I read through your previous transmission twice and was quite disappointed to see no compromises, only an admission of 'something missed' in the first writeup of your laws and a restatement of your official policies.
Quote:As for fleeing into the NFZ. If the Liberty lawful faction ( I think in this case we are referring to the Liberty Navy and Liberty Security Force) can provide rock solid proof that their quarry was engaged outside the NFZ and then fled into the NFZ (which is also against policy) we would overlook said trespass. We would need unedited pictorial proof of said situation. A picture of the engagement outside the NFZ and a picture that shows the subject fled into the NFZ. Now only the LN and LSF would get this compromise, as the LPI would be way out of their jurisdiction.
Your first assumption about our lawful forces is correct. This would apply to the Liberty Security Force and the Liberty Navy, but not the Liberty Police Incorporated.
What you stated reads as already well-established Zoner policy, something which is currently not in our interest to endorse due to its potentially protective nature of dangerous criminals and terrorists. We are all aware of Zoner neutrality, but we are still adamant that our law enforcement should be able to carry out their duties unhindered, even in Zoner no-fire-zones.
I have been told that, in a chase situation, it often slips the mind to gather evidence as an inspector rather than continue to defend yourself or apprehend the suspect by force. It is also far more convenient for us to capture a criminal in one try, rather than letting him go due to beaurocratic red tape which gives him free liscence to reoffend. Criminals can often be hard to track down, and even harder to capture. We can't afford to let these people go after they are seen because of the aforementioned red tape.
We would be prepared however, to provide evidence of the unlawful acts of the suspect within our borders if the Council of Zoners were to recieve a complaint from that individual.
What Liberty asks for is the trust of the Zoners to enforce our laws, most of them common throughout the houses, in the space of the independant worlds. Since this is independant and unowned space, we should be able to do so anyway. Asking for the Zoners' permission to do so is meant to be a formality rather than a lengthy and tiring discussion.
It should also be taken into account that the violent criminals that our policy would target are usually the ones directly or indirectly responsible for most damage to your installations, as they usually have little regard for any form of law, both ours and yours. We would also only be arresting them if they refused to dock, as we would not board your stations to conduct such business. We do not contend the neutrality within your bases, but in the space around those bases. Your ownership of that space is self-imposed and is only recognised because of the generous element within our government. Apart from our generosity, we have no incentive to respect that ownership, but we currently do anyway.
Quote:Loiterers will continue to be handled by Zoners. Now proof that a someone was loitering would be appreciative and would allow us to deal with transgressors.
It would be far more efficient if those loiterers were dealt with on the spot by trained officers of the navy and the security force rather than an assorted array of poorly trained and disciplined volunteers.
However, the most important concern that I have is that Zoner presence is concentrated away from the independant worlds and more towards the edge worlds and border worlds. This means sporadic and unreliable coverage of your bases by yourselves in Kepler and Bering, which results in windows for criminals to escape being opened. Even our forces cannot maintain 24 hour coverage of every lane and base in Liberty, so I doubt you could achieve the same with your Freeport network. This is why we need to deal with these threats at a time and place that suits us.
Quote:While we do realize that installations will sustain damage during their life span, we choose to try to limit that as much as possible. Usually no life is harmed if no objects are damaged or destroyed. This is the benchmark for Zoners of how to ensure the security of people.
But whose people? It seems that this policy in theory extends to everyone equally, but it is more often than not used by fleeing and violent criminals to prolong their time in this life. My concern and the concern of our forces is the protection of the innocent and defenseless, not the agressors and murderers that they hunt down.
I will put it in more simple terms. Either make compromises to your laws that the Liberty Navy and the Liberty Security Force can enforce themselves, or stay with your currently unworkable laws that lets criminals get away with breaking them. In the case of the latter, I will have a hard time convincing the leadership of the Liberty forces to continue to respect those laws.
Our forces must have leave to do their job.
I hope you consider this, mister Nichols.
Regards, Harrison McRemitz
The secretary of state for foreign affairs.
