Coruscant Security Force/Legends

"We're the law on Coruscant. Not the Jedi."

- Gwad Raatu

The Coruscant Security Force (CSF), also known as the Coruscant Police Force, was a police/paramilitary force in the Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, New Republic, and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. It was in charge of maintaining law and order on Coruscant. This included regular patrols, crowd control, responding to emergencies, and investigations. A noted investigation CSF was called to solve was the murder of Senator Onaconda Farr. Patrol units would use VAAT/e as rapid troop deployment platforms and BARC speeders for regular patrol. If at times officers felt they could be entering a dangerous area, they could receive an escort by a police cruiser backup unit. One such situation resulted in both responding officers being killed by Darth Maul and the police backup unit disabled. Droids were also used as patrol units and to support organic officers with various tasks. This was especially true during the Clone Wars when CSF utilized police droids who became the majority of first responders to situations. The CSF employed detectives to investigate serious crimes such as murder, organized crime, and terrorism. During the Clone Wars, the CSF was heavily supported by clone shock troopers. These soldiers were originally supposed to provide a military presence for the capital and protect important government buildings. However, in time they took over the primary responsibility of Coruscant's security in the form of the Coruscant Guard. The Guard continued and expanded these duties throughout the days of the Empire. During this time the CSF acted in a support capacity to the Guard and was staffed by stormtroopers instead of regular police officers. After the fall of the Empire, CSF was reinstated as the primary Coruscant law enforcement agency for the New Republic. The Second Galactic Civil War placed CSF right in the middle of the conflict between the Galactic Alliance and the Confederation. CSF officers were recruited into the Galactic Alliance Guard to counter terrorist activity by Corellians on Coruscant. The GAG was later disbanded after the death of Darth Caedus. By 43 ABY a new agency, Galactic Alliance Security, was formed and would operate alongside CSF on Coruscant though they were an Alliance government agency, not simply a planetary agency.

Responsibilities
"Time, time, there's no time for time. A murderer's on the loose and it's my job to find him."

- Tan Divo

The Coruscant Security Force was tasked with providing law enforcement and security on Coruscant. This included regular patrols, crowd control, responding to emergencies, investigating crimes and maintaining the skylanes of Galactic City. Headquartered in the A-89 quadrant of Galactic City, they performed this duty under most of the galactic governments. At times traditional police officers were replaced with other units such as during the Imperial era. The majority of crime occurred in the undercity. Most politicians and influential citizens refused to do much about the situation, preferring to live in the upper levels and skyscrapers away from the unpleasantness of the lower levels and slums of the city. Areas such as the Factory District and the Crimson Corridor were especially heavy with crime. These areas were rarely visited by police and when they did it was in force.

Organization
"I'm incident commander. I say how and when anyone goes in."

- Lt. Dovel to Omega Squad

As the times and galactic politics changed, so did the CSF. Except for a few variations, the CSF had a similar command structure to most police and paramilitary organizations. Among the ranks that officers could attain were Officer or Constable, Sergeant, Detective, Lieutenant, and Captain. If an officer was a detective, they could be referred to as inspector along with whatever rank they held.

Due to the nature of crime, certain situations required special attention. Special Agent was used to describe those working undercover or on special assignments. Incident Commander was used to describe the officer in charge of a major police operation. During the Clone Wars, Lieutenant Dovel was an incident commander for a hostage situation in which Omega Squad was involved.

During the days of the Empire, a moff was placed in command of CSF which would be staffed by stormtroopers. Under this system, CSF would remain separate from their Coruscant Guard counterparts.

CSF also had units that would specialize in responding and dealing with certain crimes. Two such units were the Anti-Terrorism Unit, established to combat terrorist activities by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Cone Wars, and the Organized Crime Unit, which dealt with major crime organizations. The CSF also had a Traffic Authority to assist with maintaining order in the massive skylanes of Galactic City.

Vehicles
CSF used a variety of vehicles to perform their duties. These included the CSF assault ship and the VAAT/e for large troop deployments. Along with various airspeeders, the specialized police BARC speeder was utilized as a patrol vehicle and would be accompanied by a police cruiser backup unit if the officers felt they would need extra assistance.

