What are the police like on Earth?

[Dusty Ayres]

We've never really seen what kind of police Earth has in the 23rd/24th centuries. Are they a global police with different divisions, and different uniforms? Are they still organized at the municipal level? Do they wear uniforms with caps, or helmets similar to those worn by the Empire in Star Wars?

Opinions, please!

 

[Borg451]

in before 'there are no police'

 

[BigC]

Ever see the movie...Demolition Man?

 

[Timo]

It might help if we ever witnessed crime on Earth. That is, crime not committed by a Starfleet member. Or even a crime committed at a location where Starfleet by default isn't the only government authority within a dozen lightyears.

As matters stand, the only police authority ever witnessed in the Federation is Starfleet. It's Starfleet that jails McCoy in ST3, Starfleet that persecutes Tom and alt-Harry in "Non Sequitur", and indeed (United Earth) Starfleet that investigates the kidnapping of Dr Phlox already, perhaps setting a precedent to how things will be done once the Federation is founded.

Entrusting law enforcement on the military is by no means uncommon, even in so-called free countries. Various militia- or gendarmerie-type setups exist all across the globe, the only real difference between them and "civilian" police being that the ministry/department in charge is that of Interior rather than Defense.

I could easily see the UFP streamlining things a bit and moving police duties to under the Starfleet umbrella, perhaps along with customs, firefighting and municipal gardening. For all the implications of a socialist paradise, the UFP might believe in a very sharp rift between private business and social-communal services, leaving the latter utterly to the state.

As for how the Earth police look like, never mind which organization they serve under... I posit that the role of the beat cop has ceased to exist by the 24th century, and that it has been deemed that visible police presence is undesirable in every respect. The police will beam in only when needed.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[doublegood]

24th century police are, like policemen of all centuries, always holdin' me down, man.

 

[Hermiod]

I strongly suspect the Federation has a civilian police force, much like Deep Space Nine does with Odo (the Sheriff) and his deputies.

It probably does not, however, have a lot to do on Earth since even relatively minor crime is almost unheard of.

 

[Timo]

But DS9 is not Federation territory, and Odo is not part of a police organization serving under Federation jurisdiction. The only time we've seen civilian police at all has been on worlds not belonging to the Federation...

Why have a civilian police force when the military can do the job just as easily? I don't necessarily mean that Ben Sisko would automatically have the powers of police captain, or Dr Bashir the powers of a police lieutenant - I mean that the people specializing in police work could serve as part of Starfleet, perhaps in its Security division, and that once in a while a starship security officer we see might have police competency just for the sake of flexibility.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hermiod]

But DS9 is not Federation territory, and Odo is not part of a police organization serving under Federation jurisdiction. The only time we've seen civilian police at all has been on worlds not belonging to the Federation...

I know, I was just citing an example of a non-military police force in Star Trek.

Why have a civilian police force when the military can do the job just as easily? I don't necessarily mean that Ben Sisko would automatically have the powers of police captain, or Dr Bashir the powers of a police lieutenant - I mean that the people specializing in police work could serve as part of Starfleet, perhaps in its Security division, and that once in a while a starship security officer we see might have police competency just for the sake of flexibility.

In general, in a democracy people don't like the police and the military being the same thing. It's important to separate the two functions.

 

[Timo]

Would that still hold true when the military in practice no longer goes against fellow humans?

If anything, the PR image of the military would be more benign than that of the police in the 24th century. A Starfleeter might thus be a more efficient beat cop or riot controller than somebody who is associated with the one remaining organization that is known to use force against humans for a living.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[BenRoethig]

That's a good question. It would be nice, if they were to do a Caprica type show for Star Trek. The Federation we see is from the view of senior officers abroad starships. We don't know that much about the enlisted man's life, let alone civilians.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There was the 'Federation Security' officer in the bar in ST III. (He was not Starfleet.)

 

[tobindax]

They have those automatic booths that get off the ground and trap you in their bullet proof glass and say 'you've been arrested for throwing that shit on the floor, pick it up or you're going to court'.

It's part of my view of the future. 'tobindax' vision' it's called.

police shouldn't be people.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

They have those automatic booths that get off the ground and say 'you've been arrested for throwing that shit on the floor, pick it up or you're going to court'.

It's part of my view of the future. 'tobindax' vision' it's called.

police shouldn't be people.

That sounds a lot like this: Little Brother (Masters of Science Fiction)

 

[-Brett-]

They're probably mostly Starfleet rejects.

Probably even more trigger happy than they are today, on account of stun settings and whatnot. They can afford shoot first and ask questions later with little or no consequences.

It probably wouldn't be uncommon to be shot for speeding.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

But DS9 is not Federation territory, and Odo is not part of a police organization serving under Federation jurisdiction. The only time we've seen civilian police at all has been on worlds not belonging to the Federation...

Then again, we almost never see Earth at all in Trek. We don't get a good idea of what life is really like there.

Why have a civilian police force when the military can do the job just as easily?

Anyone else want to quote William Adama (again)?

Basically, it's like this: When the military is the police, that's a dictatorship.

 

[Dusty Ayres]

I always thought that they were like the cops in The Fifth Element, wearing a specialized amour suit and helmet, and patrolling in flying cars. And under municipal control.

 

[Timo]

There was the 'Federation Security' officer in the bar in ST III. (He was not Starfleet.)

But he wasn't really "police": he was more like the future equivalent of CIA or NSA. And he delivered McCoy to a Starfleet gaol anyway.

Basically, it's like this: When the military is the police, that's a dictatorship.

Why? The same government controls both halves of the enforcement system anyway. The details of that arrangement would not alter the issue of whether the government is dictatorial or not. The fact remains that if you oppose the government, its enforcers will get you, no matter what uniform they wear.

Just reverse the titles, and say that the police has become the military in the future. What would be wrong with that?

It's not all that interesting who the enforcers are in the end. What dictates the nature of the government is the nature of laws that they pass. If you get fined for libel when you insult the President's lineage in a blog, it's no dictatorship even if the guys who arrested you had cattle prods taped on their assault rifles as they rappelled down from their helicopter. If you get executed for not clapping when the President speaks, it's a dictatorship even if the guys who arrested you carried nothing but warrants and polite words.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[T J]

police shouldn't be people.

Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Newspaper Taxi]

I imagine they walk up to suspicious gatherings of people and say, "Wot's all this, then?"

Maybe they can even say that phrase in three hundred different alein languages.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

There was the 'Federation Security' officer in the bar in ST III. (He was not Starfleet.)

But he wasn't really "police": he was more like the future equivalent of CIA or NSA. And he delivered McCoy to a Starfleet gaol anyway.

How do you know it was Starfleet? The guards weren't wearing Starfleet uniforms, AFAIK.

Even if it was Starfleet: McCoy is an officer, so naturally he would be delivered to one of their facilities.