Justice and Policing: Under contstruction
LAW MAKING: MORE THAN SITTING HERE ON CAPITOL HILL
In any society, it is extremely important to have a clear set of laws. This is so everyone has a clear understanding of the norms and values held by a particular group. These laws can be as simplistic or as complex as the society needs fit- but it's very hard to uphold a community without a set thing of rules.
The important things to keep in mind when forming a fair law are these components:
POLICING: HOW DO WE FIGHT CRIME?
Whether you realize it or not, a society's police force is one of the strongest reflections of a society's state, government system, beliefs, values and priorities. They are the upholders of a group's norms and values, and are the government force that the majority of people will have the most interaction with. To quote Judge Dredd: They are the law.
Police Formation
The most important thing to remember about this when it comes to police is the more militaristic the formation of the police is (meaning it's constructed and ran the same way the army is), the less likely it is that the society is considered a "free society". Take these two examples:
Camelot (BBC's Merlin) during Uther Pendragon's reign
Government System: Monarchy
Difference between military and police: None. The kingdom's military are the police.
Level of personal freedom: Very Small. People who are born in their social class stay there. Free speech doesn't exist, neither do individual rights unless you're a noble or lucky enough to get Arthur on your case. Trials are essentially a quick thing where Uther decides how to kill you.
21st Century United States
Government System: Democracy
Difference between military and police: Vastly different! Their set ups are completely different from one another
Level of personal freedom: Pretty high. Freedom of speech, individual rights are often acknowledge ideally (yes, there are flaws in the system- but this is the general gist of it). Trials are run by a jury of your peers and sentences can be negotiated. Yeah sure there are some things you cannot do, but for the most part that's within reason.
Paradisa
Government System: Anarchy
Difference between military and police: ???
Level of personal freedom: Aside from the castle, the sky is the limit bb.
What can make a police force different from a military force?
There's several criteria about how they differ, but generally in the United States (ideally anyway):
Police Priorities
There are a lot of things that can be considered against the law in any given country. Some of them are pretty obvious such as don't steal things or kill people- while others not so much. Did you know it's illegal to enter Wisconsin with a chicken on your head? Or to cross Minnesota state lines with a duck on top? Who knew live poultry hats could be such serious business!
Needless to say, there's no chance that police has time or energy to enforce every law that exists in the lawbook. We would need 50% of the population to become police to monitor the other 50% of the population to even make this possible. So police have to compromise by picking their priorities in what to look for when they are out enforcing the law. These are the few of the field:
Order Maintenance Policing
Priority: Small Crimes to prevent big crimes.
You ever get a letter from the city complaining about the length of your lawn? Yeah, this is it. Order maintenance runs on the idea that the way to decrease crime is to focus on the smaller crimes that make a place appear run down. The logic behind this mostly comes from the broken window principle- which pretty much boils down to areas that look like crap are more prone to crime while a nice looking area won't get as much. Nearly every suburb thrives on this theory. How it actually affects the crime rate is to be debated and it unfortunately causes the police to be so busy with the minor crimes that some things get overlooked (like...crime networks)
Crowd Control Policing (or Safety first Policing) <- note: made up name since I forgot the real name for it
Priority: Target only crimes that risk the safety of people while overlooking minor victimless crimes
This is a type of policing often used in protests. In order to keep the people peaceful and reasonable, the police will overlook violations of the law that are seen as victimless crimes (smoking pot, blaring music, etc) and instead focus on stuff that could cause a loss of control of the population or hurt other people.
Preventative Policing
Priority: Do what you can in order to discourage crime from being committed.
There is a common belief that the appearance of a police officer in an area will often discourage people from committing crime to begin with. That's why occasionally you will see a police car stationed on the side of a road, to encourage people NOT to speed. This is the same reasoning behind patrols and such, since most of the time the patrols will not find crimes (unless they are happening right on the street!) Whether or not it affects the crime rate is debatable, but it does usually increase positive attitudes from the public about the police - to see them out there in a friendly and caring manner.
Problem-Oriented Policing (or Reactionary Policing)
Priority: Respond to calls of help ASAP
This is basically the concept in which police prioritize reacting to all 911/Emergency number calls ASAP. In truth, the chances of them catching a criminal at the scene of the crime is pretty low (unless the criminal has remained in the area) and often times the police will be called where instant appearance isn't even necessary, but it gives the comfort that the police are there when you need them.
Public Support
Possibly one of the most important elements when it comes to policing if you wish for it to run smoothly for a number of reasons. So when police are attempting to service a community, they need to make sure the community (or at least the majority of it) views them generally in a favorable light.
