BOSS

BOSS is a paramilitary organisation which combines the duties of such services as MI5, the FBI, the KGB, and similar security institutions. The Bureau of State Security is a powerful arm of the government, for it is charged with conducting counter-espionage and anti-sabotage investigations, suppressing revolutionary and terrorist organizations, and maintaining the security of the state in general. Thus BOSS agents may be found in any government or civilian service, or in private business and industry. The Bureau is under the direct control of the Head of State. In democratic regimes, BOSS has its activities modified by due process and by the requirement that it respect citizens’ rights, although it can be given sweeping powers in times of emergency. In totalitarian regimes it is a veritable Thought Police unchecked by regular laws and government channels of authority.