Judge, Jury and Executioner

Following on from the Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death review I thought it might be a good idea to share with everyone why I think that we are in serious need of ‘Judges’ and other forms of law enforcement in this country, and maybe even throughout the world.

The democracy-based legal system that is currently in effect in most of the so-called civilized world is in itself flawed. It is in no way suited to handle the workload that is needed in the fight against crime. In fact - the sheer volume is more than any bureaucratic system could ever handle and this inadequacy is a spawning ground for even more problems. To be quite honest it is not the effectiveness of the legal system but more the efficiency that is causing problems.

While people wait for their hearing or even their trial there are families that are waiting and in some cases starving because their bread winner is indisposed. This in turn leads to more crime as those families try to make their way in the world. Of course most peoples’ solution to this problem is to hire more staff to handle the workload. I, on the other hand, say that we should reduce the amount of steps and procedures and properly empower the policemen of today to be able to uphold the law in a proper fashion.

It is actually quite simple. Take a group of dedicated officers, call them Judges (or whatever you please) and give them the power they need. The ability to primarily arrest and sentence on the spot, but failing that - or if the situation requires it - kill on sight. If this is done the law enforcers will finally be on an equal footing with the criminals. Thus allowing them to at least stand a fair chance in their fight against crime.

I have always felt that the police of today are in the same situation as a martial artist might be if you had to tie his preferred arm behind his back, give him a spoon and ask him to kill a platoon of soldiers armed with firearms. Impossible, damn right it is - there is no way that that person will ever be able to do anything unless he has his full potential at hand when dealing with situations that people can’t even think of comprehending.

To back the Judges up, of course, you will need an elite form of SWAT - this also has a simple solution. Enter the Tank Police - a special SWAT unit that is there solely to handle the situations that the Judges themselves cannot handle or which would be extremely dangerous if they did. Simply put; they are a group of trained professionals that drive around in tanks and have the full military arsenal at their disposal for use against the criminals.

Now I hear your cries: “This is not a war - why all the heavy equipment?” To this I say wrong - it is a war; it is a war against crime and a far bigger war than any other that has ever been fought in history. All the previous wars have been against some kind of external threat. Crime, however, is everywhere, an internal cancer that is threatening to kill the entire fabric of the society that we live in.

Finally, I say we should institute legal Bounty Hunters and even go as far as having an entire TV show similar to “Crime Stop” dedicated solely to informing those registered bounty Hunters of job opportunities that are out there.

This would be a far simpler and even a cheaper alternative to that of doubling our current police force. Think about it - the Bounty Hunters will actually carry the expense of apprehending the criminals and are reimbursed only on the sucessful completion of the job, instead of financing a multitude of undercover operations which may or may not produce results.

The Bounty Hunters, however, are after all only civilians, and will have to have far harsher restrictions placed on them compared to those that are in the active role of enforcing law. They would be restricted to bringing in criminals alive to be judged by a Senior Judge. Other forms of grievous bodily harm would also not be allowed.

Now I hear people screaming: “But who is going to look after the Judges and keep them in line? Or will they run rampant and become even worse than the criminals there are?” Simple - I would institute an even smaller and more elite group, that we shall call the Special Judicial Squad, for arguments sake. In essence they would be the same as the current day Internal Affairs, but they - like their counterparts - will be empowered to take whatever action they deem necessary to keep the Judges from becoming corrupt.

Furthermore I think that the amount of paperwork and the likes should streamlined; a simple record of deaths and arrests should be kept for each enforcer. This will give a pretty accurate indication of how the enforcer is doing as far as his job is concerned. If the enforcer becomes more and more violent the new and minimized paperwork will easily indicate whether or not the SJS should step in and take action. A simple form could be filled out at the end of each shift, simply stating the name of the criminal, his crimes and his sentence, even if that sentence is death.

I think that there should also be a definite split between the police and politics.

Politicians have little to no idea what law enforcement is about. This entire exercise should be left in the hands of those who know what they are doing, instead of people that are even more corrupt than the criminals themselves. This will also put the politicians in exactly the same situation as the people that they ‘serve’.

In both the Judge Dredd novels and in the game they use the catch phrase: “Justice has a price and that price is freedom.” I disagree with that statement; it is the ultimate empowerment of freedom. You have the freedom of choice - break the law and you are at the mercy of the Judges, or abide by the law and don’t worry.

I know that a lot of people out there will disagree with me and tell me just how inhumane and oppressive what I have proposed here is. But let me remind you that the very phrase ‘law enforcement’ is oppressive. There is no way to be humane and enforce order upon a people that have no concept of the word humane unless it so suits them. Take their shield away and put them on the level that they regard everyone else on and we’ll see what happens.

I say roll out the Judges. It is sure to make the world a better place.