Why? Because with public support, they are more likely to:
PENOLOGY: CAUGHT A CRIMINAL...WHAT NOW?
COMMON MISCONCEPTION: There is only one valid and non-corrupt way to administer justice, and that is the justice system that is in the US/Canada/UK/MY COUNTRY.
Incorrect! There are many types of justice systems that both exist today and exist in the past. All of them have their own pros and cons and their own priorities. The following are a few types of justice systems, both are currently used today. I left out a few types (distributive, military, etc) because they don't apply too well to the crimes committed in Paradisa.
Retributive Justice
"Let the Punishment fit the crime"
The basic concept in which where the emphasis on the justice towards a criminal would be punishment and making sure the punishment matches the crime. You kill a man? You give up your own life and will spend a "life sentence" in jail (20 years) or possibly will be put to death.
Who is guilty is commonly determined through a trial- the traditions of trial vary from country to country but generally they are determined guilty or innocent by a jury.
Commonly used form of justice used in the United States.
Pros:
- More or less instant gratification for victims.
- Cut and dry justice (more or less). Guy kills someone? You take their life, easy.
- Easy to build a prison.
- Fast acting.
Cons:
- Doesn't really fix the problem. Guy is still dead, property is still damaged, psychological trauma still exists
- Raises chances that a person will re-offend if they get out of jail.
- There is a lot of room for error for conviction, especially if the jury or police have a bias. And remember, if you put someone to death and you figure out they were innocent? You can't take that back.
Paradisa Cons
- Being held in jail highly limits the villain muns. They either have their character never get caught or end up dropping their characters shortly after being caught
- Victim characters often aren't very satisfied. They know if a world change happens, criminal could be freed.
- The population of the US is 300 million+. It's easy to find 12 rational jurors who have no connection to a crime. The population of Paradisa is 200+. Much harder to find 12 rational jurors that have no connection what so ever to the crime.
Restorative Justice
The concept that emphasizes on repairing the damage performed in a crime and making a criminal a good member of society. When a crime is committed and the criminal is caught, there is a discussion between the criminal, the victims, the police and members of the community. They come put with an agreement of what can be done to help fix the damages done. The process varies from crime to crime, but a common trend is this:
PHASE I
- The criminal must attend courses addressing the problems related to crime (a drug addict goes to rehab, violent people go to anger management)
- The criminal must attend personal counseling
PHASE II
- If the criminal has not completed schooling (high school or college), they must go back to school to work on those degrees.
- If they have completed school, they must find work.
- A criminal must often complete a certain amount of community service
- They must continue going to therapy and keeping up with their anger management/sobriety/etc
PHASE III
- All the while, victims have possibly been receiving counseling themselves if the crime was seen as traumatic.
- Eventually, the criminal will confront the victims and apologize for their actions
- They will discuss ways to amend for the crime if necessary.
All the while, the criminal must regularly check in with the local justice system. Violation of any of the sentence will often end in receiving sanctions such as being placed in jail for a few days to a few weeks, restriction of freedoms, the length of process being increased, etc. Phase I is when they are the most closely monitored, with more freedom being given with each phase.
Pros:
- Lowers chances of re-offense
- Gives criminal better tools to do things without committing crime
- Possible more long term closure for victims
Cons:
- Takes a long time
- Doesn't help too much with true "sociopaths"
- Can you really fix a community from a murder?
- Not as cut and dry since it's so customized and caters to each person.
Paradisa Cons:
- Takes a long time
- Requires a lot of involvement from multiple muns
- There's a lot of sociopaths in Paradisa
- Most crimes done in Paradisa are extreme crimes such as murder. In the United States, restorative justice systems often will not take murder cases.
In any society, it is extremely important to have a clear set of laws. This is so everyone has a clear understanding of the norms and values held by a particular group. These laws can be as simplistic or as complex as the society needs fit- but it's very hard to uphold a community without a set thing of rules.
The important things to keep in mind when forming a fair law are these components:
- Is the law relevant to the society? (ex: why make laws about parking during snowstorms when you live in Florida?)
- What effect will this have the population?
- Is the law vague or detailed enough to allow leeway? (ex: what if the law is "Killing is illegal" and someone kills an attacker out of self-defense? Or reversely, what if someone is on their way to kill someone- are police allowed to preemptively stop them for killing intent or must they wait until the murder is done before an arrest is made?)
- What sanctions will occur if said law is violated? (See below section on punishment)
- Who decides on the laws? (a king? elected representatives? a counselor of elders? Everyone in the community?)
