Law and Order

Crime is deeply embedded into our history and society, sadly reflecting our imperfect social system and flawed mentality. Today the nightmares of the penal colony are slowly fading away but the violent legacy of our past may haunt us for many more decades to come. We have no intention to blame history for our problems or failures, but to create a fair social system where people make and respect their laws.

Our current legal system is so complex and confusing that very often even a lawyer can’t determine what is right or wrong. This fact is a gold mine for some professionals, but a misery for the rest of us. We shall endeavor to make justice available to everyone, rich or poor, by introducing the following measures:

• Streamline our legal system by using simple and positive definitions, plain English and uncomplicated court procedures (the medieval wigs may be donated to drama schools and replaced by down to earth contemporary dress codes). What is the use of any laws if they can’t be understood by the people who are supposed to obey them?

• We can’t obey the law if we do not know it. We shall provide every business and household with free yearly law handbook, much similar to (and definitely not bigger than) a phone book, also available on the internet. Every new law (with the exception of emergency legislation concerning natural disasters, health crisis, epidemics and the likes) shall be published in the law handbook before it becomes effective. Knowledge of law shall not be the privilege of a few professionals, but a basic necessity for each of us.

• Do you think that you can successfully defend yourself against a tank using your pocketknife? Unfortunately many legal battles today are no fairer than this comparison – your chances of justice are often limited by the depth of your pocket. We shall limit time and legal expenses for many cases, and make them equal for all sides. If you could only afford a few dollars for your defence, this amount may be the limit for the other side too. 

• Introduction of realistic limits for all lawsuit payoffs will eliminate the current public liability insurance crisis and diminish the number of greedy plaintiffs and legal sharks. Compensation limits will be the same for all – whether you are a pop star, minister or laborer. Loss of ability, income, arm, leg, life, etc. shall be compensated in a uniform way for each of us and based on realistic schedule accepted by the parliament every second year (e.g. if the PM dies in an transport accident together with his chauffeur the families of both victims shall receive the same amount of compensation).

• Juvenile crime is a serious problem affecting all of us. We believe that parents are the main factor determining the conduct of their children and shall be legally responsible for their children’s actions until they turn 18 y.o. No teacher, policeman or any other social worker can monitor and control children better than their parents. If we fail to fulfill our responsibilities as parents then we shall be prepared to face the court and pay for our negligence. Every parent shall be equally responsible for their child’s actions and be prepared to jointly pay the fines or serve the sentence their offspring deserved.

• It is amazing how many criminals these days suddenly turn into “innocent” mentally ill people the very moment they get caught on the wrong side of the law. You don’t have to be an actor to be able to fake mental illness and this proven practice worked well for many people who had to be behind bars a long time ago. We shall close this loophole and ensure that everyone who claims to be mentally ill  in front of the court has a proper doctor’s certificate obtained before the alleged crime took place and didn’t become ill the very moment he was arrested by the police. 

• We shall call a referendum about the reintroduction of capital punishment for convicted (and proven beyond any doubt) multiple murderers. We can’t justify spending millions of dollars for keeping a killer in jail. The same amount of money can save many other innocent lives (if invested in health care) or help victims of crime.

• Another way to improve our security is by removing guns and other weapons from society. If we reduce the availability of guns our violent crime and murder rates will drop significantly. The simple truth is that guns are designed to kill, rather than deter. We believe the police should be the only people allowed to have guns. All other (e.g. hunting) rifles shall be kept at clubs and other safe facilities, away from our homes and streets.

• We shall respect the privacy of everyone and put an end to all espionage agencies such as ASIS, ASIO, DSD, etc. Such agencies are relics from the past, incompatible with our principles of non-interference, mutual trust and cooperation. Their huge undisclosed budget will be better used for improving our telecommunications and not tapping our conversations. Fair, neutral and transparent foreign policy will protect us from international espionage and terrorism (home and abroad) much better than elite commandos units and undercover agents.

