History Main / LawEnforcementInc

* ''ComicBook/DeathsHead'', the self-described "Freelance Peacekeeping Agent" Death's Head, in the MarvelUniverse.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' World Marshal, Inc. is the largest PMC on Earth due to the disbanding of Outer Heaven and its sub-PMCs following the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots events of the previous game.]] Due to legislation passed by [[Main/BigBad Senator Steven Armstrong]], the Colorado state budget had been slashed, leading to World Marshal taking over law enforcement in Denver, turning the police force into cyborgs.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' World Marshal, Inc. is the largest PMC on Earth due to the disbanding of Outer Heaven and its sub-PMCs following the [[''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' events of the previous game.]] Due to legislation passed by [[''Main/BigBad'' Senator Steven Armstrong]], the Colorado state budget had been slashed, leading to World Marshal taking over law enforcement in Denver, turning the police force into cyborgs.

* In Creator/StephenDonaldson's ''Literature/TheGapSequence'', the source of Holt Fasner's power is the fact that his United Mining Companies Police has more firepower than anyone else in human space ''combined.'' He manages to parlay it into a legal monopoly on the use of force, thus making himself the very definition of a "government" and the real master of the (legally) sovereign Governing Council.

* While [[PrivateDetective private investigators]] don't necessarily ''enforce'' the law, they do enough law-related work and occasionally criminal investigations to possibly qualify.

* The historical [[PinkertonDetective Pinkertons]] gained an especially bad reputation among unions for strikebreaking and excessive force. There was one particular incident where the state militia had to be called in to rescue the Pinkertons who attempted to sneak up on striking workers at the Carnegie Homestead Steel plant. The U.S. government even had to ban itself from hiring Pinkerton agents.

* Sandy Springs, Georgia and the other "contract cities" that have sprung up in the metro Atlanta region; their local government is made up of the four guys that sign contracts to allow for [=CH2M=] Hill performing all of the actual work.

* Private security has become a booming industry in Detroit due to the city's budget cuts to their police after the city filed for bankruptcy in 2013. It's not quite at [[Franchise/RoboCop OCP-level]] though.
** Some private security companies even use logos that resemble police badges, presumably to give a sense of authority.

* In one episode of ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries'', aside from previous problems from OCP seen in the films, OCP hires out a street gang to enforce the law in one of the more problematic neighbourhoods (Section 5). Problem being that their police work involves stealing, extortion and drug dealing, and beating up anybody that opposed them with sledgehammers. To make it worse OCP puts kill switches in all the real cops' cars to prevent them from entering Section 5 and Robocop has a new directive added that [[RestrainingBolt makes it impossible for him to enter.]]

* Private security has become a booming industry in Detroit due to the city's budget cuts to their police after the city filed for bankruptcy in 2013. It's not quite at [[Film/{{Robocop}} OCP-level]] though.

* The Silver Guardians from ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' are a rare heroic example, crossed with RedshirtArmy. They are an armed civilian force formed by a private company to fight off the Mutants, but also have general policing duties, including traffic. To be fair they are a non-profit organisation who helped anyone that needed it by the end of the show, but they were initially more like a paramilitary security-for-hire force,

A self-funded, self-supporting private agency which can act as a legal authority and law enforcement power, or as an official military outfit, even with minimal (if any) ties to actual government/military/police organizations. Agents can act as fully deputized and authorized agents of the law and/or government without bothering with official credentials, pesky background checks, and so forth. The strike force can consist of a OneManArmy (usually if they're the good guys) or an entire RedShirtArmy (usually if they're the bad guys). The agency might have its own rigorous training regimen or simply recruit former soldiers and policemen.

* In ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'', since the setting is CyberPunk, and the government of the region all the characters live in is a collection of MegaCorp, the police inside Kugamayama city's walls are private. When the protagonist Akira rents a house, he gets given the local company's spiel which includes corpse disposal services. Outside the city wall, in the slums and wasteland, there is no law enforcement; the closest equivalent would be one's local slum lord gang.

