Law & Order

"“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.” ""-Robert Heinlein"

Traditionally and with few exceptions, Drifters do not form governments. The earliest Drifters who used uncolonized Nexus Node areas entirely as a means to travel were left to their own defenses and the mutual protection of the groups they traveled with. These nomadic bands, initially formed as voluntary associations among adventurous or enterprising friends, families, and business associates, became the basis of Drifter society, centered around Drifter Hubs, the permanent settlements in areas around Nodes.

As the Drift became colonized, tribal, commercial, and adventuring bands maintained competing property claims in a balance of power where conflicts between individuals were mediated between clans with the only relevant offenses being acts of violence and violation of property. While these clans still exist, in the modern era, private firms insure the protection of contractually stipulated rights to clients in exchange for fees which are either paid individually or bundled with other private property claims including home ownership. While some clans (and individuals) enforce their own rights, it is much more common for Clans to either posess ownership of a private defense firm or buy coverage for all of their members as a single contract.

Law
"“Ah, you miserable creatures! You who think that you are so great! You who judge humanity to be so small! You who wish to reform everything! Why don't you reform yourselves? That task would be sufficient enough.”""-Frédéric Bastiat"Drifters, by and large, do not have governments. Drifter Hubs are networks of private property and contractual relationships between individuals.

'''This does not mean that there are no rules. '''As a Drifter, crimes against person and property makes you liable to lawsuit in private court for recompensation of damages plus the expenses of the investigation. Also, entering certain privately controlled areas may require agreement to certain contractual stipulations which may prohibit things such as weapons, drug use, certain kinds of behavior, etc.

A consequence of a tort-based legal system is that, as a general rule, there are no victimless crimes.

Insurance
Rights Enforcement Agencies are private, for-profit firms who offer insurance policies to customers which promise to both reimburse customers for damages caused against them by third parties and insure their own behavior in regards to inadvertent damages caused to others.

After reimbursing the victims of rights violations according to specific policies, Rights Enforcement Agencies investigate crimes in order to collect the amount paid in damages, plus reimbursement for labor, from accused criminals which have been convicted according to the agencies internal procedure.

In the event that a suspect is found guilty, there are several possibilities.
 * 1) The REA of the accused investigates and confirms the verdict of the first agency and agrees to sentencing, possibly negotiating specific sentence through appeal with the other agency.
 * 2) THE REA of the accused investigates and disputes the verdict of the first agency. In this case, REA's (rather than funding extremely expensive violence) send the case for resolution to a prearranged or agreed-upon third party organizations or individuals, usually other REA's, for resolution. These third-party mediators are the closest thing in Drifter society to courts, where evidence from both investigations are presented and witnesses and experts are questioned.

The Uninsured
Being uninsured is the equivalent of being an outlaw in the original sense of the word--it meant you were outside the protection of the law--a punishment from the Holy Roman Empire, usually accompanying excommunication from the church, which meant that you were legally a nonperson and that the perpetrators of crimes against you and your property would not be investigated or prosecuted. This is what it means to be uninsured.

Uninsured people in civilized parts of the Drift are rare. They are often seen in a similar way to how our society sees off-the-grid survivalists while the majority are habitual,un-insurable antisocial criminals.

Reputation
Ubiquitous internet access combined with augmented reality and facial revolution have recently revolutionized the way individuals treat their security. While REA's have always had the equivalent of credit scores on their customers for accounting purposes, the real-time system of public ratings and reviews gives a snapshot view of trustworthiness and past criminal behavior at the cost of a major loss to privacy for the society as a whole.