• Law and order can be observed and maintained only when they are supported by the whole community. It is impossible for the police to be always around when things go wrong. We’ll create a new community-based crime-fighting force:  police volunteers. Each of us who feels strongly about crime and justice (after passing appropriate police checks and some basic training) shall be able to enlist as a police volunteer. Volunteers shall not be involved in regular police duties (such as patrols, emergencies, raids, investigations, etc.) but shall be quite capable of helping any time they witness unlawful behavior in the course of their normal life. Although unarmed they shall be able to arrest (only temporarily and if safe) and handcuff any suspected offenders until they hand them over to the police. If arrest isn’t safe or possible they can assist in alerting the police and then covertly following, identifying, tracking and monitoring the offender/s until help arrives. While police volunteers may have limited exposure to dangerous police work against organized crime they shall be very efficient against widespread crimes such as fare evasion, shoplifting, vandalism, trespassing, theft, public disorders and drunkenness, illegal drugs, dangerous driving, illegal motor vehicle use, littering, rubbish dumping, pollution, etc. All police volunteers shall have proper ID badges and will be rewarded for their efforts by receiving 10% of all fines after successful prosecution of the offenders. Police volunteers (under various names) are well established in many other countries all over the world and provide valuable service to their communities.

• Every year vandals cause hundreds of millions of dollars damage to public and private property. Astronomic amounts of money are also spent on creating vandal resistant goods and other kinds of unnecessary protection. Despite all our efforts vandals are still at large, wrecking our parks and gardens, gates and fences, streets, street signs & lights, letter boxes, rubbish bins, bus shelters, windows, benches, public phones, cinemas, memorials, etc. More and more graffiti are defacing our walls, roofs, fences, trains, stations and every other surface that can be reached...  We’re determined to change this grim situation by organizing open days for all people who somehow enjoy wrecking. We shall encourage many steel recycling centers to organize wrecking days and competitions where everyone can purchase a metal bar and smash as much as he/she wants...  but for a good cause (please bring your own safety gear). Graffiti “artists” shall be encouraged to decorate the inside of their own fences or consider a proper career in painting, sign writing, graphic design or fine arts (several such incentives shall be offered to all interested persons from all backgrounds). In addition to these new incentives we shall ensure that all remaining vandals (or their parents if they are under 18) compensate our community by paying really serious fines or serving jail sentences (e.g. : first offence – full cost of damage repair + $ 5 000 fine or minimum of 6 months community work; second offence - full cost of damage repair + $10000 fine + minimum of 6 months in prison, etc.)

• We shall introduce tough and effective new laws to combat widespread crimes such as theft, arson, robbery, rape, etc. The present lenient sentencing and “blind eye” practice (which is also one of the major causes) shall be replaced by serious penalties capable of protecting the society and not the offenders.

• We believe a modern police force can effectively cope with all criminal, terrorist and other unlawful activities, without undermining our civil liberties. Given adequate legal grounds and resources our police can drastically reduce our shameful crime rate. We shall help police by establishing a national database (covering the whole population) of finger prints, DNA and other relevant anthropometric data that could be used for forensic and other investigations.

• While we’ll truly empower our police force to fight crime we shall spare no effort to ensure the highest standards of police integrity. Just like any other government department all police activities shall be monitored by government and independent bodies and organizations assuring that justice isn’t overshadowed by other interests or corruption. Members of the police force who compromise our trust shall be liable for stiff penalties (much higher than those applicable for the general public) and not allowed to hold public service jobs ever again.

• We shall discontinue the use of horses for police purposes. Bicycles, Electric scooters, quad and motorbikes are much more efficient and contemporary alternatives.

Humane and self-sufficient prisons

We are appalled by the inhumane treatment of prisoners in many countries around the world (we still can’t forget Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib...). We shall legislate to guarantee a fair and dignified treatment of every prisoner (be it “terrorist”, killer or just a thief) everywhere in the country. All “interrogation techniques” other than normal interview or conversation shall be banned. Any prisoner (!) shall be entitled to have safe food 4 times a day, 8 hr. sleep on a proper bunk/bed away from the elements (be it heat or cold) and medical care every day of his/her sentence. Physical contact with prisoners shall be banned except when required to counteract violent behavior.

Just like any other government institution we shall open all prisons for public and media scrutiny. Independent organizations, media and the public shall be able to monitor, access and oversee the entire prison system on 24/7 basis.

We shall also endeavor to drastically reduce the astronomical prison expenses and make most prisons economically self-sufficient. Every able prisoner shall be obliged to engage in a range of productive work and benefit from his/her effort. Such effort shall be rewarded in various ways (food, education, entertainment, etc.) and a substantial part of the money earned (after the prison expenses are deducted) would be saved and given on release.