Relationship with other law enforcement
During the Galactic Republic, certain Jedi would at times assist the CSF though this was not as common during the time of the New Republic and the Galactic Alliance. Though the Jedi Order was technically a type of police agency, they mostly preferred to stay out of local affairs. Should the Jedi be involved in a situation, they could claim jurisdiction though they didn't have to and in many cases did not. However it was not uncommon for Jedi to assist the CSF in investigations and crime fighting. One such Jedi, Master Tera Sinube, was an expert in the workings of Coruscant's criminal underworld. Over time the CSF worked with other organizations such as the Judicial Forces, the Senate Guard, GAR clone troopers, the Stormtrooper Corps, the Coruscant Planetary Defense Force, and Galactic Alliance Security. The CSF Staff and Social Club was a bar favored by CSF officers. It was a location that CSF would at times invite members of other organizations to as a favor.

The Galactic Republic
Before the Clone Wars and the arrival of the Grand Army of the Republic on Coruscant, the CSF was the primary agency in charge of maintaining security on the planet. In 3,653 BBY, CSF would be the first to come in contact with the reformed Sith Empire as they began the Sacking of Coruscant. At the time Orbital Security Station Six was monitoring starship traffic on and off Coruscant. Femi, a female Rutian Twi'lek who worked aboard the craft, checked into a dispatcher over a radio, reporting that there was nothing in her vicinity. Femi then noticed an armada entering Coruscanti space and, surprised by the unexpected arrival, requested clearance codes from them. The Sith Empire and the Republic were currently meeting at Alderaan to discuss terms for ending the Great Galactic War, a galaxy-wide conflict that had been taking place between the two factions for almost three decades, and the unexpected arrival of the Sith fleet caught Femi off-guard. Rather than transmit a response back to her, the Sith fleet destroyed Orbital Security Station Six, killing the crew, after the Sith Lord Angral, the leader of the assault, ordered his ship to fire upon the CSF station. The Sith eventually withdrew from Coruscant, having strong-arming the Republic into ceding many outlying worlds to the Sith in exchange for a truce. After the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, the Galactic Senate was forced to make difficult decisions on prioritizing the Republic’s resources. Focus was put on shoring up defenses in the border worlds and rebuilding only the parts of Coruscant critical to governance and trade. Due to this, large parts of the city remained in ruins. Without the Jedi to provide assistance and added protections, CSF was unable to prevent many sectors of the city from falling under gang control.

In 42 BBY, the Bothan Yur T'aug was in charge of the Coruscant Security Force.

In 32 BBY the CSF came in conflict with the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Maul when he was chasing a group that included Jedi Darsha Assant and Lorn Pavan. The Dark Lord had hacked into Coruscant's security dispatch system, sending out a call reporting a droid banking crime. Two CSF officers responded to the call accompanied by a police cruiser backup unit also called a PCBU. Darth Maul first disabled the the PCBU by jumping on top of it and destroying the droid with his lightsaber. The officers turned their speeder bikes around only to be killed by the Sith who easily sliced through their armor. CSF later investigated the incident but seemed at a loss since they were unable to explain how someone could jump 15 feet into the air to reach the PCBU without getting shot. Obi-Wan Kenobi was present at the investigation while searching for the missing Jedi Darsha Assant. He discussed the matter with the two investigators, a Mrlssi and a Sullustan, promising the assistance of the Jedi Order. However, the issue was pushed aside as Kenobi was sent to respond to the blockade of Naboo upon his return to the Jedi Temple.

CSF/Republic Security officers also responded to the apartment of Senator Connus Trell when bounty hunter Jango Fett was interrogating him.

The Clone Wars and fall of the Republic
The Clone Wars brought several changes to how the capital was policed. Police droids were used extensively as regular patrol units, and were usually one of the first responders to situations. They performed duties such as setting up a perimeter, collecting evidence, preliminary interrogations, and holding and/or arresting suspects. Crimes that required in depth investigations, would be handed over to detectives or other, higher ranking, organic officers. At the time, CSF's Anti-Terrorism Unit was headed by Captain Jaller Obrim, a former commander in the Senate Guard. The unit was credited with the take-down of a Separatist terror cell by HoloNet News and Entertainment, although the removal of the terrorists was actually the work of Delta and Omega Squads, clone commando units that were called upon more and more to deal with situations formerly handled by Special Agents and CSF SWAT teams. Clone trooper units, such as the Shock Troopers and the 501st Legion were also stationed on Coruscant. Though their primary responsibilities were to provide a military presence for the capital and protect important government buildings, the shock troopers quickly took on a larger role of providing police services. They became known as the Coruscant Guard and would take on an even larger police role during the the Imperial era. Two noted operations they were involved were the Raid on Ziro the Hutt's Coruscant club and a hostage situation at the Senate. Although the clone units were brought in under the guise of combating Separatist terrorist organizations, it allowed Chancellor Palpatine to further his control. When Order 66 was issued, the CSF assisted clone troopers in hunting for Jedi who had escaped from the Temple.

