Space colony police force.

Your idea for somehow mitigating the need for a standing force is a good one. In the system I have seen in use, these people are specialists, but they don't just "arrest criminals." Similar to how modern police and our Special Forces are beginning to be trained in Public Relations, or what could be called Social Work, the traditional "police" role has been expanding into "community work."

I'm not sure how well this is paying off, but it seems like basically a good idea.

The other really important space colony role that could be integrated into "police" work is what could be called Inspections. A space colony runs on various physical technologies and they all have to stay in good working order. Someone has to monitor all that equipment to make sure it is working and maintained. The inspectors would not necessarily do the maintenance themselves, but would act if they found that critical maintenance actions were being ignored.

Disaster response is one thing. On any well-run ship, all hands are trained and drilled to help in real emergencies. But there is routine work that falls under the heading "disaster prevention" and that's where I see the "police" role fitting in.

I might note that jurisprudence is not a traditional police activity. That's a whole other specialty. Now that is an area where we could really do without our current "standing army" of lawyers and judges! If the process could be simplified to the point where ordinary citizens could handle most of it themselves, preferably on a very part-time basis, that would be a great social advance.

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Victor Smith" wrote: