It is the role of the police to ensure that people do not interfere with others’ freedom.
If a person has interfered with another’s freedom, this person must “give back” the other person’s freedom. For example, a thief must return stolen money or provide other compensation.
Justice must also be done: the culprit has taken something to which he did not have a right. 1 He deserves punishment.
This can be imposed in the form of a fine. If an offender does not have enough money to pay the penalty, the offender’s freedom is taken: the offender is locked up.
Justice should also apply within the prison system. Good behaviour should be rewarded and bad behaviour punished. For example, if a person injures a fellow prisoner, they should be locked up in their cell. Work, on the other hand, should be rewarded, but it should be voluntary.
If a person does not want to work, they should remain in their cell. There should never be more than one person to a cell.
Prisoners’ visitors should not be punished: family should be entitled to unrestricted contact with prisoners.
In the same way that the police force is financed using fines and pecuniary penalties, prisons should be financed through prisoners’ work.
The police enforce the law. Laws are passed by the parliament. The people elect the parliament.
It is unlawful to interfere with the freedom of another. The consumption and sale of drugs should therefore not be punishable, as a drug addict only harms himself. It should be illegal to advertise drugs.
Nobody should be able to download works without the permission of the copyright holder. This is an interference with his or her freedom.
We have already discussed roadworks.
The environment belongs to us all. Everybody has an interest in an untarnished environment. By destroying nature, we harm everybody else on the planet. This kind of conduct should be penalised.
As already discussed under the chapter “Military”, there is no world parliament. If driving a car in the USA triggers a hurricane in the Philippines, nobody is charged for this.
1 Justice is the virtue of giving a person what he deserves, Augustinus Aurelius (354 – 430 AD)
