Section 31

Section 31 is the official designation of a covert secret police organization in the Star Trek fictional universe, within Starfleet Intelligence, which deals with threats to the security of Earth, and later the United Federation of Planets. Its operating authority stems from an oft-overlooked provision of the Starfleet charter — Article 14, Section 31, from which they derive their name — that makes allowances for bending the rules during times of extraordinary threats. While the original intent may have been to give Starfleet personnel some leeway when it comes to unusual or extreme circumstances, some Starfleet officials have taken it a step further in creating a standing organization able to respond to any threat, preemptively if need be. Section 31 might be compared to the Romulan Tal Shiar or Cardassian Obsidian Order, but operates much more clandestinely and effectively (and, unlike those organizations, does not interfere in the day-to-day lives of Federation citizens).

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They defy the principles of the Federation in order, supposedly, to protect them, which is one of the reasons why Section 31 is not officially sanctioned by Starfleet, and even its very existence is not acknowledged openly. But the philosophy of protection at any cost that allows for Section 31 is employed officially by Starfleet in other venues, such as with the ultra-secret "Omega Directive", which gives captains almost unlimited authority to destroy the dangerous omega molecule, including violating Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference.

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Section 31 agent Luther Sloan unsuccessfully tried to recruit Julian Bashir on repeated occasions during the Dominion War.

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During the Dominion War, among other questionable actions, they engineered a genocidal virus to exterminate the Founders of the Dominion. They also meddled with Romulan internal politics and were said to have had an agent on the Klingon High Council. They also had operatives working within the upper echelons of Federation politics, including the president's office.

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The introduction of Section 31 is considered one of the most controversial additions to Star Trek lore, with many fans of the opinion that its existence goes against the vision of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. However, the film ', produced while Roddenberry was still alive, revealed that Starfleet was capable of Section 31-style tactics even during the time of Captain Kirk. Perhaps a sign of these shifting attitudes within Star Trek is the fact that three episodes depicting controversial policies — 's "Inquisition," which introduced Section 31, and "In the Pale Moonlight," which featured covert attempts to get the Romulans into the Dominion War, as well as 's "The Omega Directive" — all aired within the same two-week span.

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Very little of Section 31's history has been revealed in on-screen canon. In the Star Trek Expanded Universe a series of novels were published profiling Section 31 operations with regards to James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, and the crews of Deep Space Nine and '.

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Roddenbery's vision of the Federation is likely to have been inspired by American democracy. The addition of Section 31 adds a touch of realism to the Star Trek Universe, especially to the concept of the "Federation". In American politics, the existence of intelligence organizations, such as the NSA or CIA, is widely perceived to be compatible with a democratic form of government; while many fans like to compare Section 31 to groups such as the NSA or the CIA, this comparison overlooks the fact that both the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency are officially acknowledged organizations that are subject to the authority of the American government, while Section 31 is unacknowledged and operates without any accountability towards the Federation government.

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Secret police: :This article is about the definition of the term 'secret police'. For an actual list of such organizations, see list of secret police organizations....

Star Trek: Star Trek collectively refers to six science fiction television series spanning 726 episodes, ten motion pictures, and hundreds of novels, video games, and other works of fiction, all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the early- to mid-1960s....

Fictional universe: A fictional universe is a cohesive imaginary world that serves as the setting or backdrop for one or (more commonly) multiple works of fiction. Fictional universes are most common in, but not exclusive to, the science fiction and fantasy genres. Many universes written in one or both of these genres...

Section 31 related Images and Photos (experimental)

Rhythm Section	Trombone Section	Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery	Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (MOD)
Cross Section of a Gas Factory	Cross-Section of the Human Optic Nerve	A Section of a Map of Milan 1640	Northern Pacific - Section Gang 1882
Brighton Pavilion Section	Surviving Section of the Roman Wall of Wroxeter	Cross-Section of the Front Section of the Theatre from Designs for the Comedie Italienne	Albion Mill Section from East to West