The phrase "Palpatine's Secret Police" originated from the belief that the Jedi Order had become a secret police for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.
"Palpatine's Secret Police" was a phrase that negatively described the Jedi Order's association with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the Clone Wars, the galaxy-wide conflict during which the Jedi Knights served as generals in the Grand Army of the Republic. The phrase was in usage[1] by 19 BBY,[2] almost three years after the first battle between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The phrase steadily grew in usage during the height of the Clone Wars, especially after a number of wayward Jedi withdrew from the Order. When speaking of their former comrades, these Jedi apostates referred to mainstream Jedi as "Palpatine's Secret Police."[1]