- Who is the law servicing? (the majority? everyone? a minority? a particular interest group?)
- And finally, will this be a law that the police will be willing to enforce? (Because if the police refuse to enforce it, it effectively becomes a dead law)
POLICING: HOW DO WE FIGHT CRIME?
Whether you realize it or not, a society's police force is one of the strongest reflections of a society's state, government system, beliefs, values and priorities. They are the upholders of a group's norms and values, and are the government force that the majority of people will have the most interaction with. To quote Judge Dredd: They are the law.
Police Formation
The most important thing to remember about this when it comes to police is the more militaristic the formation of the police is (meaning it's constructed and ran the same way the army is), the less likely it is that the society is considered a "free society". Take these two examples:
Camelot (BBC's Merlin) during Uther Pendragon's reign
Government System: Monarchy
Difference between military and police: None. The kingdom's military are the police.
Level of personal freedom: Very Small. People who are born in their social class stay there. Free speech doesn't exist, neither do individual rights unless you're a noble or lucky enough to get Arthur on your case. Trials are essentially a quick thing where Uther decides how to kill you.
21st Century United States
Government System: Democracy
Difference between military and police: Vastly different! Their set ups are completely different from one another
Level of personal freedom: Pretty high. Freedom of speech, individual rights are often acknowledge ideally (yes, there are flaws in the system- but this is the general gist of it). Trials are run by a jury of your peers and sentences can be negotiated. Yeah sure there are some things you cannot do, but for the most part that's within reason.
Paradisa
Government System: Anarchy
Difference between military and police: ???
Level of personal freedom: Aside from the castle, the sky is the limit bb.
What can make a police force different from a military force?
There's several criteria about how they differ, but generally in the United States (ideally anyway):
- Police work their way up in the force. Every Chief of Police was once a beat officer on the bottom rungs. It's very unlikely a general in an army once was a private who scrubbed the floor with a toothbrush (though it does happen!).
- Soldiers follow orders from their higher ups and nothing else, there is no such thing as "leeway". Police are welcomed to discretion and adaptability to each circumstance.
- A soldier's primary method is force. Police...well, usually it's better if they treat it as a last resort.
- Police lives and works within the community, military usually lives on a base separate from the community they are stationed at. That's why a soldier or army brat might say they were at Fort Snelling and not Minneapolis (even though it's IN Minneapolis).
- The list goes on. But generally, the military is all about black and white and following Order. Meanwhile police tend to work more with shades of gray.
Police Priorities
There are a lot of things that can be considered against the law in any given country. Some of them are pretty obvious such as don't steal things or kill people- while others not so much. Did you know it's illegal to enter Wisconsin with a chicken on your head? Or to cross Minnesota state lines with a duck on top? Who knew live poultry hats could be such serious business!
Needless to say, there's no chance that police has time or energy to enforce every law that exists in the lawbook. We would need 50% of the population to become police to monitor the other 50% of the population to even make this possible. So police have to compromise by picking their priorities in what to look for when they are out enforcing the law. These are the few of the field:
Order Maintenance Policing
Priority: Small Crimes to prevent big crimes.
You ever get a letter from the city complaining about the length of your lawn? Yeah, this is it. Order maintenance runs on the idea that the way to decrease crime is to focus on the smaller crimes that make a place appear run down. The logic behind this mostly comes from the broken window principle- which pretty much boils down to areas that look like crap are more prone to crime while a nice looking area won't get as much. Nearly every suburb thrives on this theory. How it actually affects the crime rate is to be debated and it unfortunately causes the police to be so busy with the minor crimes that some things get overlooked (like...crime networks)
Crowd Control Policing (or Safety first Policing) <- note: made up name since I forgot the real name for it
Priority: Target only crimes that risk the safety of people while overlooking minor victimless crimes
This is a type of policing often used in protests. In order to keep the people peaceful and reasonable, the police will overlook violations of the law that are seen as victimless crimes (smoking pot, blaring music, etc) and instead focus on stuff that could cause a loss of control of the population or hurt other people.
Preventative Policing
Priority: Do what you can in order to discourage crime from being committed.
There is a common belief that the appearance of a police officer in an area will often discourage people from committing crime to begin with. That's why occasionally you will see a police car stationed on the side of a road, to encourage people NOT to speed. This is the same reasoning behind patrols and such, since most of the time the patrols will not find crimes (unless they are happening right on the street!) Whether or not it affects the crime rate is debatable, but it does usually increase positive attitudes from the public about the police - to see them out there in a friendly and caring manner.
