Dangerous Procedural Breakdown in Omni Law Enforcement Raises Eyebrows

[Editor: IRRK]

Dangerous Procedural Breakdown in Omni Law Enforcement Raises Eyebrows
Mister Farfin Zix

IRRK Executive Farfin Zix begins his investigation into a recent and critical break-down in the machinery of Omni law-and-order and finds an unlikely suspect, Omni-Com, innocent.

Many of us have been following the recent arrest of popular Clan DJ Kirk 'Otrori' Barchus with interest.

With a recent change in leadership in one of Omni-Pol's largest sub-departments I have to wonder what caused this broken circuit in the normally finely tuned machinery of Omni law. While there is always limited chaos in the wake of a major transition, such as a sub-department Director, it should never extend to this level.

Disgusted by what I'd read on the matter, I decided to investigate things myself. I went to see the arresting officer, Corporal 'Lomad' Hawk who I found at the Reet's Retreat.

After a long verbal barrage of questions, I managed to glean the following information from the officer.

First, he personally had no part in the issuing of the warrant, he simply was required to enforce it.

Second, evidently Omni-Pol allows other Departments to issue arrest warrants for them. This disturbs me somewhat. Another Department should be able to present evidence and request an arrest; but should Omni-Com have the legal authority to issue an arrest warrant?

Third, Officer Hawke made it clear that Otori was released due to lack of evidence. He was adamant about pointing out that there was no evidence to either confirm of deny the charges that were brought against Mr. Barchus. Under nearly universal law, Mr. Barchus has the right to take legal action against Omni-Pol and Omni-Com. Arresting a citizen without evidence of criminal activity is criminal in and of itself. Legally, no law enforcement agency may detain an individual without probable cause, they may not jail an individual without evidence or witness confirmation. I would say Omni-Pol has some explaining to do.

Finally, if a warrant is issued by another Department, Omni-Pol, as keepers of the peace and enforcers of order, has an immutable obligation to validate or at least ensure that there is evidence or probable cause before carrying out the warrant. Corporal Hawke pointed out to me that there was no evidence attached to the warrant or filed in conjunction with it. Again, complete failure on the part of the supposed "professionals", Omni-Pol.

Is Omni-Com to blame? Perhaps they did issue a warrant. But validating the claims of a warrant, checking the validity of the accusations, those tasks lie with the enforcers, the lawmen. Whether or not the warrant was issued by Omni-Com, I'd say the fault is not with them. I find Omni-Com innocent of charges of gross incompetence in the Court of Common Sense.

I will be continuing my investigation into this matter over the following week.

[LTK]

I'm afraid I will have to be frank here.

I will only partially agree that Omni-Pol does need to do some internal investigation about not catching the oversight...but as you yourself concluded, it was Omni-Com's oversight in the first place.

Is Omni-Com to blame? Perhaps they did issue a warrant. But validating the claims of a warrant, checking the validity of the accusations, those tasks lie with the enforcers, the lawmen. Whether or not the warrant was issued by Omni-Com, I'd say the fault is not with them. I find Omni-Com innocent of charges of gross incompetence in the Court of Common Sense.

So basically you're saying that Omni-Com has the right to throw arrest warrants around haphazardly on whatever whims may strike their fancy, and it lies completely within the responsibility of the enforcement agency to expend THEIR resources sifting through them all to find which ones are valid and which ones are not?

I say nay-nay.

Omni-Com has the primary blame here as far as I'm concerned, not Omni-Pol. OC should not have issued the arrest warrant, and all validations should have been passed through their channels before even being handed to the enforcement agency in the first place.

If it's the other way around, then the entire system needs to be reworked, and the next step up for placing fault on such a shoddy fix-my-blunders-for-me type of enforcement system is a simple one:

Knock knock, Boss Ross.

[Ukblizzard]

All my officers follow protocol.

In this instance with the request for detention being issued by Omni-Com, a source my officers had no reason to mistrust or decline from asssiting, was incorrect and after investigation was found not to be supported.

The detention of someone who we were led to believe, by communication from an official source, had comited a crime was the safest and most responsible action to take for Omni, Clan and Neutral alike.

