The Law
Let's start with the cops (which is the first thing you're
gonna need to know in the City). First of all, most
are now called Lawmen, since their ambit covers a
lot more than the old school City Beat. The Lawmen
of the Time of the Red are organized much as they
were during the 20th century with Homicide, Vice,
Burglary, and Traffic Squads; about 5 men each. The
most recent addition to police organization has been
the addition of the Cyberpsycho Squad (also known
as the Psycho Squad), whose main job is to deal with
cybernetic criminals. While the average beat cop
hits The Street in an armored squad car, wearing an
armor jacket, helmet, and carrying a smart-chipped
Minami-10 sidearm, the Psycho Squad detail employs
aerogyros, AV-4s, miniguns, assault weapons, and
Stinger missile launchers.
City cops can patrol all areas of the city. Corporate
Cops are deputized to patrol only corporate facilities. However, in areas where a large number of
office areas are huddled together, this effectively
can turn an entire downtown region into Corporate
Cop territory. Corporate Cops are usually better
armed and armored, and often have full Trauma
Team medical coverage. They are also more vicious,
sadistic, and likely to shoot first—after all, they know
the Corporation can cover up any incidents.
There are also Lawmen on the open highways as
well. Since a lot of new Reclaimed Cities don't have
police forces set up yet, these wandering marshals are
much like the range-riding Wyatt Earps of the Old
West—hard riding, fast shooting—part of why they
are colloquially all lumped under the Old Western/
Roaring '20s tag of "Lawmen."
The Legalities
Skyrocketing crime rates in the 1990s proved the
existing legal structure was falling apart. Following
the Purge of 1996 (when citizens' groups lynched
hundreds of criminal defense lawyers), the government
declared martial law throughout the United States for
a period of three years. During this time, justice was
dispensed by local military courts.
Justice, Army Style
During the martial law period that began in the
late 1990s, the U.S. government looked to military
regulations to replace the laws that had previously
governed the nation. As a result, the Military Justice
Code became the main rule of U.S. law.
The Code's draconian standards of crime and punishment served so well, in the eyes of those in power,
that when martial law was suspended the government
established a Uniform Civilian Justice Code in its place.
Some loosening of restrictions was seen in the early
2020s but, in the aftermath of the 4th Corp War, the
Uniform Civilian Justice Code is once again the law of
the land.
Even Night City, which isn't part of the New United
States, still bases what laws it actually has on the
Uniform Civilian Justice Code. Of course, how much
the laws get enforced depends entirely on what part
of the City you're in and what your annual income
is. Funny how, no matter how harsh the laws get, the
rich still manage to get away with murder. Sometimes
literally.
Crime
Theft, Fraud, and Stealing
If theft is defined as taking something that isn't yours,
there's a lot of thieving going on in Night City. Too
much to account for, in fact. Stealing gets you food
when you're starving, weapons when you're under
attack, safe places when you're living in a dumpster,
and money to pay other people to cover you when
you're not powerful enough to do it for yourself.
If the Lawmen really buckled down and tried to bust
every person in Night City who stole something, they'd
be at it 24-7. And there just aren't enough Lawmen out
there for that.
No, in general, The Street deals with theft in its own
way. If you get caught, the only question becomes
how bad can the victim mess you up. Sometimes you
just get a beating. Sometimes you get hunted down
like a dog and flat out killed (assuming the victim
doesn't fit in a bit of torture just for laughs before they
kill you). If you steal from a Corp, chances are you'll just end up back on The Street with your frontal lobes
burned out or parted out into the local body bank.
These things have a way of working out long before
any Lawman comes on the scene.
Fraud? Between the bunko rackets and scams, the
confidence schemes and creative bookkeeping, fraud
is a way of life on The Street. But remember that if your
Corp finds out their new Exec is cooking the books
or stealing under the table, you're going to only wish
you were dead. The Corps are actually pretty legal
about these things; they'll hand what's left of you to the
authorities ... eventually.
Assuming you get lucky and stand trial for what The
Street considers to be a non-issue, you'll be lucky to
get off with a little electroflogging, long term exile, or
a year or two of braindance. Just sayin'...
▶ Drugs ◀
Theoretically, narcotics may not be possessed within
the premises of the United States. However, bio-engineered plant diseases developed through the 1990s
by the Drug Enforcement Agency wiped out 96% of
the coca and opium plants in existence, making the
point moot. The law also does not cover "designer
drugs" such as endorphins, which are defined as
medicinal. Besides, you're in Night City. It's not part
of the United States anymore, choomba. Smoke 'em
if ya got em.
▶ Rape and Assault ◀
In the Time of the Red, there's not much difference
between rape and other physical assaults—at least as
far as The Street sees it. If you can't take vengeance
on your attacker yourself, there are plenty of Solos or
other guns for hire who will gladly find you some Street
justice. Most of the time, there's no trial other than what
you and your allies can put together, although the Laws
will usually take a hand if you ask them; they figure
some scav who harms others is probably going to move
up to even more heinous crimes sooner or later, so they
might as well slam their ass into a cell on the way to a
legally sanctioned punishment now.
