crime-fighters
Those opposing lawbreakers
Crime-fighters are people who combat crime, whether professionally or as a calling.
The term applies to police, prosecutors, and vigilantes alike, though it carries a heroic or dramatic connotation that plain "law enforcement" lacks.
Comic books popularized the compound for costumed heroes: Batman is Gotham's most famous crime-fighter.
In political rhetoric, officials style themselves crime-fighters to project toughness.
Civil law enforcement
- detectivesThose who solve crimes
- officersThose holding authority
- FBIU.S. domestic intelligence agency
- investigatorsThose who examine facts
sheriffs · constables · marshals · agents · Interpol · patrol · badges · precincts
Resident-led area surveillance
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- activistsPeople working for causes
- guardiansThose who protect others
- patrolsSurveillance circuits
whistleblowers · advocates · tiplines · vigilance · reporting · awareness · safety committees · block captains
Costumed figures with powers
- BatmanGotham's masked vigilante
- vigilantesUnlicensed punishers of wrongdoers
- comic booksIllustrated periodical narratives
- Spider-ManArachnid-themed masked hero
Superman · masked · capes · secret identities · Gotham · sidekicks · villains · nemesis
Those paid to capture fugitives
- PinkertonsFamous private detective agency
- Texas RangersTexas state law enforcement
- lawmenOfficial crime fighters
- possesArmed bands aiding lawmen
G-men · Eliot Ness · Wild West · outlaws · frontier justice · sheriffs · deputies · Wyatt Earp
Systematic observation of subjects
- databasesOrganized electronic information collections
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- cybersecurityProtection of digital systems
- hackersUnauthorized computer system intruders
algorithms · CCTV · facial recognition · DNA analysis · tracking · encryption · analytics · evidence
police
Civil law enforcement
- detectivesThose who solve crimes
- officersThose holding authority
- FBIU.S. domestic intelligence agency
investigators · sheriffs · constables · marshals · agents · Interpol · patrol · badges · precincts · squad
neighborhood watch
Resident-led area surveillance
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- activistsPeople working for causes
- guardiansThose who protect others
patrols · whistleblowers · advocates · tiplines · vigilance · reporting · awareness · safety committees · block captains · outreach
superheroes
Costumed figures with powers
- BatmanGotham's masked vigilante
- vigilantesUnlicensed punishers of wrongdoers
- comic booksIllustrated periodical narratives
Spider-Man · Superman · masked · capes · secret identities · Gotham · sidekicks · villains · nemesis · origin stories
bounty hunters
Those paid to capture fugitives
- PinkertonsFamous private detective agency
- Texas RangersTexas state law enforcement
- lawmenOfficial crime fighters
posses · G-men · Eliot Ness · Wild West · outlaws · frontier justice · sheriffs · deputies · Wyatt Earp · Scotland Yard
surveillance
Systematic observation of subjects
- databasesOrganized electronic information collections
- forensicsScientific crime-scene analysis
- cybersecurityProtection of digital systems
hackers · algorithms · CCTV · facial recognition · DNA analysis · tracking · encryption · analytics · evidence · fingerprinting
crime-fighterscriminals
Lawbreakers by act
lawbreakers · perpetrators · offenders · outlaws · crooks
crime-fightersvillains
Evil characters in narratives
supervillains · bad guys · evildoers · antagonists · nemeses
crime, fighter, fighters, crimes, criminal, criminals, criminality, criminalize, criminalized