Following the work of my officers and the discovery that the warrant was not valid, an apology was issued to those involved.

Perhaps next time, you will consult myself as Director of this professional Department - maybe you will even have the courtesy to consult any of my Generals and kindly refrain from the harassment of my lesser ranking officers.

[-Zagadka-]

Dr. Cindi "Razishlyat" Bolieu:

I agree 100% with Tarryk here, the fact that any Omni detatchment can throw out warrants without cause is terribly disturbing, especially when they are so effciently, as it is said, carried out by Omni-Pol in non-Omni territory.

We've sat back and watched Omni detatchments infight and even war with each other for years now. It is getting fairly tiring, and frightening, now that we have demonstrations of the power that can be wielded in such chaos.

I still say that we can not overlook the fact that the ICC was and is perfectly happy with the warrant being issued and served - in their territory, on a Clan citizen. At the very least, we would expect that the ICC would research arrest warrants served in its territories before giving the OK for Omni-Pol to execute them (or, for that matter, citizens).

[Editor: IRRK]

From the Office of Mister Farfin Zix:

After concluding my interview with ICC Protectorate Colonel Harry Calahan I learned some interesting facts about their policies where arrests in neutral territory are concerned. Portions of the interview will be published tomorrow.

I intend to then speak with senior staff at Omni Communications, and conclude with leaders of Omni-Pol, and it's sub-department.

This is turning out to be a much larger issue than simply arresting a DJ at a club. The people will know the truth.

Yours,

Mr. Farfin Zix

Information is strength! Be strong! IRRK Investigative Reports.

[Quezt]

Is anyone surprised? Omni-Tek feel like they can go around and do whatever they like. They've killed innocents in the past, so why shouldnt they arrest innocents now? Omni might call us filthy clanners but atleast we have a sense of justice!

[Ukblizzard]

It was an arrest of a DJ at a club from our perspective.

Investigation is Knowledge, Knowledge is strength, Assumptions is mockery, Mockery is foolishness and foolishness is unjust.

Omni-Tek is just, Omni-Tek Protects.

[LTK]

I will back Omni-Pol, but not Omni-Tek in this matter. OC needs to be investigated for this oversight, something that goes far beyond the arrest, because that arrest was found to be based on false information.

Investigation is Knowledge, Knowledge is strength, Assumptions is mockery, Mockery is foolishness and foolishness is unjust.

Investigation is Neccessary. Knowledge is Needed. Assumption is all we have until Investigation happens.

Omni-Tek is about to get a spotlight placed where it's justice has a rather apparent flaw.

[-Zagadka-]

Originally posted by Ukblizzard
It was an arrest of a DJ at a club from our perspective.

Investigation is Knowledge, Knowledge is strength, Assumptions is mockery, Mockery is foolishness and foolishness is unjust.

Omni-Tek is just, Omni-Tek Protects.

Dr. Cindi "Razishlyat" Bolieu:

Frankly, I don't get the defensiveness of Omni-Pol at this point. The investigations being undertaken and even the discussion amongst Clan members is that Omni-Com (and in my point of view, ICC) is the division that screwed up in this instance, and we seem to agree that Omni-Pol was just doing as told. Unless there is something more to the issues that investigation will reveal, I don't understand Omni-Pol's continued statements of innocence.

[Xhairs]

Originally posted by Quezt
Is anyone surprised? Omni-Tek feel like they can go around and do whatever they like. They've killed innocents in the past, so why shouldnt they arrest innocents now? Omni might call us filthy clanners but atleast we have a sense of justice!

Because, you know, Clans have never, ever, killed innocents and/or civilians. Nope. No way.

Get of your high horses. You can honestly say that when the Clans detonated a small Nuke at the siege of Omni-2 (Athen) that no inocents were harmed or killed? Ok, let´s say that by some miracle not a single soul was lost in that bombing. How about the fact that Athen (the commander, not the city.) later had, and i quote from the history books here, his troops "drive out, imprison, or execute all Omni-Tek personnel." Not just guards, but workers, administrative personell and others.