On the other hand, don't even think about assaulting
or raping a Nomad. They usually just drag you behind
the nearest vehicle until you're hamburger. You don't
even want to guess where they tie the rope.
▶ Murder vs. Self-Defense ◀
Self-defense is defined as "any instance in which the
assailant can show just cause that his or her life, or the
life of another party, was threatened in circumstances
where a duly-appointed officer of the law could not
be summoned, or where it was impossible to restrain
the injured party by any other means." There is a lot
of murder on The Street. Sometimes the Lawmen get
involved. Sometimes you can get someone to investigate someone else's murder. But in general, if you
have a weapon and they had a weapon, The Street
considers it self-defense and whoever died probably
deserved it.
Punishment
Nailed for a Crime? The punishment for criminal
actions under the Uniform Justice Code of 1999 are
swift, certain, and draconian. Plea bargaining (pleading guilty to a lesser charge to speed up a trial) has
been eliminated. Probation is almost unheard of. The
death penalty is standard for murder cases—there is a
3-month appeal process during which new evidence
can be produced. Most felonies have mandatory
prison terms of five to ten years. Lesser crimes are
covered by a number of unpleasant forms of punishment that make prison sound pretty good.
▶ Personality Adjustment ◀
The simplest punishment is personality adjustment—a
process which implants an aversion to committing the
crime ever again. Adjustment has some nasty side
effects, including exaggerated fears of situations and
events related to the crime (such as a terror of money
based on an anti-robbery adjustment).
▶ Electroflogging ◀
Unless you're into serious S&M action, you're
not going to enjoy this one. Being tied to a large
X-shaped cross while the State Executioner (or
the local equivalent) tears your back apart with
an electrified metal whip is probably something
you're not going to enjoy. Ten lashes are usually
enough to kill most people. But for minor crimes,
you'll probably get off with only three.
▶ Exile ◀
Exile implants are keyed to a transmission signal
broadcast through the city phone NET. If the
offender enters the city, the implant causes excruciating pain. The offender is effectively exiled
from ever entering that specific city again. Repeat
offenses in other cities simply cause additional city
codes to be added to the implant. After enough
crimes in enough cities, the offender will be unable
to enter civilization again.
▶ Prison Blues ◀
Prisons of the 2000s are horrendously overcrowded
and deadly. After the riots of the '90s, prison authorities couldn't care less about rehabilitation—they're
mostly interested in penning up society's "mad dogs"
and keeping the streets clear. Most prisoners are relegated to Low Security Blocks.
Low Security Blocks are containment facilities for
petty criminals and those convicted of moderate
offenses. Prisoners often share cells with one or more
other prisoners.
In many ways, Low Security facilities are very
similar to prisons of the late 20th century. They're
staffed by prison guards, either private or Corporate,
who will not hesitate to shoot criminals who become
a nuisance. Most prisoners are short-term; longterm prisoners can become Trustees and may even
be deputized and allowed access to non-lethal
weapons if their psych reports permit this. Low
Security inmates are often required to work diligently
at menial tasks. This can be likened to the chain
gangs of long ago, where prisoners were worked
so hard that they didn't have the energy to cause
trouble. Some Low Security facilities maintain dormitories instead of cells.
Then there's Top Security. Top Security provides
containment facilities for the baddest offenders. Most
are locked down almost all of the time. Interpersonal
interactions between inmates is forbidden. You do
time in Top and you're on your own—for the duration.
Automated sentries guard perps around the clock and
no infringement of security is allowed—under penalty
of death. lnmates come into contact with guards and
other authorized personnel only when undergoing
treatment of some kind.
▶ Braindance ◀
To cope with overcrowding, many prisons force
inmates into "braindance"—they are placed in
cryotanks, wired to interface loop programs, and "shut
down" for periods of two or three years. Continuous
braindance creates a nightmare of unending, bland
horror, making it the thing cons fear most. Although
Braindance therapy is often a common component of
a criminal's sentence, most will do anything to avoid it.
Although the body is cooled and no physical
exertion is possible, the perp's mind is fully active for
the duration of the session. All they can really "see"
is the endless blackness of total sensory deprivation.
Fifteen years or more of this will cause even the most
hardened perp to beg for a different sentence. But
guards are on hand to deal with any difficulties that
may arise from this.
Braindance is also seen as an excellent way of
getting difficult prisoners out of the way in lieu of executions (which are not always good for public relations).
▶ Bang—You've Got Justice ◀
The simplest method of punishment is still execution.
Most states have a State Executioner who administers
justice with one well-placed .44 slug at point-blank
range. They are also empowered to hunt down escapees from Death Row.
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