As the title says, I am making a suggestion that CMP become a whitelisted role. CMP is a roll that is vital to gameplay because they are both a role model to new marines, teach other MPs, and have the fate of marines in their hands. Here I will list why I think that CMP should become a whitelisted role. I will briefly go over a few reason why I suggest this, and appreciate any and all feedback.
Mandatory Obedience
Under Military Law, the CMP cannot break ML, or they will be charged with NOD. But the problem here is that nobody can arrest the CMP without first contacting Provost, with the exception of the CO, which is another whitelisted role that is not always filled.
Power
The CMP has an absurd amount of power over the ship for a non-whitelisted role. They are above the XO in ML, and have the final say unless there is a Provost officer or a CO aboard the ship, which is not always guaranteed. This can cause for situations where the CMP is essentially a dictator, and can arrest people for whatever they want with the only option of freedom for the prisoner is an appeal, which are not even done correctly a majority of the time, even by some COs.
RP
Another major aspect of the CMP is being able to RP and meet certain standards. There are many MPs, and a few CMPs who do not meet said standards, and instead treat the role as if it is just a role that they can mess around with and do whatever they please without consequence. Which is one of the main reasons I am suggesting a whitelist, as it will not only deter people that just want to use the role to arrest anyone they want, but it will also set a standard for people to follow if they want to become a CMP.
Responsibility and Prevention
Finally, I want to talk about responsibility. The job of the CMP isn’t to ruin people’s fun in a match and arrest them for every little thing that they do wrong, like some CMPs do. Instead, I believe that the job of the CMP is to prevent marines from comitting major crimes. Under ML it even says “Military Police may, at their discretion, ignore Minor Crimes unless they are ordered to enforce one.” This is something that I believe is overlooked, and ignored by many. As, when people play CMP they feel like, and do have power over everyone else aboard the ship. This in turn causes for them to arrest people for minor things, because they power trip.
Lastly, I just want the MP department to become something that isn’t just “Arrest every marine because we have all the power”. I want it to become something more, and to enable for more RP shipside. While yes, making CMP a whitelisted role may be seen by some as a poor decision, I think it would overall improve both CM, shipside RP, and cause for there to be less rule-breaks. At the very least, I just think there should be something in place to prevent people from abusing CMP, be it some sort of written form, or a strike system.
I am open to discuss, and I would love to hear feedback or other suggestions.