Law Enforcement and Safety in a Just Society

Even in a Just Society, there will always be those trying to go against the rules. Hence, a system of law enforcement and safety maintenance must exist to deal with it. This post is an unpretentious attempt to sketch ideas for improvements to the law enforcement and safety system in our society.

The DOS System

In a Just Society, law enforcement should take an approach which I like to call the defense-oriented security (DOS) system (Am I going to be sued for using this acronym? I am not sure). Threats will be perceived and dealt with as they become menaces to the security and safety of citizens. Elimination of human lives should never intentionally occur and destruction of property should be minimized as much as possible. A nation should develop a modern over and inner-reaching "iron curtain", which absorbs and scrapes off all local and foreign threats from society and guarantees safety to all citizens. Not much of an iron iron curtain, but more of a steel sponge. :)

In order to accomplish that at either the military or police enforcement levels, a great deal of investigative work has to be done, so that harmful situations can be predicted and avoided as early as possible. Together with SAM, the DOS system should provide technological tools to facilitate the monitoring, investigation and retention of information associated with criminal events. Nonetheless, this work should be done without interfering with another nations' sovereignty. More importantly, the system should be designed with the priority of defending citizens over purging law infractors.

Weapons and War

At a military level, a country should never go to war. Instead, it should defend its territory and citizens from foreign and local threats in the best way it can. No more going to foreign lands and fighting terrorists or radicals. Enough of using war as an excuse to invade countries and exploit their resources. Instead, the government should direct its efforts towards ensuring their country is safe from security threats within and without, while maintaining position in their soil.

Much as weapons are useful, in a Just Society, weapons should only  be used as tools for self-defense, not for killing. Weapons should be used as means to control harmful situations and neutralize harmful threats, and not to annihilate enemies and transgressors.

For that to be successfully accomplished, however, a society requires that the use of fire weapons and explosives be deemed illegal and forbidden, even in law enforcement. The use of tasers, water cannons or high-end tranquilizer guns can potentially be used though. Fire weapons and explosives would only be allowed if they are used as high-end defense-only mechanisms, such as iron curtains or anti-aircraft batteries.

The use of cold weapons would be allowed, but restrictions on their use, especially range weapons, should be based on the reasons for carrying and using them. A few (poor?) examples: bows an arrows should only be allowed to be used by bow sportsmen and licensed hunters. Range weapons such as tasers and tranquillizers should be restricted to law enforcement. Other weapons such as compressed air guns should also have their access restricted or even forbidden. Removing fire weapons and explosives from society and restricting access to cold weapons would drastically limit the amount of damage an ill intended person could do to others.

Community Empowerment and Enforcement

Ultimately, as citizens become gradually more educated on ethics, moral principles and societal rules, it is expected that law enforcement gradually becomes less and less of a necessity. Instead, citizens will evermore avoid performing harmful actions. Moreover, citizens themselves will help enforce law and denounce improper or harmful behavior.

Not only that, and perhaps more importantly, communities will also participate in the daily education of their fellow members, so that, should any safety or security issues arise, be them caused by social, psychological or other problems, they can be resolved before they escalate to a serious and harmful situation that may threaten the lives of  citizens.

Safety Is about Minimizing Risks

No security system will ever be perfect. It does not matter the security control and monitoring technology used or how many are involved in maintaining such security and safety. Human behavior is very difficult to predict. The best that law enforcement can do is monitor and track potential threats in the hope that, by properly tackling them, it will be resolving as much of the actual threats as possible. At the end of the day, the key to improving safety and security is really in educating citizens and providing them with a high quality of life.

Let me end here with one final summarizing thought:

Negotiation and welfare are the ultimate weapons against conflict and warfare.