To maintain the political power of the party , the SS was given authority to establish and run the Sicherheitsdienst ( SD ) , which was the security and intelligence service , and the Geheime Staatspolizei ( Gestapo ) , or SS secret police , effectively putting the SS above the law . To maintain the political power and security of the Nazi party ( and later the nation ) , the SS established and ran the SD ( Security service ) and took over the administration of Gestapo ( Secret state police ) , Kripo ( criminal investigative police ) , and the Orpo ( regular uniformed police ) . Moreover , legal jurisdiction over the SS and its members was taken away from the civilian courts and given to courts run by the SS itself .