Problem-Oriented Policing (or Reactionary Policing)
Priority: Respond to calls of help ASAP
This is basically the concept in which police prioritize reacting to all 911/Emergency number calls ASAP. In truth, the chances of them catching a criminal at the scene of the crime is pretty low (unless the criminal has remained in the area) and often times the police will be called where instant appearance isn't even necessary, but it gives the comfort that the police are there when you need them.
Public Support
Possibly one of the most important elements when it comes to policing if you wish for it to run smoothly for a number of reasons. So when police are attempting to service a community, they need to make sure the community (or at least the majority of it) views them generally in a favorable light.
Why? Because with public support, they are more likely to:
- Not commit crimes in order to antagonize the police
- Give the police information regarding cases that need to be solved
- Give police leads on possible crimes going on
- Testify in court
- Come to the police if they need aid
- Not turn into vigilantes themselves
- Join the police force themselves or help them out in keeping an eye on the community
- Participate in the processes of the community or government system (censuses, voting, jury, etc etc)
PENOLOGY: CAUGHT A CRIMINAL...WHAT NOW?
COMMON MISCONCEPTION: There is only one valid and non-corrupt way to administer justice, and that is the justice system that is in the US/Canada/UK/MY COUNTRY.
Incorrect! There are many types of justice systems that both exist today and exist in the past. All of them have their own pros and cons and their own priorities. The following are a few types of justice systems, both are currently used today. I left out a few types (distributive, military, etc) because they don't apply too well to the crimes committed in Paradisa.
Retributive Justice
"Let the Punishment fit the crime"
The basic concept in which where the emphasis on the justice towards a criminal would be punishment and making sure the punishment matches the crime. You kill a man? You give up your own life and will spend a "life sentence" in jail (20 years) or possibly will be put to death.
Who is guilty is commonly determined through a trial- the traditions of trial vary from country to country but generally they are determined guilty or innocent by a jury.
Commonly used form of justice used in the United States.
Pros:
- More or less instant gratification for victims.
- Cut and dry justice (more or less). Guy kills someone? You take their life, easy.
- Easy to build a prison.
- Fast acting.
Cons:
- Doesn't really fix the problem. Guy is still dead, property is still damaged, psychological trauma still exists
- Raises chances that a person will re-offend if they get out of jail.
- There is a lot of room for error for conviction, especially if the jury or police have a bias. And remember, if you put someone to death and you figure out they were innocent? You can't take that back.
Paradisa Cons
- Being held in jail highly limits the villain muns. They either have their character never get caught or end up dropping their characters shortly after being caught
- Victim characters often aren't very satisfied. They know if a world change happens, criminal could be freed.
- The population of the US is 300 million+. It's easy to find 12 rational jurors who have no connection to a crime. The population of Paradisa is 200+. Much harder to find 12 rational jurors that have no connection what so ever to the crime.
Restorative Justice
The concept that emphasizes on repairing the damage performed in a crime and making a criminal a good member of society. When a crime is committed and the criminal is caught, there is a discussion between the criminal, the victims, the police and members of the community. They come put with an agreement of what can be done to help fix the damages done. The process varies from crime to crime, but a common trend is this:
PHASE I
- The criminal must attend courses addressing the problems related to crime (a drug addict goes to rehab, violent people go to anger management)
- The criminal must attend personal counseling
PHASE II
- If the criminal has not completed schooling (high school or college), they must go back to school to work on those degrees.
- If they have completed school, they must find work.
- A criminal must often complete a certain amount of community service
- They must continue going to therapy and keeping up with their anger management/sobriety/etc
PHASE III
- All the while, victims have possibly been receiving counseling themselves if the crime was seen as traumatic.
- Eventually, the criminal will confront the victims and apologize for their actions
- They will discuss ways to amend for the crime if necessary.
All the while, the criminal must regularly check in with the local justice system. Violation of any of the sentence will often end in receiving sanctions such as being placed in jail for a few days to a few weeks, restriction of freedoms, the length of process being increased, etc. Phase I is when they are the most closely monitored, with more freedom being given with each phase.
Pros:
- Lowers chances of re-offense
- Gives criminal better tools to do things without committing crime
- Possible more long term closure for victims
Cons:
- Takes a long time
- Doesn't help too much with true "sociopaths"
- Can you really fix a community from a murder?
- Not as cut and dry since it's so customized and caters to each person.
Paradisa Cons:
- Takes a long time
- Requires a lot of involvement from multiple muns
- There's a lot of sociopaths in Paradisa
- Most crimes done in Paradisa are extreme crimes such as murder. In the United States, restorative justice systems often will not take murder cases.