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Werewolf Capture Unit

From Absit Omen Lexicon
The Werewolf Capture Unit are mentioned in the Harry Potter series. For canon information about them, please visit the Harry Potter Lexicon. This page provides a more specific look at Absit Omen's interpretation of the Werewolf Capture Unit. The following information is considered AO Canon.

Related Links

Plot Development Topics: Attacks on Purebloods / Werewolf Capture Unit Plot, Dog Soldiers: Defining the WCU

Department Policies and Operating Procedures

Because they are part of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures (known informally as Level Four) and not the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (otherwise known as Level Two), the Werewolf Capture Unit does not act as a law enforcement body. Instead, they essentially function as magical animal control. Their authority only extends to the investigation and capture of unregistered or identifiably dangerous werewolves.

WCU Ranks

Rank within the Werewolf Capture Unit is fairly loose. The Capture Unit Head is appointed by the RCMC Department Head; traditionally, this role is filled by the WCU member with the most years of experience. As of 2008 the head is appointed by the head of the Werewolf Wing

Other than the Head, there are no formal ranks within the WCU. Members are assigned specific investigations, and one may be singled out as the team lead for a werewolf capture, but these assignments are fluid and change on a regular basis. Seniority does play some role in assigned duties. More experienced members are more likely to lead a Capture team, and they are often given the responsibility of training new recruits.

Cases and Assignments

Within the scope of their assignments, WCU members investigate werewolf attacks, look into potential werewolf spottings, and follow up on the rare occasions of registered werewolves who miss their check-in date at the Ministry.

Much of the Capture Unit's time is spent capturing and apprehending werewolves. The week leading up to a full moon is traditionally a time of great stress as they run down leads and prepare for possible attacks. During the night of a full moon, all members are required to be on duty. They are stationed in areas of high concern (for instance, areas of high population density or locations where a suspected werewolf attack occurred in prior months) and respond to any reports of werewolf attacks.

When it is not the full moon, members spend a lot of their time tracking down rogues by investigating reports of potential attacks and questioning witnesses. The WCU keeps its own case files, and in instances where a werewolf investigation overlaps with one being conducted by another department, they can file a request for the relevant files.

Powers and Authority

Because they are animal control and not law enforcement, the WCU can detain individuals in relation to a werewolf case, but they cannot arrest anyone. If they do want to arrest someone or press charges, a Hitwizard or an Auror must be brought in.

To detain someone, the WCU member must have reason to believe that that individual is an unregistered werewolf. Detention lasts for three sunrises. Presumably by the sunrise of the third day, the detained individual would either be proven to be a werewolf (by transforming during a full moon) or would be discovered to be unaffected by lycanthropy.

Technically, the power of detention is only supposed to be used for suspected werewolves within three days of a full moon, but some members of the WCU have been known to play a little fast and loose with their accusations. On rare occasions, an individual who is suspected of aiding an unregistered werewolf may be "accused and detained" in order to pressure them to confess. This has caused friction with The Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the past, as Level Two views this as the WCU overstepping its bounds.

Relationships with Other Ministry Departments

  • Werewolf Registration Committee: The WCU and the WRC have a contemptuous history. For years, they have been at odds with each other, and there was a time when they were not even operating within the same RCMC Department: while the Capture Unit was located under the Beast Division, the Registration Committee was in the Being Division. Since Covadonga Gertrudis's reform of werewolf law, both are now located in the Werewolf Wing, but their relationship is still cautious. During their down time, the WCU occasionally helps the understaffed WRC out with some of its responsibilities by checking in with registered werewolves, but neither really trusts the other to deal with werewolves appropriately.
  • Level Two: The WCU has a similarly rocky relationship with the Aurors of Level Two. While Aurors have a tendency to see the Capture Unit as undisciplined dog catchers, WCU members disregard their colleagues on Level Two as only being in it for the glory. The WCU is occasionally asked to consult on Level Two criminal investigations involving werewolves, but they often resent the Aurors swooping in to steal the glory on all of the "interesting" cases.

Office Culture

The WCU has traditionally had a high turnover rate. Although some of its members tend to be adrenaline junkies, many others are only a year or two out of Hogwarts with little practical experience. This means that their casualty rate runs pretty high - members are either bitten and turned into werewolves, end up dead, or can't deal with the stress and move on to another job within the Ministry. It's rare for someone to stay a member for more than a few years (although there are some "lifer" exceptions). Because many WCU members are very young, there's also plenty of inter-Unit dating and relationship drama, which provides plenty of entertainment during off-weeks.

As a result of the high turnover, the WCU works more as a unit than the Hitwizards or the Aurors might. They're used to dealing with a threat in a group. Catch one or two alone, and the werewolf is much more likely to get the better of them.

The Capture Unit team had almost a complete turnover in 2008-2009. After Shufen Chen and Iona Ballentyne were both bitten and Peter Harfooey was killed, many of the longtime members began to rethink their careers. The 2009 Ides of March disaster, when direwolves attacked during the day for the first time, resulted in another rash of deaths and retirements. As a result, Kurby Bagnold and Gervais Bellingham are the only remaining longtime members as of late 2011.

Capture Unit Roster

Current Members

There are usually around 12-16 members of the Capture Unit, although that number has grown or shrunk slightly depending on circumstances.


Former Members

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