The New Imperial Order


"The clone troopers, now proudly bearing the honorable rank of Imperial stormtroopers, have tackled the dangerous work of fighting our enemies on the front lines. Many have died in their devotion to the Empire. Imperial citizens would do well to remember their example."

- Emperor Palpatine during the Declaration of a New Order

After the rise of the Empire, traditional CSF units were gradually phased out in favor of stormtrooper regiments. The Coruscant Guard was also given the primary responsibility to police the newly named Imperial City. Members of the Guard often carried out their duties aggressively and with an undeniable air of superiority. They had the right to search any facility be it public or private and had the capacity to arrest any individual for mere suspicion of illegal activity without any need for evidence. They were also charged with upholding the image of the Human High Culture and were involved with detaining any suspected Rebel operatives which meant that they were as much as a political force as they were a police force. In 1 BBY, Moff Kadir was in commanded of all stormtroopers assigned as CSF units. He attempted to use specially-trained clones to kill Emperor Palpatine and take control of the Empire, but the plot failed. In 4 ABY, the security force stormtroopers were attacked by angry crowds, spurred on by the news of Palpatine's death at the Battle of Endor. In the ensuing uprising, many people were killed as the security forces organized under Ysanne Isard beat them back.

Reorganization and the New Republic
The capture of Coruscant by the New Republic from Imperial forces in 6 ABY and again in 11 ABY, left no Guard units or stormtroopers to provide security. The CSF was reorganized along with it's sister agency, the Coruscant Planetary Defense Force. In 26 ABY, Chief of State Borsk Fey'lya ordered the arrest of Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. When they tried to flee Coruscant aboard the Jade Shadow, they were pursued by 4 interceptors and fought a brief battle. None were reported killed in the incident and the Jedi managed to escape with the intervention of Rogue Squadron. During the Battle of Coruscant, the Coruscant Planetary Defense Force was completely wiped out. It is unknown if the CSF suffered the same fate. Those who survived would have either evacuated the city or escaped down into the substructures.

Serving under the Galactic Alliance
"Sorry about that. My partner thinks everyone is a suspect."

- Chal Tozr

With the return of the government after the Yuuzhan Vong War, the CSF was reorganized, this time under the Galactic Alliance. Before and during the Second Galactic Civil War, some agents were recruited, alongside members of the Galactic Alliance Special Forces and the Galactic Alliance Intelligence Service, into the Galactic Alliance Guard in order to counter Corellian terrorist activity on Coruscant. The GAG was dissolved sometime in 41 ABY. Galactic Alliance Security was formed in c.43 ABY which became the leading, federal level security force for the Galactic Alliance. They would assist the CSF in protection of the capital though mostly they were involved with Chief of State Natasi Daala's feud with the New Jedi Order. They arrested Grand Master Luke Skywalker and later were tasked with arresting and holding Jedi who suffered from psychotic breakdowns.

Known members
CSF employed a variety of agents for different purposes. Some were affiliated through other organizations such as the clone troopers, others were members of local community patrol divisions. Police work on Coruscant was dangerous especially in the underlevels. Many officers were killed or injured in the line of duty. Some officers had bounties on their heads placed there by criminal organizations as revenge. Though corruption did exist, most officers were simple cops, doing their jobs.

Behind the scenes
Though the CSF is never mentioned by name in any of the six Star Wars films, they were made canon through various books and other Expanded Universe publications. Their first appearance in the 1997 special edition of Return of the Jedi is in the form of brief shots of stormtroopers being attacked by revolting Coruscanti. This had caused some confusion as the Coruscant Guard was the canon-established police force during the Imperial era but they were not shown in the clips. It was assumed that stormtroopers stationed on Coruscant simply were assigned to CSF and assisted Guard units in police duties which was confirmed in Star Wars: Empire: Betrayal. The Clone Wars TV series brought detailed CSF police operations to the screen for the first time.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic, Threat of Peace Act 1: Treaty of Coruscant
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Deadly Hunter
 * Jedi Apprentice: The Evil Experiment
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Jedi Quest: The School of Fear
 * Jedi Quest: The False Peace
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film / novel
 * Omega Squad: Targets
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Star Wars: Empire: Betrayal
 * Star Wars: Galaxies
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Sacrifice
 * Revelation
 * Edge of Victory II: Rebirth
 * Bloodlines
 * Tempest
 * Sacrifice
 * Revelation