Omni-Tek has done wrong in the past that is true, but do not try to play a "holier than thou" game, because the Clans have just as much blood on their hands.

Sorry for this little rant, but that kind of double standards just send my blood boiling. "When they do it it´s a crime. When we do it it´s for freedom, and so it´s not a crime."

[Lomad]

Mr. Zix, there is an old saying that I think applies quite well to your biased reporting methods:
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you."

I was intrigued at how expertly you were able to distort my responses to your questions -- certain points were left out entirely. At other times you simply replaced my responses with ideas that I can only assume you pulled from your own imagination.

Is Omni-Com to blame? Perhaps they did issue a warrant. But validating the claims of a warrant, checking the validity of the accusations, those tasks lie with the enforcers, the lawmen. Whether or not the warrant was issued by Omni-Com, I'd say the fault is not with them. I find Omni-Com innocent of charges of gross incompetence in the Court of Common Sense.

This is the exact opposite of what I told you. In response, I will give an excerpt from my log of the interview.

02:05: Farfin: Final question. You yourself said that there was no evidence... one way or another, yet you must act upon warrants as though they are ironclad... who issues these warrants and why are they being issued without proper evidence to support or deny claims of guilt?
02:06: Lomad: Again I can not speak for other departments. By the time a warrant is issued, it should have gone through several revisions within the issuing department. It can be invalidated at any time during that process.
02:06: Lomad: But if we recieve the warrant, we have to assume that it went through the proper channels and is a valid order.
02:06: Farfin: Is there a particular person or place of origin for these warrants?
02:07: Farfin: Who ultimately, is responsible?
02:07: Lomad: If a department finds a reason to issue a warrant, then they begin the process. As such, we can recieve a detention order from any Omni-Tek department. In this case, the order came from Omni-Com, as they are in charge of policing the Grid.
02:07: Lomad: As far as who is responsible, I can't speculate.

It is not our place to question our orders, Mr. Zix. The slightest hesitation is all that is needed for the suspect to evade capture.

[Eternalforce]

From: The office of Director Craddock

Omni-InternOps is currently looking into the circumstances behind this incident, and all reports will be made available to the public for review. Incompetence, miscommunication, and dereliction of duty will not be tolerated within Omni-Tek, and all guilty parties will be punished accordingly.

[LLJKTonitrum]

To be honest, I expected better from IRRK than this. This sort of anti-Omni trash would be better suited to the pages of a "Free" Journalists of Rubi-Ka publication than what should be an impartial source for news.

Does anyone with even the most tenous grasp on Omni-Tek internal operations think that Omni-Pol should be held responsible for what, at the time, appeared to be a perfectly valid warrant? Even after the truth was realized, and Omni-Pol officers took it upon themselves to ensure Otori's safety, we are still being blamed for acting in good faith on the arrest when even the Clans accept that we are not trying to decieve you?

Are you so desperate, Mr. Zix, to defame Omni-Pol that you would try to drag us through the mud for this? Are you so petty that you will refuse to acknowledge the truth of the matter, for fear it will bring a halt to your crusade? Have you no sense of decency, Mr. Zix, at long last?

[-Zagadka-]

Originally posted by Akaran
Does anyone with even the most tenous grasp on Omni-Tek internal operations think that Omni-Pol should be held responsible for what, at the time, appeared to be a perfectly valid warrant?

Who is still blaming Omni-Pol? I think the general consensus obviously points towards Omni-Com and the SYSTEM of warrants, not the execution of them.

[Ukblizzard]

Zagadka, you arent ... but people are.

I am sure if you were in the situation of yourself, your friends or your guild being questioned - you would defend too.

[Editor: IRRK]

From the Office of Mister Farfin Zix:

Good day,

I am currently en route to Omni-1 for an interview with a Senior Omni-Com Vice President, but wanted to inform you that we have just published the results of my investigation into the ICC's handling of this affair. You might, or might not, be suprised by what you learn.

Please see "The Little Red Peacekeepers That Couldn't" for more information.

Yours,

Mister Farfin Zix