-compliance) informants - many of whom would snitch on their own loved ones just to get away from the torture, and would come to make arrests in the dead of the night, between midnight and 2 a.m., giving rise to the term "''Csengőfrász''" (meaning "Bell-fright", as people would come to dread the sound of the doorbell in the middle of the night). With the death of Stalin in 1953, and the ensuing internal restructuring of the USSR's leadership (and, by extension, some of those of its satellite states), the Hungarian govenrment (then headed by the more popular [[spoiler:and pragmatic]] Imre Nagy, as Rákosi was forced to step down) began to take action against the leadership of the ÁVH, but its complete dissolution would only come in 1956, in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution. [[spoiler:The ÁVH was also (most likely) responsible for a particularly tragic episode of the revolution, where peaceful protestors fraternizing with the crews of Soviet tanks were fired upon from atop the Hungarian Radio building, leading to the protestors attempting to flee from the scene, while the confused (and likely panicking) Soviet tank crews ended up firing upon the crowds, leading to countless casualties, and any semblance of peaceful protest going out the window from thereon. The ÁVH's headquarters at Andrássy út 66 (which also served as one of the headquarters (and interrogation and torture chambers) of the Arrow Cross Party during the final years of WWII), were raided, and members of the service were hung from lamp posts, their corpses left to rot on the street.]] After the revolution was crushed, the new Soviet-friendly government, headed by János Kádár, did not reinstate the organization, [[spoiler:mostly for pragmatic reasons, although he also had the personal motive of ''having been tortured by them himself'' in the past,]] with most of its functions taken over by the III/III department of the Minister of Interior.

* [[UsefulNotes/ModernEgypt Egypt]]'s police forces under the Mubarak regime provide a fairly classical model: under the control of the Egyptian National Police (which included--and continues to include--''all'' police in the country) came both the State Security Investigations Service (SSIS, usually known as ''[='Amn ad-Dawlah=]'', or "State Security" in Arabic), who (despite frequent protestations to the contrary) were SecretPolice with [[BigBrotherIsWatching mass surveillance]] matched in history only by the Stasi and a fondness for ElectricTorture, as well as the Central Security Forces (CSF), paramilitaries whose jobs included patrolling the Sinai (where the Egyptian military was forbidden to enter under Camp David, but [[LoopholeAbuse nobody said anything about the police]]) who also served as riot police. Much like joining the SS, someone who was a career police officer (a lot of police, and particularly CSF members, were {{conscript|ion}}s) moved into a totally different social circle, with special clubs, dedicated hospitals, and even entire residential compounds and vacation resorts dedicated to them. After the Revolution of 2011, the SSIS was disbanded...only to reappear under the name of "Homeland Security" and back to its old tricks within only a few years. The Central Security Forces never went away at all.
* During the UsefulNotes/SaddamHussein regime, there was a powerful security apparatus set up, but not quite formally unified as other examples. One part was the Iraqi Special Security Organization, which included the Special Republican Guard. Its other branches included presidential bodyguards, "security" that monitored Republican Guard loyalty, communications, internal affairs, surveillance, administration, and even a "science" division - which only tested Saddam's food. The Republican Guard was another part of this informal [=State Sec=], serving as a Presidential Guard and didn't fall under the Ministry of Defense. In addition, Saddam also had a separate irregular paramilitary branch loyal to him.

* Dreamland from Creator/DaleBrown books are a top secret USAF unit who, while sometimes seconded to regular commands, frequently act beyond the remit of the conventional military, engaging in black ops around the world with the aid of {{Cool Plane}}s and other advanced technology. In their Night Stalkers/Sky Masters, Inc./Scion/Whatever-it-is-today incarnations they are more of a NGOSuperpower. They're the heroes, normally deployed either to prevent all-out war or expedite its swift ending through means unavailable to normal US military forces, though generally seen as loose cannons by others in the know.

This is an extremely common RealLife trope, and is OlderThanTheyThink. Political intrigues and favoritism can lead to InterserviceRivalry with the Regular Army. Contrast with the SecretPolice, who are similar to State Sec, but lack the overt paramilitaries and suppress dissent more quietly. MegaCorp and NGOSuperpower are when corporate or other non-governmental entities wield similar levels of influence, infrastructure and paramilitary power.

** The Ferengi's IntimidatingRevenueService has characteristics of State Sec as well, as it is powerful enough to depose the Grand Nagus and its Liquidators often hound individuals for years.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven'' had the black-clad GasMaskMooks of the Terran Federation, though the exact relationship between the Federation military and its SecretPolice was ill-defined. Some soldiers are stated as being Security, others are [[PraetorianGuard elite guard units working for high-ranking figures]], others are implied to be [[PunchClockVillain ordinary military units]] carrying out the [[JustFollowingOrders dirty work of oppression]].

