Halcyon Metropolitan Police Department (HMPD)

Several law enforcement agencies operate in Halcyon City. In addition to A.E.G.I.S., the FBI, and various state agencies, there is, first and foremost, the Halcyon Metropolitan Police Department. Since the rise of metahumans in society, global police forces have been upping the ante and the HMPD is no different.

Using stricter recruitment policies to fish out the best of the best, equipping themselves with high-tier and efficiency gear and defences as well as partnering with technology firms worldwide, the HMPD has become a force to be reckoned with and a well-oiled machine when it comes to extinguishing conflict, incarcerating outlaws and even dishing out lethality when necessary. At first HMPD police officers served simply to arrest criminals that have been subdued by Supers while providing general support, but with the technology made by MarsTech, Inc. and Powell Industries as well as the formation of the elite STAR Squad, they've (almost) evened out the playing field with metahumans in battle. Nowadays, Halcyon cadets are trained by A.E.G.I.S. to contain, capture, subdue, disarm, and even eliminate superpowered threats. The police force in Halcyon City is lead by the well known and well feared Police Commissioner Gonzalez.

Special Tactics & Regulation (STAR) Squad
One of the first programs started by Commissioner Gonzalez is the STAR—Superhuman Tactics and Regulation—Squad. These officers are specially trained and equipped to deal with super-criminals. High-tech companies like GenSys Labs often give the squad experimental prototypes for field-testing. Often times, they’re the police who deal with super-powered criminals before and after the heroes get there. They’re also the ones who have to find ways to handle the super-criminals when the heroes don’t—or can’t—show up at all. Even with their equipment, the STAR Squad finds itself outclassed by most super-villains in terms of power level. They need to use teamwork, tactics, and clever thinking to take down their opponents, which can provide a real challenge to players used to having the powers of superheroes at their command. The STAR Squad cops also have to deal with interdepartmental and city politics, police corruption, public opinion, and near-constant criticism of their work.

The HMPD STAR Squad works in cooperation with superheroes like the Freedom League to handle superhuman threats in the city. Officially, City Hall and the Commissioner expect STAR to yield to heroes like the League, since they have powers of their own and a greater expertise in dealing with super-menaces; in practice, however, there is a professional rivalry between STAR and the city’s superheroes. STAR takes great pride in its ability to handle supercriminals on its own. Likewise, STAR jealously guards its bailiwick against intrusions from A.E.G.I.S., even though the federal agency and the police department often work on similar cases. The general view is the feds are glory-hogs who arrive after STAR officers have already done all the hard work. For their part, A.E.G.I.S. agents think of STAR officers as “small time” and “not aware of the big picture.”