User blog:Arathorstories/Azeroth's Law: Arrests

On this installment of Azeroth's law, we'll look at the most controversial aspect of Law RP since kids played cops and robbers: UR UNNER ARREST.

What exactly is an arrest?
In this context, an arrest is when you take someone - sometimes forcibly - and confine, restrain, or otherwise restrict their freedoms (typically of movement) in response to, in suspicion of, or otherwise in relation to some kind of criminal conduct. Basically, it's when you slap the cuffs on and put the guy in a room for a while, and I don't think we need to spend too long on the very basic outline. We've all seen at least ten minutes of a Law and Order rerun.

Now, when you arrest someone, there's a very important thing going on. If the arrest is made lawfully and in good faith - that is, a genuine and reasonable belief given the circumstances - that the person has committed or is about to commit a crime, then it's legitimate. Now that's very important, because if it isn't legitimate, it is indistinguishable, legally, from kidnapping and false imprisonment. And that's a good way to look at it: An arrest is just a lawful kidnapping and detainment.

This matters because if you, as a Guard or a private citizen, go around screaming 'ur unner arrest' without any evidence or anything but the basest suspicion (which, though some may find this a bit modern, is categorically not a genuine and reasonable belief in pretty much all common and civil jurisdictions), you're going to get sued. So keep it above board when exercising this power.

The OOC dimension
Okay, while we all hold 'IC/OOC seperation' as a cardinal virtue of RP, let's be honest. No one likes being randomly attacked out of the blue. No one likes being randomly imprisoned out of the blue, except for fetishists. So this is where things break down and the screaming begins.

How do we solve the age-old problem of the criminal going 'I don't recognize your authority, fuck off'? We communicate OOC. Mention to the person involved that they're breaking the laws by which you roleplay, see if they're aware of it - they often aren't, surprisingly enough, aware that assaults etc are illegal - and then see if they're willing to play ball with you. If they aren't, you're stuck in the old chestnut.

But, like any good criminal, a good law enforcer will find his arrest count suddenly increases when he starts asking OOC permission. The amount of godmodded escapes diminishes because people no longer feel like there's been an arbitrary imposition on their 'liberty' - they had a choice in the matter, and even though it's a bit of a hollow one, it still works wonders to allow people to retain a sense of agency in events (not to mention its key to mutually enjoyable RP).

Who can arrest?
Back to the nitty-gritty. This one leads to a lot of confusion, because Guard guilds tend to claim universal authority to do so. It's actually very simple:

Anyone can arrest.

We're all familiar with the term 'citizen's arrest', I hope. The idea is very old and very simple. Basically, as a law-abiding subject of whatever state you belong to, you have the right and the authority to detain lawbreakers so long as you do so legally. What that entails may differ from place to place, of course, but the basic concept remains.

Hell, for a very long time there were no police at all to do the arresting. There were private guards hired by rich men, the odd public servant - sherriffs, bailiffs, specially appointed people, customs agents - and private citizens. In medieval English law it was in fact a mandated duty of every citizen to apprehend criminals they saw engaging in illegal conduct - and to issue a hue and cry, which every able-bodied man who heard was to join in the apprehension!

This basic model cuts down on the issue of 'who has authority' very neatly, is 'authentic' (I personally dislike that term but people seem to want certain elements of Azerothian law to remain 'authentic'. We have steam-tanks, giant air battleships, and gnomes who summon giant demons. Fairly sure medieval law didn't really account for that, and I should know.), and most of all, it allows RP to flow unimpeded.

A basic procedure:
While this doesn't work for all areas, consider the following a helpful guideline: Pretty simple, huh? Now this may not apply to say, Goblins (who I suspect may simply keep their prisoners for labour) or Night Elves, but it's a good guideline to generally follow - and, rather importantly, it won't mean the case is thrown out for an unlawful arrest automatically.
 * You, John Doe, see Snidely Whiplash stealing a pig. You are absolutely sure the pig does not belong to him. What should you do?
 * Roll up your sleeves, yell 'thief! thief!' and get after him. If you catch him, tie him up, if he escapes, keep yelling it and make sure the authorities know.
 * Once you've got the bugger, don't kill him, put him on trial, or mistreat him too much on the off chance he's innocent. But he's not. Look at that sleazy fucking mustache.
 * Crucial to it all, deliver him as soon as practical to a 'lawful authority'. To use SW as an example, that'd be a noble, the various Guard groups, the Church (in very specific circumstances), magistrates, etc. You generally don't want to hold him more than an hour yourself unless you're in an isolated area. Guilds roleplaying as such authorities have their own requirement to worry about, which requires presenting the prisoner to a Magistrate ASAP, but that's relaxed for civilians.
 * Collect a reward, if there's any up for snatching a thief. There should be, as they were a common fixture of life for most of human civilization.

As usual, any comments or questions, feel free to post them up or send them to me in-game if you're not feeling like having a public audience. I can be reached at either Everen or Latalya (Horde) for comments, questions, and concerns.