* The Rehabs of ''Film/RoboCop3''. These "Urban Rehabilitators" are supposed to help augment the Detroit Police in fighting crime. In reality, they're cold blooded mercenaries that force people out of their homes and wipe out any resistance.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'' examples.
** In a somewhat heroic example, Jedi largely fit the concept in their role in the Republic government.
** Several members of the Separatist movement, including the Trade Federation and the Intergalactic Banking Clan, are {{Mega Corp}}s rather than nations yet have their own droid armies and even seats in the Senate.
** Imperial stormtroopers seem to serve as this in the films, as they're not just elite troops but are also an ubiquitous sight within the Empire's cities and space stations, keeping their "order" (the name comes from the Nazis, with the SS having the same dual roles, albeit in separate branches).
** For more, see the larger entries in Literature.

** The Space Security Service in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]]; although opposing the Daleks, these black-clad paramilitary agents of the year 4000 execute people at the drop of a hat (one even kills her own brother simply because she's been ordered to). Notable for the presence of Nicholas Courtney (who went on to play TheBrigadier, as well as the fascist "Brigade Leader" in an alternative universe in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]]). Ironically, Space Security were to be the heroes of the never-made spin-off series ''Daleks''.
** Another SS-like force is the Kaled's Military Elite led by the bespectacled Himmler-like Security Commander Nyder in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]].

** The Space Security Service in [Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]]; although they oppose the Daleks, these black-clad paramilitary agents of the year 4000 execute people at the drop of a hat (one even kills her own brother simply because she's been ordered to). Notable for the presence of Nicholas Courtney (who went on to play TheBrigadier, as well as the fascist "Brigade Leader" in an alternative universe in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]]). Ironically, Space Security were to be the heroes of the never-made spin-off series ''Daleks''.

** Lengthy serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]] has the Space Security Service. Although human, and opposing the Daleks and their evil plan, these black-clad paramilitary agents of the year 4000 execute people at the drop of a hat (one even kills her own brother simply because she's been ordered to). Notable for the presence of Nicholas Courtney (who went on to play TheBrigadier, as well as the fascist "Brigade Leader" in an alternative universe in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]]). Ironically, Space Security were to be the heroes of the never-made spin-off series ''Daleks''.

** Lengthy serial [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]] has Space Security. Although human, and opposing the Daleks and their evil plan, these black-clad paramilitary agents of the year 4000 execute people at the drop of a hat (one even kills her own brother simply because she's been ordered to). Notable for the presence of Nicholas Courtney (who went on to play TheBrigadier, as well as the fascist "Brigade Leader" in an alternative universe in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno "Inferno"]]). Ironically, Space Security were to be the heroes of the never-made spin-off series ''Daleks''.
** Another SS-like force are the Kaled guards led by Security Commander Nyder in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]].

* UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} had the ÁVH (short for "Államvédelmi Hatóság", literally "State Protection Authority"). Forged from elements of the state police force and originally a mere organ of the post-WWII Ministry of Interior (its full name at the time being the "Budapest Headquarters' Department of State Political Police" ("Budapesti Főkapitányság Politikai Rendészeti Osztálya", or '''PRO''') in 1945, before gaining its more infamous name as the Hungarian State Police's State Defense Department ("Magyar Államrendőrség Államvédelmi Osztálya", or '''''ÁVO''''', where the denonym "ávós" comes from - usually uttered with no small amount of contempt) in 1946, before finally becoming a fully independent state security organization (as the '''ÁVH''') in 1950. Noted for originally being composed of a "colorful cast of characters" (including former Arrow Cross Party members, whose crimes were quickly forgotten in exchange for their services as boot boys and ''torture technicians'', and vengeful survivors of the "labour service" [[spoiler:(read: ''slave labor'')]] that enlistment-age Jewish men had perform during the war - this latter group being a majority in the early days of the PRO, so that previous regime personell, whom they would've come in contact with, would be more easily filtered out from society), it would eventually be forged into a well-organized security service by László Rajk (who would end up being a victim of the organization he helped to shape, as he was considered a threat to the position and authority of general secretary Mátyás Rákosi). Much like the Securitate or the Stasi, it was an utterly brutal organization, renowned for unusually cruel and creative methods of torture [[spoiler:(such as forcing arrested priests to kiss an ''electrified'' crucifix, forcing prisoners to drink from toilet bowls, and threatening to torture and kill their family members)]], with the guards' motto being "Don't just guard them, ''hate'' them!" [[spoiler:which they attributed to Minister of National Defence Mihály Farkas, another member of Rákosi's inner circle.]] Like the Stasi, they operated a vast network of (mostly intimidated-into-compliance) informants - many of whom would snitch on their own loved ones just to get away from the torture), and would come to make arrests in the dead of the night, between midnight and 2 a.m., giving rise to the term "''Csengőfrász''" (meaning "Bell-fright", as people would come to dread the sound of the doorbell in the middle of the night). With the death of Stalin in 1953, and the ensuing internal restructuring of the USSR's leadership (and, by extension, some of those of its satellite states), the Hungarian govenrment (then headed by the more popular [[spoiler:and pragmatic]] Imre Nagy, as Rákosi was forced to step down) began to take action against the leadership of the ÁVH, but its complete dissolution would only come in 1956, in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution. [[spoiler:The ÁVH was also (most likely) responsible for a particularly tragic episode of the revolution, where peaceful protestors fraternizing with the crews of Soviet tanks were fired upon from atop the Hungarian Radio building, leading to the protester attempting to flee from the scene, while the confused (and likely panicking) Soviet tank crews ended up firing upon the crowds, leading to countless casualties, and any semblance of peaceful protest going out the window from thereon. The ÁVH's headquarters at Andrássy út 66 (which also served as one of the headquarters (and interrogation and torture chambers) of the Arrow Cross Party during the final years of WWII), were raided, and members of the service were hung from lamp posts, their corpses left to rot on the street.]] After the revolution was crushed, the new Soviet-friendly government, headed by János Kádár, did not reinstate the organization, [[spoiler:mostly for pragmatic reasons, although he also had the personal motive of ''having been tortured by them himself'' in the past,]] with most of its functions taken over by the III/III department of the Minister of Interior.

* UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}} had the ÁVH (short for "Államvédelmi Hatóság", literally "State Protection Authority"). Forged from elements of the state police force and originally a mere organ of the post-WWII Ministry of Interior (its full name at the time being the "Budapest Headquarters' Department of State Political Police" ("Budapesti Főkapitányság Politikai Rendészeti Osztálya", or '''PRO''') in 1945, before gaining its more infamous name as the Hungarian State Police's State Defense Department ("Magyar Államrendőrség Államvédelmi Osztálya", or '''''ÁVO''''', where the denonym "ávós" comes from - usually uttered with no small amount of contempt) in 1946, before finally becoming a fully independent state security organization (as the '''ÁVH''') in 1950. Noted for originally being composed of a "colorful cast of characters" (including former Arrow Cross Party members, whose crimes were quickly forgotten in exchange for their services as boot boys and ''torture technicians'', and vengeful survivors of the "labour service" [[spoiler:(read: ''slave labor'')]] that enlistment-age Jewish men had perform during the war - this latter group being a majority in the early days of the PRO, so that previous regime personell, whom they would've come in contact with, would be more easily filtered out from society), it would eventually be forged into a well-organized security service by László Rajk (who would end up being a victim of the organization he helped to shape, as he was considered a threat to the position and authority of general secretary Mátyás Rákosi). Much like the Securitate or the Stasi, it was an utterly brutal organization, renowned for unusually cruel and creative methods of torture [[spoiler:(such as forcing arrested priests to kiss an ''electrified'' crucifix, forcing prisoners to drink from toilet bowls, and threatening to torture and kill their family members)]], with the guards' motto being "Don't just guard them, ''hate'' them!" [[spoiler:which they attributed to Minister of National Defence Mihály Farkas, another member of Rákosi's inner circle.]] Like the Stasi, they operated a vast network of (mostly intimidated-into-compliance) informants - many of whom would snitch on their own loved ones just to get away from the torture), and would come to make arrests in the dead of the night, between midnight and 2 a.m., giving rise to the term "''Csengőfrász''" (meaning "Bell-fright", as people would come to dread the sound of the doorbell in the middle of the night). With the death of Stalin in 1953, and the ensuing internal restructuring of the USSR's leadership (and, by extension, some of those of its satellite states), the Hungarian govenrment (then headed by the more popular [[spoiler:and pragmatic]] Imre Nagy, as Rákosi was forced to step down) began to take action against the leadership of the ÁVH, but its complete dissolution would only come in 1956, in the wake of the Hungarian Revolution. [[spoiler:The ÁVH was also (most likely) responsible for a particularly tragic episode of the revolution, where peaceful protestors fraternizing with the crews of Soviet tanks were fired upon from atop the Hungarian Radio building, leading to the protester attempting to flee from the scene, while the confused (and likely panicking) Soviet tank crews ended up firing upon the crowds, leading to countless casualties, and any semblance of peaceful protest going out the window from thereon. The ÁVH's headquarters at Andrássy út 66 (which also served as one of the HQs of the Arrow Cross Party during the final years of WWII), were raided, and members of the service were hung from lamp posts, their corpses left to rot on the street.]] After the revolution was crushed, the new Soviet-friendly government, headed by János Kádár, did not reinstate the organization, [[spoiler:mostly for pragmatic reasons, although he also had the personal motive of ''having been tortured by them himself'' in the past,]] with most of its functions taken over by the III/III department of the Minister of Interior.