* Even ''[[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Disney]]'' had a go with this trope: in a story of the ''PK Universe'' series some of these guys try and take over Duckburg's law enforcement, even trying to frame Paperinik for attacking them ([[MuggingTheMonster they actually attacked him]] when he called them out for how they treated two wannabe thieves who had already surrendered at the hero's arrival). It's revealed that their boss (who keeps the relationship secret) wants them to take over the law enforcement so they'll bankrupt Duckburg with their bills and force the administration to sell everything to him, a scheme that has already worked thrice but was foiled when [[MuggingTheMonster they tried to make an example of Paperinik and ordered Angus Fangus to not leave the city]], resulting in public unmasking, humiliation, and [[KickTheSonOfABitch Angus using Paperinik's spring-loaded punch on their boss]].

* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': [[MegaCorp Pre-Mor]]'s security serve as the local police, having the power to arrest suspects and search properties. Two who harass Cassian for a shakedown then get killed by him spur the plot after their vengeful colleagues search for him.

* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting of ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' has plenty. House Deneith is the biggest, but House Medani and House Tharashk do it also. That and everyone of the 13 Dragonmarked Houses (Eberron's equivalent of a MegaCorp) has its own security service that is however subject to local laws.

* In ''Series/TheExpanse'', a company called Star Helix is contracted by the Earth authorities to maintain law and order on the asteroid Ceres.

For an actual government agency version, see HeroesRUs. See also PrivateMilitaryContractors, which may overlap. There's also a good chance it could be part of a MegaCorp or a {{NGO}}. It also might employ {{Corporate Sponsored Superhero}}es. Such agencies must simply be the police in a society which has ''[[PrivatelyOwnedSociety everything]]'' privatized (sometimes it's all owned by a [[OneNationUndercopyright single private entity]]), in which case it's just one arm of the larger group. May be connected to a PrivateProfitPrison, if they also own the prisons. Can also overlap with BusinessOfGenericImportance.

For an actual government agency version, see HeroesRUs. See also PrivateMilitaryContractors, which may overlap. There's also a good chance it could be part of a MegaCorp or a {{NGO}}. It also might employ {{Corporate Sponsored Superhero}}es. Such agencies must simply be the police in a society which has ''[[PrivatelyOwnedSociety everything]]'' privatized (sometimes it's all owned by a [[OneNationUndercopyright single private entity]]), in which case it's just one arm of the larger group. May be connected to a PrivateProfitPrison, if they also own the prisons.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' features Sanctum Adroit, a mercenary company that provides armed and [[PoweredArmor armored]] security services to several habitats in the Celeschul system. They're considerably more principled than most examples, capturing a squad of Tagon's Toughs without firing a shot (for which command apparently offers a substantial bonus) and apprehending their own client when he tries to convince them to kill the Toughs. They've also got a strict "No [[CompanyTown Company Towns]] policy.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' features Sanctum Adroit, a mercenary company that provides armed and [[PoweredArmor armored]] security services to several habitats in the Celeschul system. They're considerably more principled than most examples, capturing a squad of Tagon's Toughs without firing a shot (for which command apparently offers a substantial purpose) and apprehending their own client when he tries to convince them to kill the Toughs. They've also got a strict "No [[CompanyTown Company Towns]] policy.

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' features Sanctum Adroit, a mercenary company that provides armed and [[PoweredArmor armored]] security services to several habitats in the Celeschul system. They're considerably more principled than most examples, capturing a squad of Tagon's Toughs without firing a shot and apprehending their own client when he tries to convince them to kill the Toughs.

** Bounty hunting is only legal in two countries: the United States (but not every state), and its former colony, the Philippines. Unlike police officers, bounty hunters have no legal protections against injuries to non-fugitives and few legal protections against injuries to their targets.

* ''TheSimpsons'': [=SpringShield=], founded by Homer Simpson, Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson, which went on to take over police chores for the whole city. Amusingly it ended because they got too ''good''. Homer went and arrested [[TheMafia Fat Tony]], essentially ending crime in Springfield. As soon as he was released, he announced that he and his associates would kill Homer the next day, which lead to Homer pleading with the townspeople to help him. [[Film/HighNoon Of course, they didn't]] -- even Lenny and Carl abandoned him. Homer [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] it perfectly:

* The Silver Guardians from ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' are a rare heroic example, crossed with RedshirtArmy, an armed civilian force formed by a private company to fight off the Mutants, but also have general policing duties, including traffic. To be fair they are a non-profit organisation who helped anyone that needed it by the end of the show, but they were initially more like a paramilitary security-for-hire force,