[zinclozenge]

Some agencies, ones you might not even expect like the USPS and FDA, also have law enforcement powers, but have very narrow jurisdiction (relative to general law enforcement agencies like the FBI). So when a case actually does fall under their jurisdiction, they execute their duties "with extreme prejudice", so to speak. Assuming the story from the OP you replied to is true, the fact that they arrested the police officers would show how seriously they take their duties, even if the officers tampering with the mail was due to carelessness while they themselves were performing their duty.

[tharkun__]

This makes a lot of sense to me.

It's a psychological thing as far as I have been told. As in, the smaller the "amount" or "area" of power you give someone to enforce / defend the fiercer they will do so.

I saw this live once. A tiny office building's front entrance security guard. Had a sign in/out list for visitors. He was o the stereotypical leaned back in his chair, far away from the heightened desk type guy. Our visitor wanted to sign out. He knew the procedure from other days. The list sat behind the counter but in plain view. Our guest thought nothing of it so as he mentioned he'd leave and just sign out he grabbed the list from behind the counter. You should have seen how fast the security guy got up from his chair and started shouting at the guy what the... he was thinking just grabbing that list! He pulled the list back out of our visitors hands and then we heard a littany of other stuff. Until he finally let him actually sign out

I guess one can make use of this in some cases :)

[Ichthypresbyter]

I think that every Department of the US Government (and AFAIK most if not all of the independent agencies) has at least one armed law enforcement agency, though in many cases all it does is ensure the security of the department's buildings and protect against corruption by its employees.

[extraduder_ire]

Notably, if you have a counterfeit dollar bill it's the secret service that deals with it.

I've read of someone who worked at a bank who was told that after getting a counterfeit, looked them up in the phone book, and they dealt with it promptly.

[Tabular-Iceberg]

Still not as wild as the fact that while everyone was ridiculing Trump for instituting a space force, they have had a weather force, officially the "NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps", since 1917.

But in all fairness, the distinctions are all pretty arbitrary, I'm sure people were laughing as much when the navy spun off their weather stuff and when the army spun off their flying stuff as they do now with the air force spinning off the space stuff.

[lost_tourist]

We laughed at it because it was the product of someone who isn't really known for original thoughts or consideration of complex concepts, so we all kind of assumed it was just a joke.