Editing Adeptus Arbites (section)

==What is the Law?==
[[Image:Wot.jpeg|right|300px|thumb|Shira Calpurnia, the protagonist of [[Matthew Farrer]]'s Arbites books]]
<s>I AM THE LAW</s>
{{Topquote|There are not enough jails, not enough police, not enough courts to enforce a law not supported by the people.|Hubert H. Humphrey}}
The Arbites uphold Imperial Law, which is pretty broad. (It has to be, due to the varied nature of the Imperium and its myriad of different people at large.) It can however be very broadly summarized into two main points on a planetary level:

* Worship and remain loyal to the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]]
* Deliver the [[Imperial Tithe]] in a timely manner

Now, you might think: "that's it?", but the implementation of said points are often one hell of a pain in the behind to deal with and require frequent skull-busting. The first one consists mostly of smoking out and cracking down on [[Chaos]] cults, [[Genestealer]] infestations, separatists, [[Tau|xenophiles]] and plain old power-hungry morons wanting to take over a world, system, or sector through violent and tithe disrupting upheaval; or any other joyous thing that could fuck up a planet from the inside. They don't explicitly handle [[heresy]] though; that's what the [[Sisters of Battle]] and [[Ordo Hereticus]] are for (although they do help when asked). The second point of Imperial Law generally revolves around making sure that everyone and everything that is supposed to get on a ship gets onto ships: soldiers and/or materiel supplied for tithes, psykers in [[Black Ships]], etc. They also keep an eye on [[Rogue Traders]]/Merchantsmen when they come in port (you never know what one of those shady bastards has and/or wants in their hold) and hunt down smugglers.

On a more galactic scale, the Arbites ensure that new worlds get used to the routine and older, important worlds give what they should and don't get complacent. They tend to be a little harsh because the step after the law is broken is full-on rebellion. The Arbites also serve as proxies for the High Lords, adjudicating conflicts between the Administratum and the Planetary Governors and [[Commissars|ensuring their loyalty]].

BUT, if that was all they did there wouldn't be nearly enough opportunities for "I AM THE LAW" jackbooted curb-stomping. So on really, really, really important worlds (ie Terra, segmentum capitals, etc) the Arbites stop being the FBI and become the Mega-City One PD. This is where young, idealistic arbiters straight outta schola go to become the jaded motherfuckers the Arbites needs them to be. After a few years on the toughest beats in the galaxy, they are ready to be shipped off to far-flung worlds where they will often bear sole responsibility for ensuring that their planet's governor follows Imperial law, and that the local enforcers maintain order.